18 Year old Autistic Teenager Arrested and Jailed for......Walking on the road?

Credit/ Copyright CBC NL:
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/newfoundland-labrador/story/2009/04/21/autistic-jail...
The mother of an autistic teenager from Mount Pearl has filed a formal complaint against the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary, accusing the police of wrongfully jailing her son this weekend after mistaking symptoms of his autism for drunkenness.

Diane Spurrell discovered her son Dane, 18, had been put in the local lock-up Saturday night after she called 9-1-1 at 5 a.m. to report him missing.

Dane Spurrell said he was returning home from the video store in Mount Pearl when police approached him on a stretch of Topsail Rd. and told him to get onto the sidewalk.

Spurrell said he explained there was no sidewalk in that area, and soon after, the police asked to smell his breath.

"Because of the way that I am, they just assumed I was drunk — [because of] the way that I was walking and speaking," he said.

Spurrell admits he resisted the police because he felt he hadn't done anything wrong.

Mother Diane Spurrell says she has been told the deputy chief of the RNC will visit her later this week. (CBC)
"They were like, 'Get in the car.' They were grabbing me and tossing me around and shaking me, and eventually, they got me down on the ground," he said.

Diane Spurrell said when she heard the details of the incident, she knew they had mistaken his autistic behavior for drunkenness.

"From what he told me, they just didn't listen to him at all," she said. "They didn't give him an opportunity to explain himself. They denied him the opportunity to phone me."

Diane Spurrell said she has been told that the RNC's deputy chief will visit her at home on Thursday.

An RNC spokesperson said the police are investigating the incident.

As for Dane, he said he is not traumatized by the misunderstanding or by his unexpected night in jail.

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• cbc
• autism
• police
• st.johns
• newfoundland
• mount
• pearl
• RNC
• unlawful
• arrest
• Royal
• Newfoundland
• Constabulary
• wrongful
• jailing
• tyrany

[burntvalve86]

I have autism some people dont even notice I have it because i act pretty normal most of the time. I have a very mild form of it. That kid looks as harmless as a fly. Leave that poor man alone.

[mysteriousjpa]

That's horrible what happened! Law enforcement definitely needs to be trained much better when it comes to dealing with all of us Autistics!

[dazaiga2010]

@jaymorpheus11 indeed

[jaymorpheus11]

@dazaiga2010 sorry to hear about your bad luck. Those wii points can be precious.

[MrTaxicab80]

i have aspergers but its so mild no one notices. this kid did not deserve this

[MrBigoutlaw]

Having been through most of a sheriff's academy there is no training at all on identifying, dealing with autistic children or adults. The cop who arrested him should have administered a breathylyzer test and determined alcohol was not involved. The cop had no excuse for arresting him if there is no marked crosswalk because its not a lawful arrest.

[DanaAbel30]

Absolutely, Metalilly. We're just different from everybody else, & some people just don't wanna understand that that's actually a GOOD thing. In fact, some of the most successful & smartest people who ever lived was either autistic, or had a symptom of it.

[philateliceun]

America = Guilty until proven innocent, unless you are employed by the state.

[Adven4U1]

@mysteriousjpa Know what I think. A person who is austic should actaully help enforce the law. It would be a real good thing. OR maybe that person should go and work with the goverment. Too bad I was born in Canada, I could never be the president. But I could be a vice president- maybe I would end up being a president. I wish they would get rid if that.

[Adven4U1]

@burntvalve86

I have a mild form too! I That child does look harmless as a fly. Sometimes I may not talk very good, though- Three and Free, and my parents keep lecturing me about it! However, that makes me want to learn sign language

[MrVillamike]

America = police state