CIT & LESSONS FROM A DEADLY SHOOTING OF

AN AUTISTIC TEENAGER 

Sergeant A.D. Paul Plano Police Department, Plano Texas.

This Presentation

The shooting death of Michael Clement.

Autism (Symptoms and Meltdowns).

CIT (Training /Relationships). Take me Home and Home Visit

Programs.

911 Recording

The Shooting

911 Disturbance Call, May 19th, 1995, at 1718 hours, Plano, Texas.

Officer met at door by caretaker (caller) and 15 year old autistic male (Michael Clement).

The Shooting

Michael immediately started showing signs of stress (red face and clinched fist).

Michael proceeds to the kitchen and produces knife.

Home Diagram

The Shooting

Special needs or autism never communicated during call (911 or In Person)

The Shooting

Michael lunges toward officer twice and officer fires two rounds. (Shots fired at approx . 22 seconds after arrival).

Immediately Caretaker leaves to make phone call. (Michael and officer left alone)

Events Leading To Shooting

Michael Clement left alone by both parents who went out of town.

Caretaker picks him up late from school and takes Michael to respite home instead of his home.

Another consumer is at respite home who Michael begins to fight with and caretaker unable to calm him.

The Aftermath

Law Suit Mandatory Court Ordered

Training The Officer and PTSD

In The News

Los Angeles Times, March 23rd, 2011 Los Angeles Police Department officers

shot and killed an autistic man in Koreatown.

Steven Eugene Washington, 27, reached into his waistband for what officers believed was a weapon, authorities said. Although no weapon was found, officers said they feared for their lives because Washington did not respond to their commands and appeared to be reaching for his waistband.

In The News

Chicago Tribune February 2nd, 2012. Teen with autism shot to death by police. Officer cut with knife.

Calumet City police had been called to subdue Stephon Watts 10 times in less than two years, using Taser at least once on the 15-year-old.

Autism

Autism is a spectrum developmental disorder that appears in the first 3 years of life, and is characterized by social impairments, communication difficulties, and restricted and repetitive behavior.

Autism Spectrum DSM-5 Changes. Aspergers…significant difficulties in

social interaction, alongside restricted and repetitive patterns of behavior and interests.

Autism

Experts estimate that 1 out of 88 children will have an ASD (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, March 30, 2012).  Males are four times more likely to have an ASD than females.

Meltdowns and Fear

Our fear system is “turned on” in a way normal people’s are not. It’s fear gone wild.

Inattentional blindness…normal people see and hear schemas, not raw sensory data - Temple Grandin (Animals in Translation).

Autism Video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3yTvaqw9M8g

Meltdowns

When we feel extremely threatened, we all are prone to react automatically with intense emotional to fight, flee or freeze as if our life depended on it.- Jed Baker, Ph.D. (No more Meltdowns)

Autistic Meltdowns

A state of being “hijacked” by emotions - Daniel Goleman, Emotional Intelligence

Meltdown Triggers Overloaded senses…sight, hearing,

touch, smell, or taste. Routine broken. Pain. Correction Frustration expressing emotion or

thoughts. Disturbing thoughts. Unknown triggers

Our CIT Story

CIT and my department.

2005 In-Service (law suit/Internal Affairs case)…mental commitments.

2007 Research and Austin PD. 2008 Invited to join Dallas PD CIT

Program. 2009 Formal start of Plano CIT

(Memphis Model).

Traditional police officer response to a disturbance call

Control scene/Identify potential weapons

Separate parties. Assess injuries…Notify EMS if

need. Conduct Interviews.

Response Continued

Arrest…yes/no Collect Evidence Calls Holding

CRISIS INTERVENTION TRAINING

Early communication of any diagnoses.

Rapport (Name) Patience Model Acquiescence Active Listening

.

I teach my Coit Road Panic Attack

“I think my kid is autistic and he’s going to be just like Michael”…the young man I did CPR on that day.

Take me Home and Home Visits

Take me Home is a data base with voluntary info of persons who have no expressive language . Allows first responders to identify without taking them into custody and transporting. Developed in 2003 by Pensacola PD and Consolidated Technology Solutions.

We started CIT Home Visits in 2012. CIT Officers visit with persons on the spectrum in attempt to mitigate the fear of this population with police officers. Will be expanding to others in 2014.

Care Takers Need Care

WFAA…Posted on June 14, 2013 at 8:57 PM PLANO -- Police found a 28-year-old woman and her

four-year-old son shot dead Friday when they responded to a welfare concern in Plano.

Lydia Soto and the boy were found around 10:25 a.m. at a home in the 6200 block of Windhaven Parkway.

A release from the Plano police department said the preliminary investigation indicates a murder-suicide, but the official cause of death will be determined by the Collin County Medical Examiner's Office.

Her son's name has not been released.

Closing

CIT can be the vehicle for the community collaborative effort needed for families, educators, providers and law enforcement.