Authorities in Arizona released two-month-old footage of violent police interaction involving the takedown of a 14-year-old autistic boy thought to be using drugs, on Monday, September 18. Since surfacing to the public, the video has raised questions about the aggressive nature of the stop and whether law enforcement officials ought to incorporate greater study on how to deal with physically, mentally and socially challenged individuals into the job's training.
In the recording, which was captured via officer David Grossman's body camera, young Connor Leibel is approached while standing on a sidewalk curb outside of a park in the city of Buckeye. Grossman asks Leibel what he's got in his hands, assuming from afar that the boy had been putting a joint to his lips. But Leibel tells him its a string. Having grown suspicious about Leibel's movements up until that point, the officer then asks him what he was doing, to which Leibel responded: "I'm stimming." Stimming is a term used in the autistic community to refer to the actions taken by people on the spectrum to self-stimulate.
When Leibel fails to follow through with Grossman's request for ID, the officer proceeds to try to cuff him. Leibel is then tackled to the ground and pinned down after putting up a struggle. In the ensuing moments, the Buckeye cop engages in a discussion with Leibel before learning that he is Autistic. The Buckeye PD has released a statement backing Leibel's actions as consistent with protocol and citing that the park is known to be a place where teens occasionally go to do drugs. But Leibel's family is fuming over the July 19 incident and has called for a formal apology from the officer.
Source: AZ Central
