It's not just autistic people with this issue

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About autistics vs police officers.



Other people have problems with them too. Last night I was watching the news and they said in another state, (I think Oklahoma) this guy gets pulled over and he was having a diabetic seizure. The officers mistook it for something else and tasered him. Then when they realized what he was having, they called the ambulance. The cops of course were suspended and are getting more training.


I tried finding the article on news website but couldn't find it.

f**k the police
lol

that would be my worst fear of having a huge seizure and be it mistaken for something else and get hurt even more. Luckily after the thing that happened to me, we talked to the police station, the Lt. even called us the next day about further autism and epilepsy training on the first of the year, so were going to call up to make sure, but this time he sounds really serious. I feel bad for that guy, i cant imagine the pain hes in with the siezure then getting tased, jeezzz.

I bet when the guy was going through an episode and then he sees the police car with the lights on, he pulls over thinking they would help him since he probably didn't have a cell phone to call his wife or family or even dial 911 and what does he get instead? Screaming and tasering for not answering their questions or cooperating. If he did have a cell he phone, he was probably too weak to do it but I wonder how he was driving then? I would assume he didn't have one.


I am sure the guy complained to the police station when he was in better condition and his family too. I dunno if he was married or not and had kids and had family nearby, I'm just guessing.

If someone has a medical condition they should be wearing a bracelet or necklace stating it.

Police aren't mind readers.

I had to call the police on a guy in my building once. The first thing they asked me was if he had a gun or was known to be violent.
If he didn't have a history of being violent I probably wouldn't have called the cops on him.

Try to imagine going to work everyday with a major chance of getting shot at or bit while trying to handcuff raving 300 pound drunks et cetera.

And they're not likely to get close enough to read a medical bracelet, you realize.

That and if someone is having a seizure its pretty God damn obvious! Christ Im a Police Explorer and we talked about things like this and one of the main things are adviser (A detective who's really nice) said was he thought they needed more training with things like this.

Cops shouldn't be able to tell the difference between a dangerous man and a man having a seizure?

Police can mistake seizure episodes for being on drugs or whatsoever Macushla was trying to say.


Imagine an autistic getting pulled over. He is so nervous he is having a panic attack. They ask him if he has been smoking or drinking all night, then they ask him to step out of the car and walk the line. The guy is unable to walk straight because he has poor balance. They assume he has been drinking. See disability behavior can be mistaken for drug behavior or under the influence of alcohol. What about when the officer asks the driver questions like his age and date of birth and the person happens to be slow at responding because of their disability, the officer might assume it isn't the person's lisence because he wasn't responding quick enough. Some people do use their sibling's lisence as their own because they happen to look alike so that's why officers sometimes ask you stupid questions like your date of birth, your age, etc. to confirm it's your lisence.

There have been instances of people who've had seizures being mistaken for drunk, and people just 'tut' at them and walk by and look at them with disgust.

And what about that... Polish guy? The one who was tasered at an airport in Canada... didn't he die of a heart attack? Strikes me that sometimes police or security guards go on a bit of a power trip and don't actually think about the person's behaviour, whether it's actually threatening or whether there might be an alternative explanation (like maybe their English isn't so good, so they don't understand instructions, or maybe they're having a seizure so can't follow instructions).

I am starting to think the TSA thing is getting out of hand. Even NTs are having troubles with them too. Did I ever mention my whole family has been stopped? My dad said it was random but I am sure we put off suspicious behavior despite them having three kids with them. Who says terrorists can't have kids?

What I'm trying to point out is police usually get called when there's a problem of some sort. The grand bulk of their job is protecting society from people trying to harm us.

They certainly came in handy when the knucklehead upstairs from me became violent again.

Their principle concern in any situation, however, needs to be maintaining their own safety. They can't help anyone if they themselves end up in the hospital or the morgue.

Really? And what colour stars for homosexuals and Jewish folk?

Actually, a substantial amount of police work is simply profiling and random pull-overs.

The primary role of the entire justice system, including the police is to minimize harm resulting from crime. This includes harm resulting from the need to counter criminality. If ordinary citizens are being harmed by the police because 'there are criminals out there' then why not skip the middle man?
Harm as a result of crime is harm, whether by police or by crook. The difference is, we do not spend our taxes paying criminals to hurt us.

I have type 1 diabetes and have gotten low behind the wheel, luckly the police realized I was diabetic and called an ambulance.

The police should be able to clearly differentiate between a dangerous potential assailant, and someone having a seizure. Also, even people ON drugs or beer are rarely dangerous enough to merit zapping. Nor do they even look like they might be. Only a minority are actually dangerous, and of that minority very few are capable of causing real harm to people ostensibly trained in how to deal with them. Trust me.. I do it myself on a daily basis, and I see British police officers deal with drunks nightly. Never EVER seen them need to resort to tazers, pepper sprays, or even that much force.. mostly because they are sober, and it simply IS NOT NEEDED. Simple restraint techniques, a calm attitude and demeanour, speaking clearly and making no threatening motions. Works like a dream. Its even possible to lead drunks away just be clever distraction.

A seizure and a dangerous drunk/druggy are two wholly different things, and if your police cannot recognise that, they are seriously undertrained. Tell me, do US police weapons have "This End Towards Assailant" printed on the casing anywhere?

Do you bring anything with you to eat like an apple or a Snickers bar?


My dad brings those when he goes out in case he gets low blood sugar. I think he is type 2 though but I would have to ask to be sure.