To think an autistic child should not be treated like this by the police?

[Immoralplant]

I don’t know the background to this video, but at no point is there any suggestion by the police that this autistic teenager has done anything other than say words the police didn’t like.

I am absolutely shocked that this is happening in Britain.

IABU - that’s an appropriate police response to homophobic words
IANBU - those police officers should be sacked

Warning: the video shows scenes of an autistic teenager being hurt.

twitter.com/SineadKelly113/status/1689176155562143744?s=20

No, she got arrested because a trumped up over sensitive copper had her feelings hurt.

And no I will not calm down against police brutality against children.

And yet she didn’t get arrested for that.

POlice found her in a drunk and disorderly state and took her home.So D and D for starters

Read the police statement, if you don't believe the mother's posts. The police did not arrest the child for being drunk and disorderly.
The police's own statement says it was due to a homophobic offence - this is what we are seeing at their home.

There are guidelines which she be followed when police are dealing with vulnerable members of the public, and when dealing with children. This police officer did not follow those guidelines.

She is very very clearly heard saying 'I don't care' when told the child is autistic. When told the child has another medical condition, when pulling the child about outside, the officers still continue to pull at her limbs.

The statement from the police force is shocking. They'd have been better saying nothing that what they did put out. They have minimised the actions of their officers against a child.

Honestly bootlickers are the worst - do you think of you stick up for the police even when they’re behaving illegally, that they will show mercy when your time comes or something?

I wouldn't make homophobic comments to a police officer

Neither would I - and neither did the girl involved. HTH.

And people in certain professions shouldn’t be in those professions if they have a thin skin - police included.

Yanbu. My autistic son does not think before speaking and is very, very blunt. Sadly I think people see a girl and think she can't be that 'autistic'. My son would have been so distressed at being touched. He has an 'I am autistic' information card in his wallet for when he goes out that I'd like to think people would be understanding to if shown.

‘Shrieking like a banshee’ - do you understand how meltdowns affect autistic people? You might not realise how ableist your comment is.

Aside from the fact that at least one of the police officers is very much NOT calm, why do you think NINE officers were necessary? And they SHOULD be calm - they don’t get cookies for not behaving aggressively.

I expect police to not arrest children who haven’t committed an offence. I expect them to realise that if a child is self harming, if she is having a meltdown due to her disability, for them to say “Let’s have common sense prevail - she is not in immediate danger to anyone, we do not have to arrest her now for the protection of the public, arrests can be made my appointment so let’s de-escalate this and sort it in the morning”.

Police are not children and they are not ‘computer says no’ - they should exercise common sense, not power, especially when it comes to a disabled child.

@curaçao can I ask if someone had profound disabilities and they were in a wheelchair making loud noises would you chastise them for ‘shrieking like a banshee’? Serious question.

No one has said she was violent.

She was suposed to be on a sleepover but decided to go find her sister.

The police brought her and the sister home and had to wake the parents up.

She was drunk. That means she can't be questioned until she sobers up. Do we really pay our taxes for a child who is drunk to be taken from her home to sit in a cell for a few hours?

Really?

If the PC was insulted then telling her and her parents that she needs to attend the following day for an interview, with or without arrest would have been more appropriate.

Fuck knows what damage they have done.

In addition, the officer had no warrant and was not invited in to the child’s house.
According to the mother - the ‘offended’ police officer heard the child mention to her mother that the police officer looked like her lesbian nana, whilst the officer was outside the door.
The officer then lunged into the house, pushing the mother and grabbing the child.
As far as I’m aware - that is not a lawful process at all.

The mother was doing exactly what she was supposed to - protect her child from an arrest which was unlawful.

I would expect the police to know the law (specifically the Public Order Act 2023) and know that it specifically prohibits arrest in those circumstances.

pissedbup 16 year old shrieking like banshees!

You'd fit right in with the thugs at West Yorkshire Police with that attitude to autistic people.

The girl is having a meltdown that she can't control, and the mother is in a panic trying to tell the police this because they're making it worse.

The police don't look good in this, they're not calm. They're cornering a vulnerable child who is hiding in a fucking cupboard having a meltdown ffs, then telling her mother trying to protect her that they don't care about her disability. I'd be fucking shrieking at them too, the bastards.

I wonder, the attitudes to autistic people - namely that people don’t believe they are autistic or that a meltdown is ‘screaming like a banshee’ I suspect that

1. If this child was an angelic looking little girl with no make up on and who was dressed more feminine, would people be more forgiving?
2. Do people STILL think only disabled people are ‘people in wheelchairs’ or do we really not count invisible disabilities as disabilities?

People like inspirationally disabled people, not the ones who swear and get drunk.

When it comes to autism, unless your child is easily recognisable as autistic, you have to fight tooth and nail to get any support, and even then it’s at the mercy of those providing the support to not judge them as just being undisciplined brats, and blame the parents instead.

And, not only that, autistic people are prone to start drinking young - because, from a social interaction standpoint, our social deficits become much less pronounced when everybody's a few drinks deep, so there's a lot less rejection. That's certainly my experience, and I've heard it from quite a few other autistic folk.

ntmdino

Yes to self medicate as services are shite. And then often it’s harder to stop when enjoying it so more likely to get drunk and being drunk for somebody with autism is likely to be heightened. All of which the police should be well aware of.

@curaçao

what exactly is homophobic about saying “she looks like a lesbian like Nana Julie”

What is so offensive in that statement?

Yes!

My daughter is OK when she’s achieving in spite of her disabilities, but when she’s struggling? Nah, she’s a pain in the arse who needs to learn some manners.

When she’s dysregulated or overwhelmed and needs to sit quietly in the dark then she’s antisocial, when she can’t sleep because her bed sheets feel weird, she needs to get a grip.

She’s inspirational that she’s living her best life in spite of her Tourette’s and tics are ok when they’re funny and make people laugh, but when they’re sweary or offensive, or she’s punched herself in the face so much she’s given herself a black eye, then it’s not ok, it’s annoying and weird.

In my experience, people with disabilities are fine and “go girl” - as long as other people aren’t inconvenienced or have to see the negative bits of their disability

Absolutely this
I did this and still do occasionally. I also find it takes away some of the sensory overload.

People like inspirationally disabled people, not the ones who swear and get drunk.

You’re absolutely spot on. I will remember this saying.

Incidentally, North Yorkshire police did a post the other day about how they took a man who has cerebral palsy and other disabilities out for the day to experience life as a police officer as it’s always been his dream to be a copper. Lots of pictures and a lovely inspirational story.

Meanwhile over the border to the West they ‘don’t care’ about someone else’s disability

That arrest clock ran out once she passed over the doorstep of her home.

This is a terrible and entirely unnecessary incident. Posters are saying that the female officer needs training in de-escalation, but I think it's worse than that. There was obvious relish on her face, as she deliberately escalated the situation.

She was quite clearly spoiling for a fight, her stance was aggressive and she was clenching and unclenching her fists.

As has already been said, she didn't care that the girl is autistic, not did the others make any allowance for her having scoliosis, a deformity of the spine.

It's absolutely shocking and the female officer ought to be drummed out of the force, but that's unlikely.