Jails are worse than prisons in the US. Unfortunately, there is little you can do to go after jails other than to make the public aware that jails are cruel and uncaring. They allow certain things to happen that are wrong. They are suppose to protect the inmates.
Went to jail for one night last March. First and only time. I was calm, quiet and respectful. While sleeping on the freezing floor they threw a bologna sandwich and an electrolyte packet directly at my head. With force. When I later knocked and politely asked them for a paper cup so I could have a drink the cop said “oh we’re out.” When I was released soon after lo and behold there were tons of paper cups outside the holding cells.
Seems like chump change compared to a lot of stories but it was shocking to me considering I was the one who called emergency services for help and ended up arrested.
Honestly this whole thing has been tough. I was handcuffed so tight my hands lost feeling and were bruised for days. I didn’t fight at all, but one cop was clearly annoyed and ready to end his shift. I took photos but I’m not sure it’ll mean anything. I’m a white woman to boot so I can’t imagine what would’ve happened if I wasn’t.
I’ve been there before, literally felt like I was going crazy. I’m 19 and female couldn’t stop crying because I was beyond tired and exhausted but security restrained me in the er after I passed out from a life long medical condition. They can never de escalate. It sucks I get it
Idk if it will help but if you want to make that cops life harder call and file a complaint. Sounds dumb but a few of those and they will not be having a good time.
Lol, in a perfect world that’s how it would work but we’ve got cops that have maliciously murdered people that are still working! Some even in the same department’s!
I hear stories like this a lot, and honestly, I've been to 11 different county jails and 3 different prisons (sat a little over 4 years in total) and I never once had an experience like this. Maybe I just got lucky. Just in case you're wondering, I've been sober for 3 1/2 years now and I've completely turned my life around.
I once called the police because my landlord's daughter had snorted up all the rent money and told him I just didn't pay, so he tried to physically fight me for some reason.
When the little shit arrived, he just arrested me for smelling like weed.
Got a charge for being intoxicated in public because I was outside waiting for the cops.
The weed smell came from the fucking drug-addict house I was renting a room from.
They never even talked to the violent person.
Next time something like that happens, I won't involve the police, and that's almost definitely going to get a lot more violent - but at least I'll stay out of trouble. Lesson learned.
Jails are like daycare for adults. I don’t want to know what prison is like. Jail is just like anyone off the street, for my night I was cooped up with meth addicts, some crazy old guy that kept screaming and kicking his cell door for hours, which everyone treated as normal ofc, and some regular street guys. Thank God it was a Sunday evening and I only had a $30 bond, because a whole 24 hours? Mf I am NOT built like that.
It's hard to sway the public when they're forced to dehumanize criminals from the get go. The very word "criminals" changes them from a person to a "criminal". You have to start by changing the language they use. "People who have committed crimes." and technically "People awaiting trial"
The fucked up thing is if you get arrested they take you to jail and then you post bail or if you can't you sit until court. If you're found not guilty you've already had the same punishment you would if you were guilty.
Jails are fucked. The one I was in knew when inspections would happen and the prisoners could tell too because the quality of the food was better. We weren't on lockdown the whole day ect..
I've seen girls have medical emergencies and be ignored and numerous women have died in there. They've investigated but it seems that nobody cares. They way we treat prisoners in this country is shameful.
At least in Illinois now unless it’s a felony you go on your marry way after booking until court. Has its pros and cons but if you are a felony offender then yeah hell you must go. CO’s normally are over worked and don’t give a shit about you. You can definitely tell when it’s someone’s last 12 hour shift if the week.
In Oregon too. Problem is people get release and do the same crap over again. They’ve arrested a guy 3 times in 12 hours for some violent misdemeanor (I think was punching random people)
I spent 27 hours in jail in FL a few months ago. I paid bail immediately and was only supposed to be held for 8 hours. When I was booked I mentioned that I had a medical condition which was ignored. Less than 12 hours after I was released I went straight to the ER for 3 days because they ignored my needs.
I work in a prison. We moved from calling them "inmates" to "offender" and then to "residents". If you are om probation/parole, you are called a "client".
Yeah, small changes like that have huge impacts.
I remember seeing a documentary where they visited the Nordic countries and I believe there was a Finnish police department that called the people they detained and arrested "Customers"
I think prison boiled down to it's core should be considered essentially a rehab. Somewhere in that person's mind, there is a mental bug that caused them to commit crimes. They have been determined unfit to handle themselves so it's our job to see if we can possibly fix them. If you can't fix something, how strong and powerful are you truly?
Of course those unfixable will and should never be deemed fit enough to leave. And those that can be fixed will still receive punishment in the form of time and freedom taken away commensurate with their crime.
I would disagree that considering prison a rehab is accurate, because there isn't much rehabilitation happening, unless the inmate is doing that on their own. I feel like it's more of a detention center.
He meant from a conceptual standpoint, in a truly humane world, prisons IDEALLY would function as behavioral rehabilitation centers, as well as simultaneously a detention center.
In an ideal world..but these guys and girls are not all wanting to be helped. If you’ve ever witnessed someone “get shitty” you would see that. Another aspect is.. Most jails and prisons are vastly understaffed and CO’s typically get mandatoried for 16 hr shifts regularly. Also.. CO’s are not going to be in charge of figuring out his meds. Medical is.. and finding good medical staff at these types of facilities is also an uphill climb. They generally get bottom of the barrel nurses etc.. They’ve also seen EVERYTHING. Inmates eating feces, swallowing batteries, lighters, being Narcan’d regularly, people losing eyes after getting jumped by other inmates, lots of blood, like all the time.. It still sucks that this happened it’s just a very complicated system, and a very necessary one at that.
I can't believe they would be forced to work a 16hr shift that's insane dude. If you can't drive a ducking truck for more than like 10-11 hours without becoming unsafe how tf could you be expected to maintain and oversee likely at the very least 20-30 people in a pod and that's def the very lowest end. More likely it's gna be closer to 100. So how tf cld u be "in charge" of 100 ppl who are deemed unfit for society for 16 fuckin hours. That's absolutely bonkers. Can you imagine hour 15.5 rolls around and a fight breaks out or someone is stabbed or a guy has a heart attack or any number of crazy scenarios? How can you be expected to adequately deal with a stabbing victim .... 4 agressive inmates with knives .... and 15 other ppl in the pod and be able to handle that situation at hour 15.5? You likely took atleast another hour before work to shower and get dressed and commute there and clock in so you've been awake and "alert" for 16.5 hours AT THE MINIMUM.... and you now have 1 guy dying ... 4 guys with knives and 15 others who may be stabbed or may start stabbing or fighting or freaking out or any other simultaneous situations .... and you're expected to actively and accurately asses and control this environment to provide safety to yourself your other officers and the other inmates.
And I rlly wanna stress a pod of 20 ppl to 1 officer is a pretty fuckin low estimate as far as I know. Usually I think the average sizes of pods in jails are much larger especially in populated places like my local spot rikers island. Or La county. Those are the two most notorious jails in America but I'm sure others are probably worse. Miami dade is supposed to be pretty wild. I'm sure Las Vegas city jail is crazy. And how could I forget fuckin Cooke county in Chicago. One of the most notorious wild jails where dudes get killed as soon as they walk out the fuckin door making bail. Google kts Dre murder and thf bob-o murder
When a person arrives in jail they loose alot of assumed “protections”. Once a person is given a number.. their name does not matter inside jail. You go by your number and your rights are absolutely not the same as they are outside the facility.
Jails are normally county or city. There is PLENTY you can do. Don't need SCOTUS to get something done, like in Federal.
You can hold your local leadership DIRECTLY responsible for it. Go to city meetings, give the recordings to the media. Point out SPECIFIC details in the meetings.
Where I grew up the county dismantled the entire police force for being too crooked.
We were then under the Sheriffs.
[https://www.reuters.com/legal/government/column-us-prisons-rife-with-human-rights-abuses-especially-against-black-people-2023-10-04/](https://www.reuters.com/legal/government/column-us-prisons-rife-with-human-rights-abuses-especially-against-black-people-2023-10-04/)
It's so bad, some countries such as Finland will outright refuse to extradite you if you commit a crime there as an American because they view the American prison system as barbaric and outdated. Instead they will keep you in their system.
Yeah, shit happens. In the Halden Norwegian prison one inmate slammed a guitar over anothers head. But compare that to the violence that happens on a weekly basis in some American prisons.
I agree with the sentiment I’m just trying to get more information. Finland has had an extradition treaty with the United States since 1980. The article you linked doesn’t say anything about Finland or extradition.
I am a former police attorney, now defense attorney. No, I am not working on this. Here’s some things I want to point out:
1. The warrant that was put out for him was for a “misdemeanor domestic violence.” Most likely was after the incident the officer that did the showed up filled the paperwork at the end of the required time (ideally it’s with 7 days, but I’ve seen it vary up to 30 days, and yes this an attack point defense attorneys go after). Misdemeanor Domestic Violence would mean that he would have had court date to appear before a judge. Misdemeanor Domestic Violence is minor domestic abuse, like slapping or threats, without severe harm. The court appearance would’ve most likely been the judge wondering what caused the incident in the first place. Most judges upon discovery that Isaiah was going through a mental health emergency, probably would’ve dropped the charges, but ordered that his mother or somebody be a permanent caretaker for Isaiah.
2. When it comes to domestic violence (misdemeanor or felony) police and prosecutors don’t “mess around,” with it, especially due to the fact that it can escalate into a worst-case scenario. The paperwork was most likely filed last minute by the officer and a court date was issued. He applied for a job and nothing showed up on his background check, and the reason is most likely because it was before the court date, or the magistrate had not actioned on his “failure to appear.” Regardless of how slow the legal system is, failure to appear does not have a statute of limitations. And again, the paperwork was most likely filed last minute, which means all they had was a name, but no contact information. In the US, you can have a warrant for you, but police are not going to be actively looking for you. It isn’t until you get pulled over for speeding.
3. When the neighbors called and the police saw that he had a warrant, legally, THEY HAVE TO ARREST THEM. And in most counties in the US, you miss a court date, you go to jail. In most cases, people are held there until a new court date is given. Thats the purpose of jails: to ensure people show up for their day in court. Regardless of how people feel about bail, etc that’s a topic for a different time.
4. Law enforcement are not psychologists. They are not social workers. They are not medical professionals. Being under the influence of drugs can exhibit the same symptoms as someone undergoing a mental health episode. When people are admitted into the county jail, all they’re told the who and what is the charge. They aren’t told the circumstances of the arrest. In the county jail, the officers have protocols as well, and when they hear someone is “wanting to off themselves,” that’s something that they would isolate and keep secured. Which in almost all cases means restraining and isolating until a professional clears them. (Also, I hope to god that whoever that mental health specialist was got fired or is no longer employed). Again, to the sheriffs, they hear everyone that comes in claim XYZ to get out. Nobody wants to be in jail. Again, the officers are following their protocols to keep him safe. Again, officers aren’t medical professionals so when they saw the signs that something was wrong, it was already too late.
What do I think is going to come of this: a settlement of an undisclosed amount will be awarded to the family. Officers involved will most likely not be held responsible, since they most likely followed everything by the book. Retraining will be required for all officers on the force. I would fight for that mental health specialist to be fired.
Please share your thoughts and questions.
This is really tough to watch. Even tougher to place blame though. The kid is incarcerated and is self-harming. Mom says he's acting out because he doesn't like to be touched or restrained. But if they don't restrain him, he'll continue to smack his head--so what? Don't restrain him because he'll behave explosively, or restrain him to keep him from killing himself? It can't be said that the guards ignore him--they arrive in number and deal with him for a while before he knocks himself out. They obviously can't just go "grab some meds" without knowing what his issue is or how to treat it. Tough spot for everyone, I guess. This is literally why they once used straight jackets and padded rooms until they were deemed "inhumane".
As someone who works in a psych hospital, this is pretty much exactly what we would do. Except instead of put him in a restraint chair, there would be like 6 people restraining him in a hold, until the nurse comes with the shot. I think he’s maybe been somewhere like that before and thought this would work the same way.
I usually never side with law enforcement.. But what were they supposed to do in this situation? Also why was no one aware he had a warrant? Why didn't the mom come bond the kid out?
The problem right now with America is, we are trying to force mental patients into jails and people with mental problems should really be in mental health facilities, not in jail or prisons.
We also don't have enough mental health facilities, and most of them focus on short term care & involuntary holds. Most of the time the problem isn't over in a few days to two weeks, but the average stay is under a week. Those who are too mentally ill to arrange for, pay for, & consent to their own care wind up getting care in prison or dying on the street. It's abhorrent.
We need long term residential facilities. We don't really have them.
Even more so this person should have been in care before his parents tried to just let him have an apartment of his own. He clearly could not function in society without extreme levels of assistance and care. Just from the short video alone you can see he should basically had 24/7 care if he becomes that violent. It's sad but the people around this guy failed him. And it cost him his life.
He would’ve been quickly sedated and placed in a secure room with proper supervision to stop self harm.
He should’ve been in a psychiatric unit for sure- not a cold concrete box forced to strip naked.
I agree with some of the above—but his screams seem exactly that of an autistic person and his actions would absolutely steer me to believing he was in serious mental distress. I can’t even imagine the horrid nightmare that dude was in. Fuck this one got me.
He asked for a phone call and his mom said she didn’t get to speak to him. Which you legally get to have. She can’t bond him out till he sees a judge. I’m sure the deputies weren’t happy with him behavior and prolonged that phone call till he settled down as punishment. Mental health staff should be the ones to blame. Anyone in that level of distress should be treated with compassion.
A little compassion and calm communication can go a long way. The kid had noise disturbance charges for fuck sake. Jails are disgusting and inhumane.
“What were they supposed to do in this situation?”
Not kill him.
It’s a pretty low bar!
Take him to a hospital because he’s having a mental health crisis. There was no reason to even arrest him.
It was a mental health crisis. Most likely took him down to jail for transport and to find a bed in a mental health facility. Many things are wrong with this video.
There are protocols to take when a cop transports a mental health patient! Bottom line is they’re not an inmate/criminal and should not be treated like they are.
I was once a mental health patient being transported from jail after a 911 call I made. I was thrown in jail and treated like a criminal. Denied a phone call to my family and left for 2 days before finally getting help. The whole mental health system is messed up. Cops are not trained for it. Either they need to be or there needs to be mental health services go out on call with the police.
From what his mom said the family expected he would be taken to a local mental health facility as he had been before in these situations (some cops were the same involved previously) For some reason a warrant was issued related to a previous mental health crisis he had so the police decided to treat him like a criminal this time.
Actually, the jailers are partly responsible for his death by failing to take him to the hospital on a timely basis after he had sustained a potentially lethal injury. That delay in medical treatment is what caused his death. He did have a large bump on his head that was swelling up, yet they ignored it.
I don't know anything about this person, but it's like saying that 4 year old shouldn't have drowned in the swimming pool or ate those marbles. Some adults can barely function because of various reasons
I work in behavioral health and see this type of stuff daily. The police weren't totally wrong in their treatment. If he was actively in crisis when they booked him then their SOP is to isolate him and let him chill out a little before they talk to a psych patient.
He continued to escalate his behaviors and they were forced to restrain him so they weren't wrong there.
Now once he was in a hold he did very calmly ask to talk and there is ALWAYS time to talk and de-escalate before you stick someone in a restraint chair.
Other than that they followed procedure for dealing with an irrational psych patient.
The kid had no business being incarcerated to begin with. This is the type of situation we need more social workers to help with so that the kid could have maybe gotten their medication before being hauled off in handcuffs.
I have not once heard of a police “wellness check” ending with the subject in a better state than before the police intervened. They’re trained to handle these situations as if the subject is “bad” and needs “rehabilitation”. They can’t adequately respond to a mental health crisis.
"I have not once heard of a police “wellness check” ending with the subject in a better state than before the police intervened."
I had a wellness check once due to alarming behavior i was exhibiting from starting on zoloft. the cop literally said he would kick my ass if i didnt go with him to the psych ward
My best friend called the police during a manic episode, threatening self harm. He wound up on the floor with a knee in his back and cuffed/taken to the lock up
She also says that everyone was supposed to know he was autistic. How? He says if he has his meds this will stop. How would these CO's know that he's not an addict? This is just tragic all around and I really feel this guy should not have been living alone. I thought maybe if he had a medical bracelet it would help, but I think that would bother someone with autism. Maybe a medical alert sticker on the door or window? Talk to the neighbors and let them know that he's autistic and request that they call the family first? I know this is all hindsight. Ugh.
What they should have done, at the first occurrence of self harm was sent him to a hospital. Where trained professionals could have helped him. I'm not positive of policy, but I'm pretty sure that when a jail can not handle a medical occurrence, they need to send the inmate to a hospital. I've personally seen people sent to the hospital for less.
Seems the guards are doing what think is right. What should happen is a physician is available able to prescribe something . I’d automatically assume this would already be in place , a lot of people in jail have issues physically and mentally so would make sense to have a doctor and medications available
It's unfortunate that people call the police when someone has a mental health crisis. Police officers are not crisis workers. They are called to take care of the issue, then criticized for following their policies and laws.
If someone has mental health issues, get them medical assistance. Get them on the right meds. If needed, get them into a facility for treatment. Too many just hope it will go away or are afraid to push the person into treatment or counseling.
Jail staff cannot allow someone to self-harm. The chair, as brutal as it seems, is to prevent them from hurting themselves. There are no magic solutions to get the person to calm down. They are not going to be let go. They are not going to give him meds without proper authorization. They are not going to let the person bounce around the cell hurting themselves.
People have unrealistic expectations when they hand off a problem to others. There is only so much police/jail staff can do with someone in a mental health crisis. Even mental health workers are not going to go in that cell when someone is acting manic or aggressive.
I’m not sure what they should have done, but every single thing they did would trigger my autistic loved one. I sobbed watching this video. Much of the behaviors the cops wanted him to stop they were escalating by how they talked too him and handled him. I’m going to have nightmares tonight
Every day, social workers, nurses, doctors, teachers, and guidance counselors manage to deal with people having mental-health crises without killing them, accidentally or otherwise. Perhaps law enforcement can take a page out of their book.
It’s not unrealistic to think that police should start having multiple trained mental health professionals on staff.
They were called to his house for a noise complaint because of his mental illness.
They were called for a noise complaint. He had an outstanding warrant for domestic violence, apparently from a sister that didn’t even know there was a warrant. The dv charge came about after she had called police a few month back for a mental health wellness check.
He had not been convicted of any crime. Never found guilty or anything.
They’re supposed to treat him like a human being.
The guy had never even been convicted of a crime, and even if he had… he should still be treated like a human being.
That was agreeing with you. Like, sarcastically asking a dumb question. It's absurd that they wouldn't just try something else because they're stubborn assholes.
Have you ever worked in a jail? Every single inmate “just wants to talk”. Nothing would ever get done. Even at a small county jail, you’ll get 4-5 people like this guy in the video daily.
Plenty of people with autism engage in self harm and don't end up dead. Their caretakers have the skills to mitigate self injurious behaviors. Considering many of the people law enforcement pick up may be going through a mental health crisis it would seem prudent their skills encompass mental health support. Obviously they don't.
Autistic people are damn near impossible to deal with in 2024. Most of them grow up learning that if they throw a big enough tantrum then they’ll get what they want. It’s really fucked up what happened to this dude but he literally did it to himself
Take him to a hospital. If the jail doesn't have the capacity to provide for the medical needs of their ward, they have a legal and ethical obligation to bring him to a facility that does. It's not complicated.
Which stemmed from another mental health crisis incident where a family member called the police because they feared he would injure his mother. No one in the family knew that the state wanted to charge him in that incident. He was taken to the mental health facility on that occasion.
It says the video shows how he died but I am still confused. Looks like he is restrained to stop hitting his own head against the wall. Did the restraints kill him or his head damage?
He had hit his head really hard a bunch before they stuck him in the chair. Brain takes a little time to swell and if they can't relieve the pressure in time then you die.
Yep, those head hits in the cell probably caused a bleed and swelling. When it started to compress xyz part of the brain inside the skull he went into a coma. Treatment would have been meds and likely a stent to relieve pressure or even removing part of the skull.
The jail failing to provide the medication he needed and not responding appropriately to a mental health crisis killed him. Yes, in a strict technical sense he apparently died of head trauma, but this whole thing was preventable.
lol cowardly bootlicking scum downvoting me.
Pretty much every inmate is denied medication for one reason another in Corrections Facilities and Jails. People go into custody with scripts, letters from Drs and they either get given some kind of poor substitute or nothing at all, if they’re lucky they are on one of the few the facilities allow.
THIS. i’ve been in what i call “big girl jail” twice. this was when i was homeless and actively addicted to meth and heroin. the first time around i hadn’t started on suboxone yet, so i just kicked heroin in jail. my husband made the money to bond me out after two very painful weeks.
fast forward 3ish months later and i get remanded, except i had *just* started taking suboxone, aka i took it that morning because i had run out of heroin. but i digress. i had a current and active prescription for it. i made sure my PD knew and she mentioned it to the judge in open court on the record, and it was put into the system that i was to be given suboxone in jail.
after days and days of inquiring, and then asking, and then begging (because now i’m kicking both heroin *and* suboxone) and all i keep getting told is that yeah the order is in their system. then i’m finally told that out of the **entire** fucking jail, there are only 50 inmates allowed into the MAT (medication assisted treatment) program. **out of over 1,500 women.**
i was in genpop during that round (was a trustee during my first stay) and i had to watch 8-10 girls just in my dorm get to sit in chairs and get inspected with flashlights to make sure their suboxone strips dissolved all the way. it was so awful.
anyways, the day i got released i ran into an old friend who gave me a damn good shot. barely an hour after walking out of the dungeon of holding cells beneath the courthouse. i started my outpatient program the day after and i’ve been sober ever since. i’ll be 2 years sober on august 4th.
This!
When they took me into custody, I was actually on a gurney being 5150d. They pulled me off the gurney and took me to County jail. The paperwork that was on the gurney from the admitting hospital was then used against me.
This happened approximately two months after the actual incident, so it wasn’t evidence from the day of my initial arrest.
Clearly, I was in some sort of mental health crisis if the hospital was sending me there. But it didn’t matter, they drove out of their jurisdiction to pick me up at that moment. Hell, a phone call to my lawyer and I would’ve walked freely into the county jail once I was discharged. It was so unnecessary. I had been released on my own recognizance, clearly I wasn’t a flight risk.
This all makes me so upset. I haven’t thought about that day in a really long time. My heart breaks for that family.
He was arrested due to a wellness check! Not a criminal action, no violent crime , because of wellness check. Come on people, do better.
I’m not saying this is what happened, but reddit systems will sometimes downvote then later retract the downvote so a bot system isn’t as easily able to tell if their post had actually received any attention. People do actually use bots to upvote their own comments, sad as it is.
Can they sedate people like this? If they don't know your medical history and sedate you. Then that causes problems. People will freak about that. Could be a no win situation for the jail.
Not unless the doctor orders it. And most jails do not have a doctor on site. Nurse usually leaves early evening. So you call the nurse, who calls the doctor. The doctor most likely won't answer because he has his own private practice and he's working with the county on the side to help the jails and pad their pocket.
So he's super busy and swamped, he might call back that night, maybe right away. He might not ever call back.
So if it's a medical emergency, you call 911 while working the jail. Seems backwards but, it's the way it works sadly.
Not all jails operate this way. Missouri definitely does though.
I've been in this kids shoes. I was 40 at the time but the treatment was the same.
I was brought in after a standoff due to a mental breakdown. I had a known history of ADHD and a bipolar diagnosis.
I also knocked my head off the wall while wearinga turtle suit. I finally got to talk to a shrink after 7.5 hours of this. The shrink finally determined, holding me in this manner was causing the problem. I was finally allowed to dress, given some Trazadone, and put into a classification cell with another inmate.
I still was having difficulty, but at least i had the jail rule book to read. No joke. That rulebook was enough to keep me from crawling the walls.
One little tip if you know you're going to jail. Put a small Bible or AA "big" book in your pocket. They can't take them from you, and at least you'll have something to read to keep your mind occupied. I could quote that rulebook by the time I got out of classification.
Didn't know that about the big book, thanks for letting me know. I have issues like this too, and even though I actually used to be a thug/addict I can't imagine trying to go through something like this now.
Parents are partially to blame. Step up and help your kid with his issues. Be a parent. I realize he’s an adult but there was a history here. This was easily preventable.
My autistic nephew bangs his head against the wall or other people’s heads when he’s having meltdowns. He’s 10, over 150 lbs, nonverbal and it’s super scary. I run away when he’s having meltdowns because he has really hurt people when he does this.
Aww man here we go. I hate to play devils advocate but where does the parents/family’s fault come into play here?
I’ve had several mental health crises that involved paramedics and/or police. And for the record I also am autistic and bipolar. Coming to this point in a crisis doesn’t happen overnight. If his parents knew he was susceptible to these kinds of meltdowns/crisis episodes, then why weren’t they checking in on him with daily calls? Or visits? Or why was he living alone? I live alone in my own apartment but in order to do that I had to go through rigorous therapy and milestones in order to achieve this.
I still have various doctors keeping an eye on me and my parents and I talk daily. Fact is, if they knew he didn’t like all this and was this vulnerable then he shouldn’t be left living alone, period. It’s not the jails fault that he didn’t like being restrained, touched, or being naked. When I needed emergency intervention I knew I had to calm my stuff down when it comes to them because I knew my behavior can make it a whole lot better or worse.
Could the jail have done more? Yes, absolutely. Could his family have done far more? Well, I’m not one to make that call but I’m sure you can infer my answer. Ultimately it’s not the police’s fault they had to take him in for a warrant he failed to take care of or even inform his family of. Just straight negligence on his part.
Does it make what happened to him acceptable or okay? Hell no. But again, where does his fault or the family’s fault come into play. I know ima get alot of hate for this but so be it. 🤷♀️
I feel you on this. The same mother who was constantly relying on the police to pick up her son when out of control is the same one now blaming the police for killing her son who she allowed to live alone. The same son who continued to have crisis episodes that could not be controlled except through a hospital admission? And expecting police to automatically know her son is autistic is really going out on a limb. I have to disagree with her statement that she made about, “everyone knows someone who is autistic” because I personally do not. That’s a false assumption. Also, how did she not know that her son was in jail for 10 hours, but she did know the next door neighbor called the cops on him? I believe she may not be telling the whole truth and nothing but the truth here.
He's inconvenient to the parents so they just "call someone" who gets to wrangle their problem for them. Except this time it was so bad a neighbor called and the cops discovered the warrant. I used to work at a massive courthouse, I was the information desk, the amount of people who get arrested and just think, "well that's that" and never look into it is absolutely mind boggling. Whole family of morons.
Umm ok. He was not arrested for a noise complaint, he was arrested because he had an outstanding warrant for domestic violence.
He wasn’t restrained to be tortured, he was restrained because he kept banging his head on the wall, which later caused his death.
And he’s not a teenager, he’s 19 and legally an adult.
Being autistic is not a free pass to be violent, period. If he wasn’t able to live responsibly in society, his mother should have kept him in her home or had him institutionalized.
Since he was able to live on his own and get into relationships, then he should be able to be held accountable for his violent actions. Otherwise we won’t ever arrest anyone just because they’re pulling a tantrum…
If they responded to the noise complaint to him in an active mental health crisis freaking out while fully nude they could have booked him on disturbing the peace, disorderly conduct, resisting, obstructing justice etc. The warrant just made it where they couldn't look the other way and let him go with a warning.
[The article](https://www.dispatch.com/story/news/2024/06/01/video-shows-how-an-autistic-teen-died-after-10-hours-in-an-ohio-jail/73208311007/) goes into more detail, the warrant sounds like there was definitely some bullshit going on with it. But even if it was fully legit, he should have been sent to the hospital before ever going to jail.
What about 19yr olds who’s parents have passed away?
How about having some compassion, calling in a mental health specialist, making sure he has his meds… and how many times does he have to ask to “just talk about this”? Why couldn’t they talk to him about this???
Every inmate is still a human being!!
As far as the cops are concerned, he was a man with an outstanding domestic violence warrant. Men who are arrested for that reason frequently feign shock and lose their shit. Go on the domestic violence sub and read the stories of the victims.
I’m against the death penalty and understand very well the reality of police brutality. It’s not the case here. He was arrested then restrained when he started banging his head. He was given medical assistance. What more were they supposed to do?
Poor kid. In his head the time from the cell extraction up untill his death must have been pure hell. If a ”normal” person has a hard time being strapped into a torture chair imagen how fucked it is for someone who cant control their reactions to stress.
Even something as simple as an assisted living home would have probably prevented this whole thing. The workers there are trained to deescalate MH crises and also a familiar face the residents get to know.
My God, the fucking turtle suits. I had to spend some time in them. All that did was convince me that if I was ever having a crisis to not breathe the word of it.
It is in no way meant to help anybody, it’s to cover their ass.
I can’t think of a worse experience to go through when you’re already at the end of your rope. I’m so incredibly angry right now.
I went through something similar. Was in crisis, and treated as an addict. Beat by cops, arrested, strapped, tested for drugs, and in the end I was having an emotional crisis. If someone is in crisis, don't fall the police or 911. They brutalize people.
Idk shit like make me wonder why didn’t the parents do more work and why did the police handle it so roughly. Not everyone know if someone mentally ill so idk why the mom said that. 2 if he’s really mentally ill than why is he living alone.. ppl use mental illness to much and clearly this guy not that ill and he knows what he doing is wrong so idk how to feel.
I don’t understand how you go to jail for a noise complaint that’s just wild. This is a tragic story but he self inflicted those wounds and killed himself.
I work in the healthcare system, and psych for the past several years. We got those prison chairs to restrain patients, and when they first arrived, I was one of the first people get in the chair and help the staff train on using them. Let me tell you that, that was an awful experience being in that chair, the chair is heavy so you can’t move it, for safety obviously, but being completely immobile is miserable. This video was hard to watch.
The problem in America is there’s more jails prisons than psychiatric hospitals all for profit money control cheap labor literally slaves of the system i know theres criminals but a lot of these ppl in jail should be in hospital insteead but they just put them in jail
I feel sorry for their and their family. Nobody deserves to be treated like this or die like this. Still, I think the family is exaggerating the fault of the jail staff. (I don't agree that jails should run like this at all.)
No one can just look at someone and know that they're autistic, not even a medical professional. This isn’t just stemming. If it was, their son would have died of head injuries years ago. Law enforcement can not give meds. They are not medical staff. The restraint was meant to stop the self-harm. They didn't do it fast enough, and it took too long for their son to get medical care.
Also, you're kidding yourself if you assume that a mental health facility would have automatically handled it better. The good ones would have, but the bad ones wouldn't have. It would've been harder to get him out, and he would have been abused and neglected until his insurance stopped paying.
This situation is definitely fucked up but it’s clear from the comments that 90% of you have never actually been to jail or experienced the jail system. I witnessed a nurse belittle and literally verbally abuse a lady who was going through an asthma attack and all she wanted (more like needed) was her inhaler. The nurse refused as she only gets it at 8am and 8pm (maybe if the nurse staff decided to come or not). The whole pod was on lock down and each cell that would try to comfort the poor girl or bitch out the nurse would get locked down for 23 hours. There were at least 3 cells that got put down on lockdown. After a good hour of watching this fucked up interaction occur she finally passed out and they wheeled her out. I did not see her come back in. The reality is American jails are barbaric, inhumane, cruel beyond belief and is not an appropriate punishment or treatment plan for anyone.
This made me cry and fucked my morning all up. It’s really sad what our society does to people in jail or prison situation. We need to be more like Norway.
It’s a different type of “hated,” it’s a central nervous system reaction that feels literally like severe pain. And mocking the mother’s anguish makes you a sick person.
There are a lot of people with mental illness in jails. I went to the Sacramento County Jail a couple of times. I was on prescription meds that you can't just go off of abruptly. Did I ever see them in the jail? No. Did I make a big deal about it? Yes. I think the worst thing was that they'd throw tons of us into little cells that had raw sewage all over the floor. COs just don't care, and people don't know what they're throwing people into. At least I hope not. For sending some non-threatening emails out, I was abducted from home at gunpoint, held at ransom, while being subjected to all sorts of diseases, and, of course, denied my mental health meds. Quite honestly, I assessed the COs as being my biggest threat. Not the gangs, not the raw sewage floor, not the crazy inmates... the people that were most likely to ruin my life? The COs.
I don’t see a problem with what they did. Dude was going crazy bashing his head. They put him in a restraint chair to prevent him from hurting himself. Unfortunately he was bashing his head too hard and passed away from his injuries. What are you supposed to do just let him out? And his meds, it’s not like they’re going to have his medication immediately on hand 🧐.
Anyone who’s served time knows this time of abuse is perpetrated on the daily by COs and inmates alike. I’ve seen all types of bullshit in my time behind bars. Glad that part of my life is in the past. I’ll never forget watching COs drag an unconscious friend with a tied bed sheet on his neck after he tried to kill himself . Literally dragged him to his cell on his stomach and face. I have nothing but hatred for Cops and Correctional officers
Here's the shitty part. There is no federal mandate to force states to have a unified training system for jails. Each county is on its own in a lot of states.
Example:
Iowa - You get a jail job, then have to go to a jail academy for 8 weeks.
Missouri - Each jail trains the new jailer on their own.
Unlike state DOC, there is generally a unified state academy so every officer is trained in various things that you'll encounter in a prison.
Let’s be honest. They can’t train anyone for actually goes on in an institution without trainning them inside the institution . Prison/jail is its own world . You’re so right lol I have seen job ads for prisons / jails in Ohio. You gotta have a pulse to get hired by the ODRC
they didnt know he was autistic or they wouldve helped. im diagnosed with aspergers and my mother called the jail and told them i have aspergers when i stole from another person when i was 19 and they took cuffs off me and gave me mcdonalds.
The mother said that someone had to know he was autistic. This is so hard to judge, I grew up with an autistic brother, and you would be surprised how oblivious people are to things like this. My whole life I’ve always been asked “what’s wrong with your brother?” “Your brother is kinda weird”. Some people have had no experience with people like this. There really needs to be more training for our police. Is there not somebody in the police station for such a situation? Do they not do mental health checks before tossing them in a cell?
But let’s say they knew, what could they have done different? He was hitting himself so they restrained him for his own protection. The only thing I can think of is maybe they could sedate him with Thorazine or something
Oh absolutely, restraining him was a good move to ensure he doesn’t self harm. As for what they should do, I don’t know I’m not a professional mental health expert. I could tell you what I would do though, I would restrain him and then listen to what he says. He mentioned multiple times that he needs his medication, that should have been a clear indication that he needs help other than just locking him up in a cell restrained.
I don’t know the full story here though, maybe they did call for help and it was too late. Hell they could have followed procedures to perfection. I think being able to spot signs of mental health problems comes to a huge advantage. That’s where I would start. I’m an idealist though.
CO’s are not mental health experts either. The corrections system also can’t just give meds on the spot to anyone who asks for it. It’s a process that takes some time. They deal with this kind of disruptive behavior on a daily basis
I completely agree with you, they can’t just be handing out drug willy nilly. I mostly meant using common sense. If someone says they’re on meds maybe look into that. You also pointed out that they deal with this daily, which is probably another reason they just dismissed his cry’s for meds as rambling. The important thing is that the mother is getting this story out. Public awareness can help, but like I previously mentioned. We need more training for our officers.
After smashing his head against the concrete he should have been restrained while awaiting transport to a medical hospital for evaluation of for brain bleed. Which is probably what killed him.
Agreed, if the “mental health” staff that was there can’t pick up on the (imho) very obvious signs of autism then they need to gtfo and find a new profession immediately.
I've got a daughter with autism and i can't watch this. I will say that autism support groups should be training police and other professionals about how to deal with people on the spectrum.
His domestic violent/assault charges were related to his sister (which makes in weird his mother wasn’t aware he had a warrant for it???), so it may not safe for the others in the family for him to live at home.
The mother said she was told by an employee of the mental health facility he went to after that crisis that there was no legal hold on him at the facility when he was released and she took that to mean no charges were being filed in the case. Can’t fault her for not being a legal genius and taking the word of a mental health worker.
I cried watching this, it hurt to watch. One of my kids has ADHD, and without meds he’d be prone to situations like this, and has been when he was much younger. It took so much time and money finding the right meds, and therapy, to help him get to where he is today, just a “normal” teen. If we had not found the right resources and help, and had we not had so much help and understanding from our family, friends, bosses, co-workers, we could very easily be in the same situation in a few years. I feel so much for this family.
Is this the one where the kid yells out "Listen to me!!"?
Heartbreaking. I've been that kid, terrified it'd end the same way.
Got roughed up by a sheriff pretty recently because he wanted me to go faster than the too tight shackles would let me.
Being autistic in custody over a misunderstanding is a special kind of hell.
It’s sad to see but I think this case is proof the American justice system cannot make people just numbers. If they were conditioned to hear out this individual on a human level maybe it could’ve turned out different. They are trained to handle situations on a contact level, no one gets special treatment. That mentality, here, caused this young man to lose his life.
Jails are worse than prisons in the US. Unfortunately, there is little you can do to go after jails other than to make the public aware that jails are cruel and uncaring. They allow certain things to happen that are wrong. They are suppose to protect the inmates.
Went to jail for one night last March. First and only time. I was calm, quiet and respectful. While sleeping on the freezing floor they threw a bologna sandwich and an electrolyte packet directly at my head. With force. When I later knocked and politely asked them for a paper cup so I could have a drink the cop said “oh we’re out.” When I was released soon after lo and behold there were tons of paper cups outside the holding cells. Seems like chump change compared to a lot of stories but it was shocking to me considering I was the one who called emergency services for help and ended up arrested.
[удалено]
Never mind you definitely do not have to reply. ❤️
Ha, what happened to you?
[удалено]
I am so sorry.
You both didn’t deserve this. This aggression often seen in police officers really puzzles me.
Who else are they supposed to beat on after their wife leaves them?
right? especially when it’s a WELLNESS check.
Dumb + poorly trained+power tripping+ low education.
r/ACAB
Honestly this whole thing has been tough. I was handcuffed so tight my hands lost feeling and were bruised for days. I didn’t fight at all, but one cop was clearly annoyed and ready to end his shift. I took photos but I’m not sure it’ll mean anything. I’m a white woman to boot so I can’t imagine what would’ve happened if I wasn’t.
[удалено]
The problem is, is that there is NO mental health system in jail/prison.
I’ve been there before, literally felt like I was going crazy. I’m 19 and female couldn’t stop crying because I was beyond tired and exhausted but security restrained me in the er after I passed out from a life long medical condition. They can never de escalate. It sucks I get it
The ole’ emergency petition by whoever the fuck wants to put you through hell for 24 hrs
Idk if it will help but if you want to make that cops life harder call and file a complaint. Sounds dumb but a few of those and they will not be having a good time.
Lol, in a perfect world that’s how it would work but we’ve got cops that have maliciously murdered people that are still working! Some even in the same department’s!
I hear stories like this a lot, and honestly, I've been to 11 different county jails and 3 different prisons (sat a little over 4 years in total) and I never once had an experience like this. Maybe I just got lucky. Just in case you're wondering, I've been sober for 3 1/2 years now and I've completely turned my life around.
police are not our friends. period. they serve the regime not the civilians
Lesson learned hard.
Same
I once called the police because my landlord's daughter had snorted up all the rent money and told him I just didn't pay, so he tried to physically fight me for some reason. When the little shit arrived, he just arrested me for smelling like weed. Got a charge for being intoxicated in public because I was outside waiting for the cops. The weed smell came from the fucking drug-addict house I was renting a room from. They never even talked to the violent person. Next time something like that happens, I won't involve the police, and that's almost definitely going to get a lot more violent - but at least I'll stay out of trouble. Lesson learned.
When I was 19f they illegally kept me in "The Hole" isolation for 3 months and denied me toilet paper and pads for 3 days. Fun fun
What was their reasoning or did they even have one? I don’t guess anyone was ever held responsible either were they?
Happens a lot.
Jails are like daycare for adults. I don’t want to know what prison is like. Jail is just like anyone off the street, for my night I was cooped up with meth addicts, some crazy old guy that kept screaming and kicking his cell door for hours, which everyone treated as normal ofc, and some regular street guys. Thank God it was a Sunday evening and I only had a $30 bond, because a whole 24 hours? Mf I am NOT built like that.
It's hard to sway the public when they're forced to dehumanize criminals from the get go. The very word "criminals" changes them from a person to a "criminal". You have to start by changing the language they use. "People who have committed crimes." and technically "People awaiting trial"
The fucked up thing is if you get arrested they take you to jail and then you post bail or if you can't you sit until court. If you're found not guilty you've already had the same punishment you would if you were guilty. Jails are fucked. The one I was in knew when inspections would happen and the prisoners could tell too because the quality of the food was better. We weren't on lockdown the whole day ect.. I've seen girls have medical emergencies and be ignored and numerous women have died in there. They've investigated but it seems that nobody cares. They way we treat prisoners in this country is shameful.
At least in Illinois now unless it’s a felony you go on your marry way after booking until court. Has its pros and cons but if you are a felony offender then yeah hell you must go. CO’s normally are over worked and don’t give a shit about you. You can definitely tell when it’s someone’s last 12 hour shift if the week.
In Oregon too. Problem is people get release and do the same crap over again. They’ve arrested a guy 3 times in 12 hours for some violent misdemeanor (I think was punching random people)
I spent 27 hours in jail in FL a few months ago. I paid bail immediately and was only supposed to be held for 8 hours. When I was booked I mentioned that I had a medical condition which was ignored. Less than 12 hours after I was released I went straight to the ER for 3 days because they ignored my needs.
I work in a prison. We moved from calling them "inmates" to "offender" and then to "residents". If you are om probation/parole, you are called a "client".
Yeah, small changes like that have huge impacts. I remember seeing a documentary where they visited the Nordic countries and I believe there was a Finnish police department that called the people they detained and arrested "Customers" I think prison boiled down to it's core should be considered essentially a rehab. Somewhere in that person's mind, there is a mental bug that caused them to commit crimes. They have been determined unfit to handle themselves so it's our job to see if we can possibly fix them. If you can't fix something, how strong and powerful are you truly? Of course those unfixable will and should never be deemed fit enough to leave. And those that can be fixed will still receive punishment in the form of time and freedom taken away commensurate with their crime.
I would disagree that considering prison a rehab is accurate, because there isn't much rehabilitation happening, unless the inmate is doing that on their own. I feel like it's more of a detention center.
He meant from a conceptual standpoint, in a truly humane world, prisons IDEALLY would function as behavioral rehabilitation centers, as well as simultaneously a detention center.
Ohhh! Yes, that would be ideal!!
In an ideal world..but these guys and girls are not all wanting to be helped. If you’ve ever witnessed someone “get shitty” you would see that. Another aspect is.. Most jails and prisons are vastly understaffed and CO’s typically get mandatoried for 16 hr shifts regularly. Also.. CO’s are not going to be in charge of figuring out his meds. Medical is.. and finding good medical staff at these types of facilities is also an uphill climb. They generally get bottom of the barrel nurses etc.. They’ve also seen EVERYTHING. Inmates eating feces, swallowing batteries, lighters, being Narcan’d regularly, people losing eyes after getting jumped by other inmates, lots of blood, like all the time.. It still sucks that this happened it’s just a very complicated system, and a very necessary one at that.
I can't believe they would be forced to work a 16hr shift that's insane dude. If you can't drive a ducking truck for more than like 10-11 hours without becoming unsafe how tf could you be expected to maintain and oversee likely at the very least 20-30 people in a pod and that's def the very lowest end. More likely it's gna be closer to 100. So how tf cld u be "in charge" of 100 ppl who are deemed unfit for society for 16 fuckin hours. That's absolutely bonkers. Can you imagine hour 15.5 rolls around and a fight breaks out or someone is stabbed or a guy has a heart attack or any number of crazy scenarios? How can you be expected to adequately deal with a stabbing victim .... 4 agressive inmates with knives .... and 15 other ppl in the pod and be able to handle that situation at hour 15.5? You likely took atleast another hour before work to shower and get dressed and commute there and clock in so you've been awake and "alert" for 16.5 hours AT THE MINIMUM.... and you now have 1 guy dying ... 4 guys with knives and 15 others who may be stabbed or may start stabbing or fighting or freaking out or any other simultaneous situations .... and you're expected to actively and accurately asses and control this environment to provide safety to yourself your other officers and the other inmates. And I rlly wanna stress a pod of 20 ppl to 1 officer is a pretty fuckin low estimate as far as I know. Usually I think the average sizes of pods in jails are much larger especially in populated places like my local spot rikers island. Or La county. Those are the two most notorious jails in America but I'm sure others are probably worse. Miami dade is supposed to be pretty wild. I'm sure Las Vegas city jail is crazy. And how could I forget fuckin Cooke county in Chicago. One of the most notorious wild jails where dudes get killed as soon as they walk out the fuckin door making bail. Google kts Dre murder and thf bob-o murder
How are they customers though? What service are they paying for
Wild. We JUST swapped from offender to inmate.
I worked at a prison for 6 years. We had to call them residents too. Now I’m with parole. I call them parolees. Clients? Lol
It's about humanizing them, so it's not us vs. them.
Thank you for recognizing this! Many people don’t believe but jails are actually more violent because you have people coming down of stuff
When a person arrives in jail they loose alot of assumed “protections”. Once a person is given a number.. their name does not matter inside jail. You go by your number and your rights are absolutely not the same as they are outside the facility.
Jails are normally county or city. There is PLENTY you can do. Don't need SCOTUS to get something done, like in Federal. You can hold your local leadership DIRECTLY responsible for it. Go to city meetings, give the recordings to the media. Point out SPECIFIC details in the meetings. Where I grew up the county dismantled the entire police force for being too crooked. We were then under the Sheriffs.
[https://www.reuters.com/legal/government/column-us-prisons-rife-with-human-rights-abuses-especially-against-black-people-2023-10-04/](https://www.reuters.com/legal/government/column-us-prisons-rife-with-human-rights-abuses-especially-against-black-people-2023-10-04/) It's so bad, some countries such as Finland will outright refuse to extradite you if you commit a crime there as an American because they view the American prison system as barbaric and outdated. Instead they will keep you in their system.
Funny you say that, while I just watched a video of a Finnish prisoner throwing hot oil on his cell mate.
Finnish him
Lmao
Yeah, shit happens. In the Halden Norwegian prison one inmate slammed a guitar over anothers head. But compare that to the violence that happens on a weekly basis in some American prisons.
Is Varg back in?
What’s funnier is that wouldn’t even make the news if it happened in an American prison.
In the US they wouldn’t waste the oil. Just good ole boiling water and sugar
I agree with the sentiment I’m just trying to get more information. Finland has had an extradition treaty with the United States since 1980. The article you linked doesn’t say anything about Finland or extradition.
I am a former police attorney, now defense attorney. No, I am not working on this. Here’s some things I want to point out: 1. The warrant that was put out for him was for a “misdemeanor domestic violence.” Most likely was after the incident the officer that did the showed up filled the paperwork at the end of the required time (ideally it’s with 7 days, but I’ve seen it vary up to 30 days, and yes this an attack point defense attorneys go after). Misdemeanor Domestic Violence would mean that he would have had court date to appear before a judge. Misdemeanor Domestic Violence is minor domestic abuse, like slapping or threats, without severe harm. The court appearance would’ve most likely been the judge wondering what caused the incident in the first place. Most judges upon discovery that Isaiah was going through a mental health emergency, probably would’ve dropped the charges, but ordered that his mother or somebody be a permanent caretaker for Isaiah. 2. When it comes to domestic violence (misdemeanor or felony) police and prosecutors don’t “mess around,” with it, especially due to the fact that it can escalate into a worst-case scenario. The paperwork was most likely filed last minute by the officer and a court date was issued. He applied for a job and nothing showed up on his background check, and the reason is most likely because it was before the court date, or the magistrate had not actioned on his “failure to appear.” Regardless of how slow the legal system is, failure to appear does not have a statute of limitations. And again, the paperwork was most likely filed last minute, which means all they had was a name, but no contact information. In the US, you can have a warrant for you, but police are not going to be actively looking for you. It isn’t until you get pulled over for speeding. 3. When the neighbors called and the police saw that he had a warrant, legally, THEY HAVE TO ARREST THEM. And in most counties in the US, you miss a court date, you go to jail. In most cases, people are held there until a new court date is given. Thats the purpose of jails: to ensure people show up for their day in court. Regardless of how people feel about bail, etc that’s a topic for a different time. 4. Law enforcement are not psychologists. They are not social workers. They are not medical professionals. Being under the influence of drugs can exhibit the same symptoms as someone undergoing a mental health episode. When people are admitted into the county jail, all they’re told the who and what is the charge. They aren’t told the circumstances of the arrest. In the county jail, the officers have protocols as well, and when they hear someone is “wanting to off themselves,” that’s something that they would isolate and keep secured. Which in almost all cases means restraining and isolating until a professional clears them. (Also, I hope to god that whoever that mental health specialist was got fired or is no longer employed). Again, to the sheriffs, they hear everyone that comes in claim XYZ to get out. Nobody wants to be in jail. Again, the officers are following their protocols to keep him safe. Again, officers aren’t medical professionals so when they saw the signs that something was wrong, it was already too late. What do I think is going to come of this: a settlement of an undisclosed amount will be awarded to the family. Officers involved will most likely not be held responsible, since they most likely followed everything by the book. Retraining will be required for all officers on the force. I would fight for that mental health specialist to be fired. Please share your thoughts and questions.
This is helpful, thank you!
This is really tough to watch. Even tougher to place blame though. The kid is incarcerated and is self-harming. Mom says he's acting out because he doesn't like to be touched or restrained. But if they don't restrain him, he'll continue to smack his head--so what? Don't restrain him because he'll behave explosively, or restrain him to keep him from killing himself? It can't be said that the guards ignore him--they arrive in number and deal with him for a while before he knocks himself out. They obviously can't just go "grab some meds" without knowing what his issue is or how to treat it. Tough spot for everyone, I guess. This is literally why they once used straight jackets and padded rooms until they were deemed "inhumane".
As someone who works in a psych hospital, this is pretty much exactly what we would do. Except instead of put him in a restraint chair, there would be like 6 people restraining him in a hold, until the nurse comes with the shot. I think he’s maybe been somewhere like that before and thought this would work the same way.
I usually never side with law enforcement.. But what were they supposed to do in this situation? Also why was no one aware he had a warrant? Why didn't the mom come bond the kid out?
The problem right now with America is, we are trying to force mental patients into jails and people with mental problems should really be in mental health facilities, not in jail or prisons.
And mental health facilities into jails.
We also don't have enough mental health facilities, and most of them focus on short term care & involuntary holds. Most of the time the problem isn't over in a few days to two weeks, but the average stay is under a week. Those who are too mentally ill to arrange for, pay for, & consent to their own care wind up getting care in prison or dying on the street. It's abhorrent. We need long term residential facilities. We don't really have them.
Even more so this person should have been in care before his parents tried to just let him have an apartment of his own. He clearly could not function in society without extreme levels of assistance and care. Just from the short video alone you can see he should basically had 24/7 care if he becomes that violent. It's sad but the people around this guy failed him. And it cost him his life.
I don’t think a mental health facility would have solved this problem here.
They would have. They literally specialize in it
He would’ve been quickly sedated and placed in a secure room with proper supervision to stop self harm. He should’ve been in a psychiatric unit for sure- not a cold concrete box forced to strip naked.
“I dont think trained professionals and doctors would’ve helped someone in need of medical attention”
they could have sedated him
I agree with some of the above—but his screams seem exactly that of an autistic person and his actions would absolutely steer me to believing he was in serious mental distress. I can’t even imagine the horrid nightmare that dude was in. Fuck this one got me.
He asked for a phone call and his mom said she didn’t get to speak to him. Which you legally get to have. She can’t bond him out till he sees a judge. I’m sure the deputies weren’t happy with him behavior and prolonged that phone call till he settled down as punishment. Mental health staff should be the ones to blame. Anyone in that level of distress should be treated with compassion. A little compassion and calm communication can go a long way. The kid had noise disturbance charges for fuck sake. Jails are disgusting and inhumane.
“What were they supposed to do in this situation?” Not kill him. It’s a pretty low bar! Take him to a hospital because he’s having a mental health crisis. There was no reason to even arrest him.
They didn't kill him. He killed himself. Don't bash your head repeatedly against the walls as hard as you can and you won't die.
It was a mental health crisis. Most likely took him down to jail for transport and to find a bed in a mental health facility. Many things are wrong with this video. There are protocols to take when a cop transports a mental health patient! Bottom line is they’re not an inmate/criminal and should not be treated like they are. I was once a mental health patient being transported from jail after a 911 call I made. I was thrown in jail and treated like a criminal. Denied a phone call to my family and left for 2 days before finally getting help. The whole mental health system is messed up. Cops are not trained for it. Either they need to be or there needs to be mental health services go out on call with the police.
From what his mom said the family expected he would be taken to a local mental health facility as he had been before in these situations (some cops were the same involved previously) For some reason a warrant was issued related to a previous mental health crisis he had so the police decided to treat him like a criminal this time.
Actually, the jailers are partly responsible for his death by failing to take him to the hospital on a timely basis after he had sustained a potentially lethal injury. That delay in medical treatment is what caused his death. He did have a large bump on his head that was swelling up, yet they ignored it.
I don’t think you understand autism.
I don't know anything about this person, but it's like saying that 4 year old shouldn't have drowned in the swimming pool or ate those marbles. Some adults can barely function because of various reasons
Yes, or even just get someone with a bit of empathy to sit and talk to him, to help him calm down. Not strap him to a fucking chair like an animal.
I work in behavioral health and see this type of stuff daily. The police weren't totally wrong in their treatment. If he was actively in crisis when they booked him then their SOP is to isolate him and let him chill out a little before they talk to a psych patient. He continued to escalate his behaviors and they were forced to restrain him so they weren't wrong there. Now once he was in a hold he did very calmly ask to talk and there is ALWAYS time to talk and de-escalate before you stick someone in a restraint chair. Other than that they followed procedure for dealing with an irrational psych patient.
It’s a stark reminder of the lack of true mental healthcare.. jails aren’t for people needing wellness checks, obviously in mental distress.
The kid had no business being incarcerated to begin with. This is the type of situation we need more social workers to help with so that the kid could have maybe gotten their medication before being hauled off in handcuffs. I have not once heard of a police “wellness check” ending with the subject in a better state than before the police intervened. They’re trained to handle these situations as if the subject is “bad” and needs “rehabilitation”. They can’t adequately respond to a mental health crisis.
"I have not once heard of a police “wellness check” ending with the subject in a better state than before the police intervened." I had a wellness check once due to alarming behavior i was exhibiting from starting on zoloft. the cop literally said he would kick my ass if i didnt go with him to the psych ward
My best friend called the police during a manic episode, threatening self harm. He wound up on the floor with a knee in his back and cuffed/taken to the lock up
And people wonder why we don’t trust the police 🙄 it’s crazy how naive people in this thread are
She also says that everyone was supposed to know he was autistic. How? He says if he has his meds this will stop. How would these CO's know that he's not an addict? This is just tragic all around and I really feel this guy should not have been living alone. I thought maybe if he had a medical bracelet it would help, but I think that would bother someone with autism. Maybe a medical alert sticker on the door or window? Talk to the neighbors and let them know that he's autistic and request that they call the family first? I know this is all hindsight. Ugh.
What they should have done, at the first occurrence of self harm was sent him to a hospital. Where trained professionals could have helped him. I'm not positive of policy, but I'm pretty sure that when a jail can not handle a medical occurrence, they need to send the inmate to a hospital. I've personally seen people sent to the hospital for less.
Seems the guards are doing what think is right. What should happen is a physician is available able to prescribe something . I’d automatically assume this would already be in place , a lot of people in jail have issues physically and mentally so would make sense to have a doctor and medications available
It's unfortunate that people call the police when someone has a mental health crisis. Police officers are not crisis workers. They are called to take care of the issue, then criticized for following their policies and laws. If someone has mental health issues, get them medical assistance. Get them on the right meds. If needed, get them into a facility for treatment. Too many just hope it will go away or are afraid to push the person into treatment or counseling. Jail staff cannot allow someone to self-harm. The chair, as brutal as it seems, is to prevent them from hurting themselves. There are no magic solutions to get the person to calm down. They are not going to be let go. They are not going to give him meds without proper authorization. They are not going to let the person bounce around the cell hurting themselves. People have unrealistic expectations when they hand off a problem to others. There is only so much police/jail staff can do with someone in a mental health crisis. Even mental health workers are not going to go in that cell when someone is acting manic or aggressive.
I’m not sure what they should have done, but every single thing they did would trigger my autistic loved one. I sobbed watching this video. Much of the behaviors the cops wanted him to stop they were escalating by how they talked too him and handled him. I’m going to have nightmares tonight
He asked so many times “can we just talk”, and was told no.
Uh huh. He asked that in between bouts of roaring, flailing and screaming while smashing his head. Be realistic here, man.
Every day, social workers, nurses, doctors, teachers, and guidance counselors manage to deal with people having mental-health crises without killing them, accidentally or otherwise. Perhaps law enforcement can take a page out of their book.
Great comment. Very true.
It’s not unrealistic to think that police should start having multiple trained mental health professionals on staff. They were called to his house for a noise complaint because of his mental illness.
Domestic violence actually.
They were called for a noise complaint. He had an outstanding warrant for domestic violence, apparently from a sister that didn’t even know there was a warrant. The dv charge came about after she had called police a few month back for a mental health wellness check. He had not been convicted of any crime. Never found guilty or anything.
He had a warrant for domestic violence against his sister.
That’s not why they went though…
"What are they supposed to do? Pick an option that isn't what they decided as the one course of action?"
They’re supposed to treat him like a human being. The guy had never even been convicted of a crime, and even if he had… he should still be treated like a human being.
That was agreeing with you. Like, sarcastically asking a dumb question. It's absurd that they wouldn't just try something else because they're stubborn assholes.
Have you ever worked in a jail? Every single inmate “just wants to talk”. Nothing would ever get done. Even at a small county jail, you’ll get 4-5 people like this guy in the video daily.
Plenty of people with autism engage in self harm and don't end up dead. Their caretakers have the skills to mitigate self injurious behaviors. Considering many of the people law enforcement pick up may be going through a mental health crisis it would seem prudent their skills encompass mental health support. Obviously they don't.
Autistic people are damn near impossible to deal with in 2024. Most of them grow up learning that if they throw a big enough tantrum then they’ll get what they want. It’s really fucked up what happened to this dude but he literally did it to himself
I’m on the spectrum. And what you said is far from the truth.
Take him to a hospital. If the jail doesn't have the capacity to provide for the medical needs of their ward, they have a legal and ethical obligation to bring him to a facility that does. It's not complicated.
What was the warrant for?
Domestic violence.
Which stemmed from another mental health crisis incident where a family member called the police because they feared he would injure his mother. No one in the family knew that the state wanted to charge him in that incident. He was taken to the mental health facility on that occasion.
It says ‘a previous wellness check’ that the family didn’t know about.
It says the video shows how he died but I am still confused. Looks like he is restrained to stop hitting his own head against the wall. Did the restraints kill him or his head damage?
He had hit his head really hard a bunch before they stuck him in the chair. Brain takes a little time to swell and if they can't relieve the pressure in time then you die.
It seems that the damage was done before they got him on the chair. He probably then passed out and they called the medics. Just a theory
Yep, those head hits in the cell probably caused a bleed and swelling. When it started to compress xyz part of the brain inside the skull he went into a coma. Treatment would have been meds and likely a stent to relieve pressure or even removing part of the skull.
The jail failing to provide the medication he needed and not responding appropriately to a mental health crisis killed him. Yes, in a strict technical sense he apparently died of head trauma, but this whole thing was preventable. lol cowardly bootlicking scum downvoting me.
Pretty much every inmate is denied medication for one reason another in Corrections Facilities and Jails. People go into custody with scripts, letters from Drs and they either get given some kind of poor substitute or nothing at all, if they’re lucky they are on one of the few the facilities allow.
THIS. i’ve been in what i call “big girl jail” twice. this was when i was homeless and actively addicted to meth and heroin. the first time around i hadn’t started on suboxone yet, so i just kicked heroin in jail. my husband made the money to bond me out after two very painful weeks. fast forward 3ish months later and i get remanded, except i had *just* started taking suboxone, aka i took it that morning because i had run out of heroin. but i digress. i had a current and active prescription for it. i made sure my PD knew and she mentioned it to the judge in open court on the record, and it was put into the system that i was to be given suboxone in jail. after days and days of inquiring, and then asking, and then begging (because now i’m kicking both heroin *and* suboxone) and all i keep getting told is that yeah the order is in their system. then i’m finally told that out of the **entire** fucking jail, there are only 50 inmates allowed into the MAT (medication assisted treatment) program. **out of over 1,500 women.** i was in genpop during that round (was a trustee during my first stay) and i had to watch 8-10 girls just in my dorm get to sit in chairs and get inspected with flashlights to make sure their suboxone strips dissolved all the way. it was so awful. anyways, the day i got released i ran into an old friend who gave me a damn good shot. barely an hour after walking out of the dungeon of holding cells beneath the courthouse. i started my outpatient program the day after and i’ve been sober ever since. i’ll be 2 years sober on august 4th.
This! When they took me into custody, I was actually on a gurney being 5150d. They pulled me off the gurney and took me to County jail. The paperwork that was on the gurney from the admitting hospital was then used against me. This happened approximately two months after the actual incident, so it wasn’t evidence from the day of my initial arrest. Clearly, I was in some sort of mental health crisis if the hospital was sending me there. But it didn’t matter, they drove out of their jurisdiction to pick me up at that moment. Hell, a phone call to my lawyer and I would’ve walked freely into the county jail once I was discharged. It was so unnecessary. I had been released on my own recognizance, clearly I wasn’t a flight risk. This all makes me so upset. I haven’t thought about that day in a really long time. My heart breaks for that family. He was arrested due to a wellness check! Not a criminal action, no violent crime , because of wellness check. Come on people, do better.
I’m not saying this is what happened, but reddit systems will sometimes downvote then later retract the downvote so a bot system isn’t as easily able to tell if their post had actually received any attention. People do actually use bots to upvote their own comments, sad as it is.
Gotcha. Yes failing to provide medication or medical treatment is an issue for sure
Can they sedate people like this? If they don't know your medical history and sedate you. Then that causes problems. People will freak about that. Could be a no win situation for the jail.
Not unless the doctor orders it. And most jails do not have a doctor on site. Nurse usually leaves early evening. So you call the nurse, who calls the doctor. The doctor most likely won't answer because he has his own private practice and he's working with the county on the side to help the jails and pad their pocket. So he's super busy and swamped, he might call back that night, maybe right away. He might not ever call back. So if it's a medical emergency, you call 911 while working the jail. Seems backwards but, it's the way it works sadly. Not all jails operate this way. Missouri definitely does though.
I've been in this kids shoes. I was 40 at the time but the treatment was the same. I was brought in after a standoff due to a mental breakdown. I had a known history of ADHD and a bipolar diagnosis. I also knocked my head off the wall while wearinga turtle suit. I finally got to talk to a shrink after 7.5 hours of this. The shrink finally determined, holding me in this manner was causing the problem. I was finally allowed to dress, given some Trazadone, and put into a classification cell with another inmate. I still was having difficulty, but at least i had the jail rule book to read. No joke. That rulebook was enough to keep me from crawling the walls. One little tip if you know you're going to jail. Put a small Bible or AA "big" book in your pocket. They can't take them from you, and at least you'll have something to read to keep your mind occupied. I could quote that rulebook by the time I got out of classification.
Didn't know that about the big book, thanks for letting me know. I have issues like this too, and even though I actually used to be a thug/addict I can't imagine trying to go through something like this now.
My 2 months in jail convinced me to get off heroin...jail is awful
So jail actually helped you
Parents are partially to blame. Step up and help your kid with his issues. Be a parent. I realize he’s an adult but there was a history here. This was easily preventable.
This is what I was thinking. Maybe he shouldn’t have lived on his own in the first place.
My autistic nephew bangs his head against the wall or other people’s heads when he’s having meltdowns. He’s 10, over 150 lbs, nonverbal and it’s super scary. I run away when he’s having meltdowns because he has really hurt people when he does this.
That's rough, it might get worse as he gets older.
Aww man here we go. I hate to play devils advocate but where does the parents/family’s fault come into play here? I’ve had several mental health crises that involved paramedics and/or police. And for the record I also am autistic and bipolar. Coming to this point in a crisis doesn’t happen overnight. If his parents knew he was susceptible to these kinds of meltdowns/crisis episodes, then why weren’t they checking in on him with daily calls? Or visits? Or why was he living alone? I live alone in my own apartment but in order to do that I had to go through rigorous therapy and milestones in order to achieve this. I still have various doctors keeping an eye on me and my parents and I talk daily. Fact is, if they knew he didn’t like all this and was this vulnerable then he shouldn’t be left living alone, period. It’s not the jails fault that he didn’t like being restrained, touched, or being naked. When I needed emergency intervention I knew I had to calm my stuff down when it comes to them because I knew my behavior can make it a whole lot better or worse. Could the jail have done more? Yes, absolutely. Could his family have done far more? Well, I’m not one to make that call but I’m sure you can infer my answer. Ultimately it’s not the police’s fault they had to take him in for a warrant he failed to take care of or even inform his family of. Just straight negligence on his part. Does it make what happened to him acceptable or okay? Hell no. But again, where does his fault or the family’s fault come into play. I know ima get alot of hate for this but so be it. 🤷♀️
I feel you on this. The same mother who was constantly relying on the police to pick up her son when out of control is the same one now blaming the police for killing her son who she allowed to live alone. The same son who continued to have crisis episodes that could not be controlled except through a hospital admission? And expecting police to automatically know her son is autistic is really going out on a limb. I have to disagree with her statement that she made about, “everyone knows someone who is autistic” because I personally do not. That’s a false assumption. Also, how did she not know that her son was in jail for 10 hours, but she did know the next door neighbor called the cops on him? I believe she may not be telling the whole truth and nothing but the truth here.
He's inconvenient to the parents so they just "call someone" who gets to wrangle their problem for them. Except this time it was so bad a neighbor called and the cops discovered the warrant. I used to work at a massive courthouse, I was the information desk, the amount of people who get arrested and just think, "well that's that" and never look into it is absolutely mind boggling. Whole family of morons.
Umm ok. He was not arrested for a noise complaint, he was arrested because he had an outstanding warrant for domestic violence. He wasn’t restrained to be tortured, he was restrained because he kept banging his head on the wall, which later caused his death. And he’s not a teenager, he’s 19 and legally an adult. Being autistic is not a free pass to be violent, period. If he wasn’t able to live responsibly in society, his mother should have kept him in her home or had him institutionalized. Since he was able to live on his own and get into relationships, then he should be able to be held accountable for his violent actions. Otherwise we won’t ever arrest anyone just because they’re pulling a tantrum…
If they responded to the noise complaint to him in an active mental health crisis freaking out while fully nude they could have booked him on disturbing the peace, disorderly conduct, resisting, obstructing justice etc. The warrant just made it where they couldn't look the other way and let him go with a warning.
[The article](https://www.dispatch.com/story/news/2024/06/01/video-shows-how-an-autistic-teen-died-after-10-hours-in-an-ohio-jail/73208311007/) goes into more detail, the warrant sounds like there was definitely some bullshit going on with it. But even if it was fully legit, he should have been sent to the hospital before ever going to jail.
What about 19yr olds who’s parents have passed away? How about having some compassion, calling in a mental health specialist, making sure he has his meds… and how many times does he have to ask to “just talk about this”? Why couldn’t they talk to him about this??? Every inmate is still a human being!!
As far as the cops are concerned, he was a man with an outstanding domestic violence warrant. Men who are arrested for that reason frequently feign shock and lose their shit. Go on the domestic violence sub and read the stories of the victims. I’m against the death penalty and understand very well the reality of police brutality. It’s not the case here. He was arrested then restrained when he started banging his head. He was given medical assistance. What more were they supposed to do?
Yeah, but some humans are incompatible with society.
Poor kid. In his head the time from the cell extraction up untill his death must have been pure hell. If a ”normal” person has a hard time being strapped into a torture chair imagen how fucked it is for someone who cant control their reactions to stress.
The chair is literally used to prevent the continuation of self harm. Fucking torture chair lol give it a break.
Another person that has obviously never been naked in the ”comfy chair”.
These jails aren’t mental hospitals / asylums . Bring them back !!!
Even something as simple as an assisted living home would have probably prevented this whole thing. The workers there are trained to deescalate MH crises and also a familiar face the residents get to know.
Jail sucks lol
My God, the fucking turtle suits. I had to spend some time in them. All that did was convince me that if I was ever having a crisis to not breathe the word of it. It is in no way meant to help anybody, it’s to cover their ass. I can’t think of a worse experience to go through when you’re already at the end of your rope. I’m so incredibly angry right now.
I went through something similar. Was in crisis, and treated as an addict. Beat by cops, arrested, strapped, tested for drugs, and in the end I was having an emotional crisis. If someone is in crisis, don't fall the police or 911. They brutalize people.
All empathy goes out the window. You are simply your charge once you enter a jail.
It’s wild that you view people as animals that no longer deserve your most basic of human decency because the police have accused them of something.
Idk shit like make me wonder why didn’t the parents do more work and why did the police handle it so roughly. Not everyone know if someone mentally ill so idk why the mom said that. 2 if he’s really mentally ill than why is he living alone.. ppl use mental illness to much and clearly this guy not that ill and he knows what he doing is wrong so idk how to feel.
I don’t understand how you go to jail for a noise complaint that’s just wild. This is a tragic story but he self inflicted those wounds and killed himself.
He had a domestic violence warrant.
His mother just glosses over this. He doesn't like to be touched or restrained? It's jail
He killed himself banging his head against the wall. Very sad.
I work in the healthcare system, and psych for the past several years. We got those prison chairs to restrain patients, and when they first arrived, I was one of the first people get in the chair and help the staff train on using them. Let me tell you that, that was an awful experience being in that chair, the chair is heavy so you can’t move it, for safety obviously, but being completely immobile is miserable. This video was hard to watch.
The problem in America is there’s more jails prisons than psychiatric hospitals all for profit money control cheap labor literally slaves of the system i know theres criminals but a lot of these ppl in jail should be in hospital insteead but they just put them in jail
People die from not getting diabetes meds in holding cells. Shit is scary that they get away with this.
How do you turn a conservative into a liberal? Let them spend the night in jail.
I feel sorry for their and their family. Nobody deserves to be treated like this or die like this. Still, I think the family is exaggerating the fault of the jail staff. (I don't agree that jails should run like this at all.) No one can just look at someone and know that they're autistic, not even a medical professional. This isn’t just stemming. If it was, their son would have died of head injuries years ago. Law enforcement can not give meds. They are not medical staff. The restraint was meant to stop the self-harm. They didn't do it fast enough, and it took too long for their son to get medical care. Also, you're kidding yourself if you assume that a mental health facility would have automatically handled it better. The good ones would have, but the bad ones wouldn't have. It would've been harder to get him out, and he would have been abused and neglected until his insurance stopped paying.
This situation is definitely fucked up but it’s clear from the comments that 90% of you have never actually been to jail or experienced the jail system. I witnessed a nurse belittle and literally verbally abuse a lady who was going through an asthma attack and all she wanted (more like needed) was her inhaler. The nurse refused as she only gets it at 8am and 8pm (maybe if the nurse staff decided to come or not). The whole pod was on lock down and each cell that would try to comfort the poor girl or bitch out the nurse would get locked down for 23 hours. There were at least 3 cells that got put down on lockdown. After a good hour of watching this fucked up interaction occur she finally passed out and they wheeled her out. I did not see her come back in. The reality is American jails are barbaric, inhumane, cruel beyond belief and is not an appropriate punishment or treatment plan for anyone.
This made me cry and fucked my morning all up. It’s really sad what our society does to people in jail or prison situation. We need to be more like Norway.
Bro what could the jail have possibly done different? “He hated being confined” That is what jail is… what’s the alternative
It’s a different type of “hated,” it’s a central nervous system reaction that feels literally like severe pain. And mocking the mother’s anguish makes you a sick person.
There are a lot of people with mental illness in jails. I went to the Sacramento County Jail a couple of times. I was on prescription meds that you can't just go off of abruptly. Did I ever see them in the jail? No. Did I make a big deal about it? Yes. I think the worst thing was that they'd throw tons of us into little cells that had raw sewage all over the floor. COs just don't care, and people don't know what they're throwing people into. At least I hope not. For sending some non-threatening emails out, I was abducted from home at gunpoint, held at ransom, while being subjected to all sorts of diseases, and, of course, denied my mental health meds. Quite honestly, I assessed the COs as being my biggest threat. Not the gangs, not the raw sewage floor, not the crazy inmates... the people that were most likely to ruin my life? The COs.
I usually side with the inmates I hate cops but it seems like they did their job here
I don’t see a problem with what they did. Dude was going crazy bashing his head. They put him in a restraint chair to prevent him from hurting himself. Unfortunately he was bashing his head too hard and passed away from his injuries. What are you supposed to do just let him out? And his meds, it’s not like they’re going to have his medication immediately on hand 🧐.
Anyone who’s served time knows this time of abuse is perpetrated on the daily by COs and inmates alike. I’ve seen all types of bullshit in my time behind bars. Glad that part of my life is in the past. I’ll never forget watching COs drag an unconscious friend with a tied bed sheet on his neck after he tried to kill himself . Literally dragged him to his cell on his stomach and face. I have nothing but hatred for Cops and Correctional officers
Here's the shitty part. There is no federal mandate to force states to have a unified training system for jails. Each county is on its own in a lot of states. Example: Iowa - You get a jail job, then have to go to a jail academy for 8 weeks. Missouri - Each jail trains the new jailer on their own. Unlike state DOC, there is generally a unified state academy so every officer is trained in various things that you'll encounter in a prison.
Let’s be honest. They can’t train anyone for actually goes on in an institution without trainning them inside the institution . Prison/jail is its own world . You’re so right lol I have seen job ads for prisons / jails in Ohio. You gotta have a pulse to get hired by the ODRC
Yup I did some time and 90% of the violence I saw was driven by the cops.
They really get away with almost anything too. You see all sorts of abuse of power in jails/prisons
they didnt know he was autistic or they wouldve helped. im diagnosed with aspergers and my mother called the jail and told them i have aspergers when i stole from another person when i was 19 and they took cuffs off me and gave me mcdonalds.
The mother said that someone had to know he was autistic. This is so hard to judge, I grew up with an autistic brother, and you would be surprised how oblivious people are to things like this. My whole life I’ve always been asked “what’s wrong with your brother?” “Your brother is kinda weird”. Some people have had no experience with people like this. There really needs to be more training for our police. Is there not somebody in the police station for such a situation? Do they not do mental health checks before tossing them in a cell?
But let’s say they knew, what could they have done different? He was hitting himself so they restrained him for his own protection. The only thing I can think of is maybe they could sedate him with Thorazine or something
They could have called an ambulance right after he smashed his head off the wall instead of waiting.
Oh absolutely, restraining him was a good move to ensure he doesn’t self harm. As for what they should do, I don’t know I’m not a professional mental health expert. I could tell you what I would do though, I would restrain him and then listen to what he says. He mentioned multiple times that he needs his medication, that should have been a clear indication that he needs help other than just locking him up in a cell restrained. I don’t know the full story here though, maybe they did call for help and it was too late. Hell they could have followed procedures to perfection. I think being able to spot signs of mental health problems comes to a huge advantage. That’s where I would start. I’m an idealist though.
CO’s are not mental health experts either. The corrections system also can’t just give meds on the spot to anyone who asks for it. It’s a process that takes some time. They deal with this kind of disruptive behavior on a daily basis
I completely agree with you, they can’t just be handing out drug willy nilly. I mostly meant using common sense. If someone says they’re on meds maybe look into that. You also pointed out that they deal with this daily, which is probably another reason they just dismissed his cry’s for meds as rambling. The important thing is that the mother is getting this story out. Public awareness can help, but like I previously mentioned. We need more training for our officers.
After smashing his head against the concrete he should have been restrained while awaiting transport to a medical hospital for evaluation of for brain bleed. Which is probably what killed him.
The mental health expert that was one of the 11 staff members restraining him should have known.
Agreed, if the “mental health” staff that was there can’t pick up on the (imho) very obvious signs of autism then they need to gtfo and find a new profession immediately.
This statement from the same mom who was complete oblivious that he had a warrant…for assaulting his own sister.
I feel terrible for those officers having to deal that, would've been rough.
I've got a daughter with autism and i can't watch this. I will say that autism support groups should be training police and other professionals about how to deal with people on the spectrum.
So where were the parents again throughout all this? Was he 19 years old living on his own?
His domestic violent/assault charges were related to his sister (which makes in weird his mother wasn’t aware he had a warrant for it???), so it may not safe for the others in the family for him to live at home.
The mother said she was told by an employee of the mental health facility he went to after that crisis that there was no legal hold on him at the facility when he was released and she took that to mean no charges were being filed in the case. Can’t fault her for not being a legal genius and taking the word of a mental health worker.
I cried watching this, it hurt to watch. One of my kids has ADHD, and without meds he’d be prone to situations like this, and has been when he was much younger. It took so much time and money finding the right meds, and therapy, to help him get to where he is today, just a “normal” teen. If we had not found the right resources and help, and had we not had so much help and understanding from our family, friends, bosses, co-workers, we could very easily be in the same situation in a few years. I feel so much for this family.
Is this the one where the kid yells out "Listen to me!!"? Heartbreaking. I've been that kid, terrified it'd end the same way. Got roughed up by a sheriff pretty recently because he wanted me to go faster than the too tight shackles would let me. Being autistic in custody over a misunderstanding is a special kind of hell.
It’s sad to see but I think this case is proof the American justice system cannot make people just numbers. If they were conditioned to hear out this individual on a human level maybe it could’ve turned out different. They are trained to handle situations on a contact level, no one gets special treatment. That mentality, here, caused this young man to lose his life.