Autistic boy, 15, with mental age of 10 killed by police

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The parents of a 15-year-old boy with autism who died in a police-involved shooting in Surrey, B.C., last weekend are speaking publicly for the first time.

Chase de Balinhard was shot and killed while walking in his Surrey neighbourhood last Sunday afternoon, days later his family is grappling with their grief and raising concerns about how police responded.

They’re now sharing their story exclusively with CTV News Vancouver.

“My boy didn’t make his 16th birthday, there’s going to be no Christmas, no celebrations of his favorite kind,” said Crystal de Balinhard, Chase’s mother, through tears.

Chase was 15 years old, but his parents say he functioned more like a 10-year-old.

What started as a fun, family-filled weekend, ended with every parent’s worst nightmare.

De Balinhard says her son was in good spirits Sunday morning, after spending time with his cousin from out of town.

He’d recently recovered from a lower body surgery and was resting at home when his parents left their house in Clayton Heights for Super Bowl festivities.

“When we left him, he was a happy 15-year-old boy. Mom and dad were going out, and he was going to have the couch to himself,” said his mother.

She had just ordered some food at a local pub when she received a concerning message.

“A friend of mine texted and she said, ‘Do you know what’s going on at the school? I heard there were shots fired.’ And I thought that was a little bit strange,” she explained.

She called Chase, but he didn’t answer.

Because the incident was not far from his regular walking route, she was concerned that he may have witnessed the commotion.

”I just had, just a funny feeling, so I used my find your iPhone, and it kept bringing me to the address that was on the community page (of) where the shooting was. So, I immediately drove there, and the street was blocked off,” she explained.

She told an officer on scene that her son’s phone had pinged in the area and she was asked to wait in her car.

De Balinhard says a member from the Independent Investigations Office, B.C.’s police watchdog, told her that her son had been shot and killed by an officer.

She says she and her husband asked to see Chase but were refused.

“They want to be thorough to make sure that all the i’s are dotted and the t’s are crossed,” she explained.

Chase’s parents say the IIO has been “lovely” to work with, but they are frustrated that they have been left with more questions than answers and still have not been able to see their son.

De Balinhard says she’s been told the investigation could take months, even years to complete.

“I want to see my baby,” she said through tears.

Online misinformation
De Balinhard is a well-respected member of the Clayton Heights community having lived and worked in the area for years.

She’s active on the neighbourhood’s community Facebook page, but is disheartened that she learned of the police incident on the social media platform.

De Balinhard says there were many posts falsely claiming there was an armed and distraught adult man in that area.

She believes that misinformation may have heightened an already tense situation.

Chase would regularly go for walks within the six-block radius of his home often in costumes, and sometimes to make silly videos on his phone.

She believes that is what he was likely doing the day he was killed.

The mother believes he did not have the mental capacity to understand how his behaviour might alarm onlookers.

She also questions why her son was found several blocks outside of where he would normally go.

“When I got to the scene and I tried to go up and see, my mind’s processing. You don’t shoot a 15-year-old for walking down the side of the street,” said Chase’s father Rick, describing trying to process the overwhelming experience.

The ‘weapon’ in question
Rick said it occurred to him later that the family did have an old, unloaded pellet gun that they would bring camping in the house.

“The pellet gun was up in my office. It was locked. I unfortunately had unlocked that door to get something else out. It is locked all the time, and it’s the one time it wasn’t and (Chase) has never left the house with it,” said his father.

He says he understands why there was heightened anxiety, as the initial call to police came from near a school, but noted it was a Sunday and there were no classes that day.

The IIO investigates all officer-related incidents that result in serious harm or death, whether or not there is any allegation of wrongdoing.

As such, it has now taken over the investigation into Chase’s death and has issued a statement addressing the issue of a weapon.

“As our investigation continues, I want to reiterate that the IIO has a responsibility to avoid releasing any information that could prejudice an investigation, contaminate witness memories, or unduly infringe on the privacy rights of an affected person,” wrote Chief Civilian Director Jessica Berglund in a statement.

“A critical component of this work is ensuring that information released by our office has been independently verified to the fullest extent possible before we confirm details publicly. This is particularly true in cases where a non-police weapon was involved in an incident. Identifying a particular type of weapon may be seen by some to suggest a conclusion to the issue of whether the police action was justified or not. To avoid that perception, important details like the weapon type are held back until a full and complete investigation has been conducted,” Berglund continued.

The IIO’s initial statement on the shooting said the RCMP received a report of a person with a weapon at a school around 2:40 p.m.

The watchdog says there was reportedly an interaction between the person and police near the intersection of 70 Avenue and 185 Street during which shots were fired by police.

“The person sustained a gunshot-related injury and was pronounced deceased at the scene,” wrote the IIO, adding the office was notified a short time after the incident and started its investigation.

The BC Coroners Service’s independent investigation into the death is also underway

Sensory overload
Surveillance video released by a neighbour caught the shooting on camera.

It shows Chase walking with a limp past a police car with what his parents say was the pellet gun pointed to his head.

“He was walking away very slowly, not running, very slowly, and not showing any aggression towards the officers,” said his father Rick.

Despite raising the object in his hand to his head, his parents say he was not suicidal and they believe he was scared, confused, and likely disoriented.

“Being autistic, he wasn’t hearing anything they’re saying. He was walking away from the noise with no idea of the escalation of the situation, other than: ‘Why are these people following me in cop cars yelling at me?’” said Rick.

Suzanne Perreault, executive director of AutismBC agrees with that assessment.

“What Chase was experiencing in that moment was a sensory overload,” Perreault told CTV News after reviewing the video.

“A neurotypical person will go in to ‘fight, flight, freeze’ no matter what, because that’s what we do. But they may be able to make some real time decisions that will align with the situation. Chase was removed from that privilege,” she explained.

The surveillance video shows heavily armed officers trying to negotiate with the teen. One can be heard ordering him to drop the weapon and saying “you don’t want to do this.”

Chase is then seen raising his arm and pointing the object in his hand toward police. Two shots ring out and officers rush toward him.

’Why did they have to shoot to kill?’
Chase’s mom says she’s left with a lot of unanswered questions, even after seeing the video of her son’s last moments.

“I’m not saying my son is an angel in any way. He’s a stinker, he’s a jokester, and he likes to role play. I don’t know what happened. I wasn’t there, but I think that things could have been dealt with a little bit better,” said Chase’s mom.

“Why did they have to shoot to kill? He walked by the police cars, and it almost looks like he’s like, just nonchalant. They were feet away. Why didn’t they Taser him? I don’t know. I don’t understand,” she added.

Autism advocates have also been questioning the response from police.

“Anytime we lose a person, it’s a loss and a failure,” said Perreault.

The situation has left the de Balinhards questioning whether the officers could have approached the situation differently.

“What kind of training did these officers have to deal with neurodiverse people?” asked Crystal.

She hopes that Chase’s death will highlight an urgent need for better training.

“We can’t allow Chase’s life to conclude there, it must be a call to action forward,” said Perreault.

The de Balinhards say they feel for the officers involved as well.

“This is just a horrible, horrible situation for the officers involved and for us. My son shouldn’t have been playing with an unloaded pellet gun that looks like a gun. Of course not. He shouldn’t have been. But in his probably 10-year-old intelligence, he was having fun,” she explained.

Remembering Chase
Chase was a fixture of his neighbourhood and enjoyed doing pranks and dressing up in costumes.

“He just wanted to fit in. He just wanted to be a typical, neurotypical kid that that wasn’t judged or made fun of,” said his mom.

He was active in the community hosting a freezie sale multiple times as a child, raising thousands of dollars for B.C. Children’s hospital.

Tributes for the teen are pouring in online.

“I will always remember how kind Chase is and how he always included everyone when he had his Halloween parties, or garage movie nights – and Christmas caroling when the kids were younger,” wrote one person.

“You had the greatest smile, the coolest style and the kindest heart. This neighbourhood won’t be the same without you. Rest easy sweet boy,” wrote another.

“He was funny, he was kind, and he wanted to help people, and he wanted to change the world,” said his mom.

His parents hope he still can – if his death helps bring meaningful change to the way our society treats people on the spectrum.

Wow, yet another reason to not live in Surrey.

For those of you who live outside of Canada, Surrey BC is has one of the highest crime rates in the country.

Unfortunately, the police in Surrey are probably overy amped up whenever they receive a call about the use of anything that could look like a firearm since, Surrey is gang capital of British Columbia.

All that being said, my question is where is their training and situational awareness? I mean you see a 15 year old boy pointing a gun to his head and the first thing you think to do is provoke him with overwhelming force. That is just a recipe for disaster.