Each Wednesday morning, a group of special needs parents join together to pray for other special needs families and ourselves. This past Wednesday morning, we lifted in prayer, Linden Cameron. Linden is the 13-year-old diagnosis with Asperger (a form of Autism), who suffered injuries to his shoulder, ankles, intestines, and bladder after being shot for emotional/mental meltdown by cops.
Yet many cry foul when we say its time to defund the police. Generally, many associated the defunding with”Black Live Matters.” However, this case highlights fears special needs parents of every race, financial background, and educational level fears. The worst nightmare came to life for Ms. Barton this past Friday when she sought assistance from the crisis team.
More Community Base Services Are Needed!
If the crisis team had arrived, they would have known the word and techniques to deescalate the situation. We may never find out why only cops showed up. But if there was a need to shift funds to a worthy department, this incident makes the argument a slamdunk and shut case.
As a mother of a child 12-year-old child whose testing has been delayed for Asperger but suffered from emotional and trauma-related issues that frequently lead to physical outbursts, it leads to increased unnecessary worries and fear each time I need to make a 911 call. Though I will say that we have been blessed thus far during our encounters, what if we meet a cop with a trigger happy finger one day? What if a little boy with suicidal idealization provokes a cop to shot him? What if the cop had killed Linden, who was running unarmed? How would we deal if this your child or mine?
Many police departments need retraining to deal not only with the brown and black community in the community they serve but those diagnosed with Autism and mental health issues.