Police shoot autistic boy wielding a knife

[Lumber_Jack]

http://www.google.com/gwt/x?u=http%3A%2F%2Fchicago.cbslocal.com/2012/02/01/boy-15-shot-dead-by-police-in-calumet-city/&wsi=3a38f6014a7874dd&ei=vwcrT7y6JKOSxQLJ_6wx&wsc=bf

[Lumber_Jack]

Seems excessive, but I wasn't there. I think a night stick to the firearm and he'd drop that knife. Or what about a tazer?

[Fourtyfive]

Crazy but there must be more to it......

[Murgatroy]

The young man had a history of violence and of being difficult to deal with.

It sucks, but the family should have removed him from the situation before it got this bad.

[Mike]

Do dumb stuff, win dumb prizes. Regardless of mental condition he won his prize. Where was his guardian?

[Lumber_Jack]

Where was his guardian?

They are the ones who called the cops. But its funny, now the parents are claiming it was only a butter knife highly unlikely they would shoot him over a butter knife. I agree he should have been better controlled.

[Guest Lester Weevils]

Police have to deal with so much bizzarre stuff. If nobody else will touch it the police have to figure out what to do. I couldn't ever do it.

Long ago working at the psychiatric hospital. There were enclosed open-air patios accessible to each ward (day and evenings, not late at night). A young strong seriously confused schizophrenic fellow had somehow got ahold of a glass bottle like a coke or root beer bottle. Ain't supposed to have those on the wards, for obvious reasons.

He took it out in the patio and broke the bottle off for a weapon, laughing and crying and talking word salad, threatening anyone who would come close, occasionally eating a piece of the broken glass.

Nobody working there was either trained for or brave enough to deal with that situation. Unarmed crazies are generally easy to control without hurting them or getting hurt. Use lots of manpower and be gentle as possible. Everybody grab an arm or leg and hang on.

So the popo got called to handle the bleeding armed young man. Am pretty sure they just hated any time they got called out to the hospital. They used several officers, a mattress as a shield and eventually maneuvered him into a corner and did some wrestling. Subdued the patient without hurting him any more than he was already hurt.

That was in a controlled situation with no place to run and lots of manpower. In the real world without numerical superiority, it is very difficult to control somebody without hurting them. Especially if you can't reason with them at all.

Ain't claiming it impossible that the cops couldn't have handled that autistic Calumet boy better, but it can be a challenge under-manned out in the real world.

In my tale of the young crazy dude, the popo packed him up and took him to Erlanger emergency room. Erlanger hated to see us coming too!

[NRA]

let the armchair quarterbacks begin their rants

[Guest bkelm18]

There was a similar case here in Oak Ridge not too long ago. Mentally handicapped man wielding a knife. He lunged at an officer and was shot and killed. Of course there was the expected backlash.

[Pain103]

A nightstick vs a knife is no no. Would you go to your yard and find a stick to hit someone who is armed with a knife? I don't know the whole story but firearm is the only logical choice versus a knife.

[Lumber_Jack]

A nightstick vs a knife is no no. Would you go to your yard and find a stick to hit someone who is armed with a knife? I don't know the whole story but firearm is the only logical choice versus a knife.

Understood. I just want to believe that he didn't have to die. Obviously he was wielding a deadly weapon and has little ability to reason or at least communicate.

[DaveTN]

Understood. I just want to believe that he didn't have to die. Obviously he was wielding a deadly weapon and has little ability to reason or at least communicate.

He had Asperger's syndrome, what would make you think he didn't have the ability to reason or communicate?

[Il Duce]

My cousin has Aspergers and can communicate all day long with you.

[Lumber_Jack]

He had Asperger's syndrome, what would make you think he didn't have the ability to reason or communicate?

Misunderstood, the original article title said Autism. Which would mean he could reason but not communicate.

[Guest Lester Weevils]

Sometimes even normal young men of that age can be difficult to reason with.

Sometimes described-- Poor Impulse Control.

They tend to grow out of it.

Edited February 3, 2012 by Lester Weevils

[Timestepper]

Sometimes even normal young men of that age can be difficult to reason with.

Sometimes described-- Poor Impulse Control.

They tend to grow out of it.

If they live long enough...

[Guest Lester Weevils]

If they live long enough...

That is a good point. Speaking in generality, not of this story, sometimes it seems surprising that so many young men live long enough. So many improbable things can seem like a good idea at that age. Think about it-- Do it.

[Guest J.D. Skull]

If purp had a 2-handed sword family would say it was butter knife. And he never did anything wrong.Was a little angel.

[G27]

Asperger, while part of the 'autism spectrum' ≠ classical autism.

While I hate it for this kid and his family, this article is pretty inflammatory.

[TMF]

Something is missing from the story. I can't imagine that any officer would shoot a 15 year old unless he had a good reason. Article said that police had been dispatched to the home 10 times in the past two years and they had used stun guns before.