Dealilng with a boy with Autism

A scary sight of a kid with a knife coming at an officer. The officer's (the led two in this case) fire in self defense and the boy is tragically dead at the scene.

Now if anyone thinks someone with a knife is no threat to someone with a gun should take a look at this post. I would say the officer suffered serious bodily injury from the suspect in this case. A rule we are taught in the academy is a safe distance is 21 feet for someone with a knife.

Could they have done things differently? Look at the report (Bill Kurtis doing local TV news...didn't know he was this hard up for work).

Family Furious After Calumet City Police Shoot, Kill Boy With Autism « CBS Chicago


CALUMET CITY, Ill. (CBS) — Police in Calumet City were defending their actions Wednesday after officers shot and killed a 15-year-old boy, who has a form of autism, after he threatened them with a knife.

Stephon Watts’ family said he suffered from Asperger’s Syndrome — a high-functioning form of autism — and attention deficit disorder.

As CBS 2′s Susanna Song and WBBM Newsradio’s Steve Miller report, they claimed the boy was only holding a butter knife. Police would only describe it as a “kitchen knife.”

Question. If I stick that knife in your face, won't it cause injury? It get's you in the eye will it cause very serious injury.

Calumet City Police Chief Edward Gilmore said the boy cut a police officer through his shirt sleeve with a “kitchen knife.”

“I think they did everything they possibly could to avoid this,” Gilmore said. “It’s unfortunate that we had to get to this situation.”

As CBS 2’s Suzanne Le Mignot reports, Stephon’s mother, Danelene Powell-Watts, arrived at the police station in Calumet City on Wednesday shortly before police held a news conference to discuss the shooting.

Powell-Watts was screaming, livid, and inconsolable after her son was killed. She was furious that officers used deadly force against her son this time, rather than subduing him with a stun gun.

“They shot my son,” she yelled as officers as she was blocked from entering the Calumet City police station. “Every last one of you know my son has autism.”...

OK Channel 2, simple question. Why do you want to interview a woman who will be very distract over the loss of her son at the same location the Chief is giving a press conference on that subject? You obviously wanted to cause a scene and you succeeded. I guess you should be proud of yourselves. You used a mother's grief for a scene on your report.

...The chief said police were called to the home to get Stephon under control, as they had been before. But that didn’t work, he said.

“When he slashed the officer’s arm, the officer felt his life was in jeopardy and he had nothing else to do, but to defend himself,” Gilmore said.

Stephon’s family said police have used a stun gun on him in the past.

“They didn’t have to murder him. This is nothing but murder and they shoot to kill,” Powell-Watts said. “He had a butter knife and … my husband said that he lunged at the police officer.”
Stephon’s uncle said police had subdued his nephew with stun guns before.

“They didn’t have to shoot him. They could have tasered the child. He’s only 15 years old,” Wayne Watts said. “They could have tased him, like they did him before, took him to the hospital and he would have been fine and that’s what I want to know. Why couldn’t they do that to him so that he could still be breathing with us right now?”

Gilmore said a stun gun wasn’t used because the lead officer did not have a stun gun.

Five officers responded to the Watts home after Stephon’s father called police, according to Gilmore. Two entered the house, heading to the basement where they found Stephon. One of those two officers did have a stun gun with him.

“Unfortunately today, when he slashed the officer’s arm, the officer felt his life was in jeopardy and he had nothing else to do, but defend himself,” Gilmore said.

I understand why the family is upset and they can’t really look at this in any objective way. Leave that to the Monday morning quarterbacks.

Dr. Louis Kraus, professor and section chief of child and adolescent psychiatry at Rush University Medical Center, questioned whether deadly force was really necessary.

“With everything that they’ve done before, they should have known before going in what they were dealing with. And, you know, the goal really should have been to have gotten this child to a hospital,” Kraus told CBS 2′s Dana Kozlov.

He said people with autism can frequently become aggressive, but not because they are trying to hurt someone.

“What we know is that, when they get anxious – probably more commonly than they typical person when they get anxious – they might lash out; not with the intention of doing harm, but simply because of how frightened they are,” Kraus said.

I remember a few years ago dealing with a mentally challenged person in front of a car dealership. He was swinging at me with a crutch and half a can of mace did not stop him. Oh doc, this was BT (before Taser). Long story short three of us had to use batons to get him subdued. The manager of the dealership came out and said “I’m your witness, he started it all... “ Then he mentioned “Three of my guys thought you were kinda hard on him...”

My answer was simple, “Have those three gentlemen come out here, we’ll each loan them a baton and mace and take the cuffs off...they can show us how it’s done.” For some reason they didn’t want to come out and play.

Calumet City Ald. Brian Wilson had questions about the shooting as well.

“I think less deadly means could have been used,” Wilson said.

The alderman is staging a protest at 7 p.m. outside the Calumet City police station.

A local Jessee Jackson...despicable. The family is grieving and you’re trying to make hay out of it.

I have little tolerance for morons who question the actions of an officer put into a crisis and told to bring instant order to something that took years to deteriorate. I feel sorry for the family’s loss but from this report you have not been raising your son and been expecting police to control him for you. Forgive my bluntness but we’re not here to raise you children even if they have special needs. And while I regret you loss, I’m glad another family did not suffer a loss. The officer’s.