Invisible Disabilities, Law Enforcement and the Criminal Justice System

          Before I begin discussion of this matter, let me get one thing straight from the start. Generally speaking, I applaud law enforcement officers (LEO's) and all that they do to keep all of us safe, risking their lives to do so and often giving their lives in the process. They need and deserve our support and respect. Yes, there are "bad apples" among LEO's and other first responders, those who use their professions to commit crimes. This holds true in every profession. In this post, I am addressing the need for LEO's to receive more training in dealing with invisible disabilities (as other first responders should also get). These invisible disabilities include hearing impairments, Tourettes Syndrome, autism, certain mental illness and cognitive impairments which cause behaviors that can be interprted as off-putting, even suspicious and not consistent with safe people. LEO's and other first reponders are trained to be on the lookout for anyone whose body language and behavior make them suspicious-looking. Aside from their training, LEO's and other first responders are part of our society and so tend to hold the same prejudices, misconceptions and stereotypes that are a part of our culture. Extra training can help prevent injustice and misunderstanding, even tragedy. It can even save lives and make society safer for all of us.
          Throughout history, people with disabilities, especially invisible ones, have faced injustice at the hands of LEO's and the criminal justice system. This is sad but makes sense, as there was less awareness about many disabilities and such persons, because of their frequent lack of financial resources to hire good lawyers, ignorance of their rights and knowledge of the system and how to deal with it, have often been easy targets for injustice. We know that the bulk of bad arrests, and wrongful convictions and imprisonments occur among those who are poor, who are members of minority groups or who have invisible mental or cognitive differences or impairments. As a teen in a special class, I remember that a special education teacher was talking to another teacher about her first year teaching in special education. According to her, "In this, my first class, all these young men have ended up in jail."
          In my own life, I remember, in my teens, going to a convenience store, one afternoon, to purchase some snacks and soda. As I was walking out the door with my purchases, a LEO stopped me and said, "Let me search your bag of purchases." So I submitted the items for searching. At another time, I was under the influence of inappropriately prescribed medications, which altered my faculties and much worsened my behavior; I was "not all there." I had wandered into a stranger's car and sat there. When the owner approached his car, seeing me there, he was understandablly livid and had ordered me, "Get out now or I will call the police!" In early adulthood when I returned to school and took a sociology class, once I was doing an assignment where I had to profile a nonprofit. To get material for this assignment, I visited the crisis pregnancy center which I chose for profiling. In the course of my interview, when I approached their maternity room, which was full of free maternity items for their clients, a person stood by this room protectively. She looked at me every moment as she guarded this room, until I left. I didn't need to be told what this was for.
          My understanding of this matter is that often, when we become objects of distrust and suspicion, it is because people check out our body language and physical movements; when these don't mirror those of typical people, we are seen as suspicious. Conditions like autism often result in behaviors like lack of eye contact, odd speech and even odd gaits that give out signals that such individuals are not to be trusted. Such persons easily become persons of interest in missing persons and criminal investigation cases. When Shawn Hornbeck was missing, at one point one person who lived not far from his community, who was seen as strange, became a person of interest. Soon it was found that he had nothing to do with Shawn's dissappearance and so he was cleared. In the case of missing little, 5-year-old Nevaeh Buchanan (who was sadly found deceased), the LEO investigation had revealed that a developmentally disabled man, prior to Nevaeh's disappearance, had approached the little girl, who became afraid of him. He had simply liked the little girl and was showing his affection in approaching her. LEO's later had questioned him and he was soon cleared. He had nothing to do with what had happened to this poor child. In research I have done, I have read about a number of other cases much like these, especially in the case of autism.
          Yes, it is true that there are exceptions: A few people with disabilities have indeed been guilty of serious crimes. There was the sad case, many years ago, where one one intellectually challenged boy had confessed to raping and killing a younger girl. More recently, I read an article, via a Facebook post, about a heartbreaking case of a young man, who was diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome, who had confessed to brutally killing a younger girl. These are, however, exceptions.
          A current case of autism and police and criminal system injustice is the case of Reginald "Neli" Latson, a young man with autism. One day, many months ago, according to his mother's account, Latson was sitting on the lawn in front of his local library, waiting for it to open. At one point, a LEO drove by, took note of him and saw Latson as suspicious and accused Latson of carry a gun, which Latson denied. This LEO moved to arrest Latson, and Latson resisted, protesting that he had done nothing wrong. However, he was charged and convicted with "assault on a police officer" and sentencced to at least ten years in prison, after a speedy trial. This young man soon went into a deep depression and his mental state deteriorated, according to his mother. On the website that his mother has set up for him, he is featured in videos where he pleads to be released. Many of us have been circulating an online petition for him, directed to President Obama, pleading for Neli's release. His mother, after many months os seeking media exposure for her son, has only recently succeeded. Now, I realize that a number of people will argue that none of us "were there" when this all happened and that this is a "he said, he said" account and so nothing can be proved. But because of my own history of bullying and misunderstanding and painful awareness that people with disabilities tend to be viewed with suspicion by the prejudiced, I tend to believe the mother's account of her son. And at the end of this post, I will provide a link to Neli's website as well as the link to his petition, which I encourage you to sign and share.
          We can be thankful to The Innocence Project and to DNA for the reversal of many past wrongful convictions, but still they exist. Justice for crime victims, especially murder victims, cannot be achieved on the back of the wrongful convictions of innocent people, especially when the wrongful convictions are based on prejudice and ignorance of invisible disabilites.
         

http://avoiceforneli.com/  A Voice for Neli
This is an informative website for Neli Latson, where you can educate yourself about him and his needs. There are videos and articles and many resources where you can find a number of options to show your support and help. I encourage everyone to check out this website, see how you can help, and share it with others so they can do the same. We can make a difference for Neli and his devastated mother!

http://www.change.org/petitions/pardon-wrongfully-convicted-autistic-youth-neli-latson/
This is the petition for Neli's release, directed to President Obama. I encourage everyone to sign it and share it.

http://www.autismsafetyproject.org/  Autism Safety Project
This site is all about autism and public, with a wealth of information and resources for first responders, including LEO's. There are also many links to other resources.

http://www.asdatoz.com/clear/Home.html/
Community Law Enforcement Aware Response (C.L.E.A.R.)
This is a website for a California-based nonprofit, which is dedicated to providing awareness, resources and support for persons with disabilities, their families and law enforcement. All services are intended to foster public safety, training, support and resources for law enforcement and to foster safer and better interactions between LEO's and people with disabilities. If you are an LEO reading this, or know a LEO, you are encouraged to check out and share this site.