According to Salon:
On Jan. 12, Robert “Ethan” Saylor of Frederick County, Md., a 26-year-old man with Down syndrome and an IQ of 40, died of asphyxiation after a confrontation with three off-duty police officers. He was being restrained for attempting to see “Zero Dark Thirty” for a second time without a ticket. According to witnesses, Saylor’s last words included “it hurt” and “call my mom.”
Saylor’s ashes now sit in the family’s living room while the three officers continue their usual shifts. No charges have been filed.
Absolutely one of the saddest thing's Ive ever read are this mans last words. "it hurt" and "call my mom" and yet somehow these thugs couldn't find it in their hearts to , I don't know, loosen up their grip and allow this man to breathe? These are some evil son's of bitches who can murder a man with down syndrome over trying to movie hop.
In a similar story from The Argus Leader:
The Pierre police chief is defending an officer’s use of an electroshock weapon against an 8-year-old girl who was threatening to harm herself.
Parents of the child, who was with a baby sitter at the time, want the officer disciplined for using excessive force.
***
“Tasers are for grown adults, not 8-year-old girls,” said Bobby Jones, the child’s father. “They say it was for her own safety, but there is no justification for that.”
Of course there is more to this story than meets the eye, however the point I am trying to make here is that police officers around the nation are ill equipped and terribly trained in dealing with persons who have learning disabilities. Instead of taking extra care with these individuals they are treating them like violent criminals who need to be strangled and tasered.
And just to push the matter here and prove that this is not even close to a rare occurrence this last article comes form Information Liberation:
"We felt like our family was totally violated by the sheriff's department and the school district," says Doug and Catherine Snodgrass of Temecula, California. Last December their 17-year-old autistic high school son was arrested after twice buying marijuana for an undercover Riverside county police officer.
The undercover operation, titled "Operation Glass House," spanned a few months and included undercover officers in three area high schools: Chaparral, Temecula Valley, and Rancho Vista Continuation. The officers posed as regular high school students and would ask other students for drugs. Twenty-two students were arrested - the majority of them are reported to be special needs students like the Snodgrass' son.
Cops in America are due for a rude awakening when the sleeping giant finally awakens and realizes the system they live under is in place to subdue and harass them. The enforcers of such policies will be the first causalities of the coming war.
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