December 6, 2023 • 9 mins
News Anchor Esther Dillard's special report "Black Autistic And Safe" examines the relationship between law enforcement and people on the autism spectrum.
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(00:09):
Black, autistic, and safe,three adjectives you hold close to your heart
when you're black and you have ateenager or adult with autism. That's the
sound of Eustace, Florida police officersyelling at a severely autistic, non speaking,
twenty year old black man. Accordingto West two News in Daytona,
the man had wandered away from hishome. In twenty twenty one, again,
(00:34):
someone called police to report a blackman about six foot tall with no
shoes trying to open a door totheir home. Police find him, tase
him and have guns drawn. It'sLewis Greyhaw, and his family says he
has a mind of a four yearold. He can't speak and wears stipers,
but police think he's just not followingcommands. Hot your hands behind your
back. His mother, Roberta Cruz, showed up on the scene. She
(00:57):
told West two News she was terrifiedthat if you wouldn't have gone down when
police tased him, they might haveshot him. It's her worst nightmare.
Medical Express reported in twenty nineteen andestimated one in five teams with autism will
be stopped and questioned by police beforethey turn twenty one. When people go
police training, yeah, they doneed to be trained, but it's not
(01:19):
a two hour lunch and learn.You know, you can't give him a
couple of donuts and some coffee andsay, okay, now, off you
go. That's color of autism founderCamille Proctor. She says often people with
autism stopped by police aren't as fortunateas Lewis Greyhaw. She shared how in
twenty twelve, fifteen year old StefanWatts, diagnosed with Asperger's, was having
(01:40):
a meltdown at his home in asuburb of Chicago, Illinois. So the
family plan, which they worked outwith the hospital and the police, was
that if Stefan got to a pointwhere they couldn't handle him, they would
call the police and the police wouldtake him to the hospital. This particular
day, he things escalated, butthen they de escalated. So when the
(02:07):
cop came to the house, thedad said, it's okay, it's fine,
as fine as fine. Well,the cop pushed the dad, who
was very weak, out of theway and they ran in the house.
Stepan got scared and he ran tothe basement. So when he ran to
the basement, all the parents heardwas Papa, pa, Pa pa,
(02:30):
and he was dead. The copsaid that Stefan pulled a knife on him,
but it was in fact a butterknife, and so you know,
in my opinion, he was murderedin his own home. She questions why
other means couldn't have been used tode escalate the situation. The Chicago Tribune
(02:50):
reports officers had been called to subdueStephan ten times in the last two years,
using tasers at least once. Itell parents, stopped calling the police
on your kids. Like, theaggressive behavior does not happen overnight. And
I'm not blaming the parents at all, because we do the best that we
can. But the aggressive behavior doesnot happen overnight. And when you see
it escalating, you got to figureout ways to de escalate and create interventions
(03:15):
to make that person feel comfortable enoughso that they can calm down. But
first and foremost, there just needsto be more understanding, more information,
a little more widely disseminated within communitiesof color, so that we can do
better in protecting them against police brutalityor police murders. I mean, honestly,
(03:43):
that's what it is. That's whathappened, is Stefan, he was
murdered in his own home, helost his life. And so imagine you
being a cancer survivor at that point, and by the grace of God,
you're at home to be with yourfamily and you just call the police and
your son just got killed. Andyou know, and sadly, mister Watts,
he had to live with that fora while. He passed away a
(04:06):
couple of years ago, but Imean, just imagine the guilt that he
had to live with because of thatincident. Although Camille Proctor is an advocate
for hundreds of parents with their organizationColor of Autism, her fear of police
interacting with her black autistic son,who is now an adult, is a
real concern. However, she says, changing police policy and procedures starts in
(04:30):
the black community with education. Ifwe become stronger advocates for our children and
stop denying who they are and startto really build a community that embraces these
people, and I think that thepolice, then we can start dealing with
some of the systemic issues. Butyou see, when you have parents and
(04:53):
stuff like I'm giving another example.I always have a parent who says,
I don't want my son to havea label exactly. Ain't fine cool?
No, worries. Then he'll geteight nine four one eight. What's that
his prison inmate number? And they'relike, what you mean, I said,
because you don't want him to havea label. So the school told
you what was that word? Theschool said, Oh, he's oppositional defiant.
(05:15):
You think that's a good time.So basically, you've just labeled your
child bad. So you fed intothe system of your child being a throwaway
kid. He's bad, so you'rejust fast tracking him into the prison prison
system, right, the criminal justicesystem because you don't want to have a
label. Oh don't want to havean IEP. Don't worry, he doesn't
(05:36):
need an individual education plan because youdon't like the way that sounds. I
said, But there's a little whitekid in Harvard. He has an IP
in college, and you know what, he's probably gonna get PhD with it
while yours sits in your basement playinggame board or whatever. You know,
it's fine. You don't need tomake anybody's life better that's related to you
(05:59):
and has your D. And theylook at me because I don't, you
know, I'm to the point whereI don't coddle people because the reality of
it is is that Black people havenever been coddled, and even when we
do get caddled, we don't understandhow to effectively forge the change we want
to see because we're too busy lickingour wounds. Some Black parents say the
isolation from their own network of familyand community keeps many in the dark about
(06:23):
resources that are available or their rights. My son is my passion, and
Jeremiah was not diagnosed until he wassix years old, and prior to his
diagnosis, I experienced many barriers toeven get into a diagnosis. He was
being tested for everything but autism.Janet Jones Jordan is the parent of an
(06:47):
autistic adult, an advocate for caregiversof children of autism. She, like
other parents, says giving her twosons the talk or safety conversation black parents
often have with their children about whatto do if stopped by a police officer
is an ongoing process that evolves andis often complicated. I know that he
(07:08):
doesn't understand the safe that safety isan issue for black men in this country.
I also have an older son whowould be thirty next month, and
just like I've had that what wecall the talk with him, I've also
had that talk with my younger son, and my younger son is what I
(07:29):
what we call a wanderer. Orhe will run or he will you know,
flee, And for that reason alone, I never allow my younger son
to ride along in the car withmy older son for fear that if my
older son is stopped for whatever reason, the blaring lights, the sirens,
(07:50):
all of those things may terrify myyounger son and he may start running.
YEA, And I think that inmy family we have a little of an
advantage that some families don't have.My son's father is a police officer,
my brother is a police officer.But again, it doesn't negate the fact
(08:13):
that if something happens, Jeremiah mayrun because he's afraid. A recent study
by the Rutterman Foundation found that peoplewith disabilities are more likely to be unjustly
harmed by law enforcement. Researchers addedin that report, it's safe to say
that a third to half of alluse of force incidents involve a disabled civilian.
(08:35):
As of June twenty twenty one,the Legislative Analysis and Public Policy Association
reported that twenty five states have lawsor programs that address mental health emergencies or
ways to keep police from having torespond. One of them was passed in
Illinois because of Stefan Watts. Ourfamily experienced a very traumatic event with the
loss of stuff On. We knewSefon's death will not be in vain.
(08:58):
We knew that the community would riseand demand change. That's Renee Watts,
sister of Stefan, who says herfamily fought to get the governor to sign
a law preventing police from responding tomental health emergencies in twenty twenty one.
She gave a talk about it withadvocacy group Disability Lead in twenty twenty one.
Next week, in the extended versionof Part two of our special report,
(09:20):
Black, Autistic and Safe, wehear more about her mission to change
the system to make it safer forteens and adults on the autism spectrum in
Illinois. I'm Aster Dillard on theBlack Information Network.
Black, autistic, and safe,three adjectives you hold close to your heart
when you're black and you have ateenager or adult with autism. That's the
sound of Eustace, Florida police officersyelling at a severely autistic, non speaking,
twenty year old black man. Accordingto West two News in Daytona,
the man had wandered away from hishome. In twenty twenty one, again,
(00:34):
someone called police to report a blackman about six foot tall with no
shoes trying to open a door totheir home. Police find him, tase
him and have guns drawn. It'sLewis Greyhaw, and his family says he
has a mind of a four yearold. He can't speak and wears stipers,
but police think he's just not followingcommands. Hot your hands behind your
back. His mother, Roberta Cruz, showed up on the scene. She
(00:57):
told West two News she was terrifiedthat if you wouldn't have gone down when
police tased him, they might haveshot him. It's her worst nightmare.
Medical Express reported in twenty nineteen andestimated one in five teams with autism will
be stopped and questioned by police beforethey turn twenty one. When people go
police training, yeah, they doneed to be trained, but it's not
(01:19):
a two hour lunch and learn.You know, you can't give him a
couple of donuts and some coffee andsay, okay, now, off you
go. That's color of autism founderCamille Proctor. She says often people with
autism stopped by police aren't as fortunateas Lewis Greyhaw. She shared how in
twenty twelve, fifteen year old StefanWatts, diagnosed with Asperger's, was having
(01:40):
a meltdown at his home in asuburb of Chicago, Illinois. So the
family plan, which they worked outwith the hospital and the police, was
that if Stefan got to a pointwhere they couldn't handle him, they would
call the police and the police wouldtake him to the hospital. This particular
day, he things escalated, butthen they de escalated. So when the
(02:07):
cop came to the house, thedad said, it's okay, it's fine,
as fine as fine. Well,the cop pushed the dad, who
was very weak, out of theway and they ran in the house.
Stepan got scared and he ran tothe basement. So when he ran to
the basement, all the parents heardwas Papa, pa, Pa pa,
(02:30):
and he was dead. The copsaid that Stefan pulled a knife on him,
but it was in fact a butterknife, and so you know,
in my opinion, he was murderedin his own home. She questions why
other means couldn't have been used tode escalate the situation. The Chicago Tribune
(02:50):
reports officers had been called to subdueStephan ten times in the last two years,
using tasers at least once. Itell parents, stopped calling the police
on your kids. Like, theaggressive behavior does not happen overnight. And
I'm not blaming the parents at all, because we do the best that we
can. But the aggressive behavior doesnot happen overnight. And when you see
it escalating, you got to figureout ways to de escalate and create interventions
(03:15):
to make that person feel comfortable enoughso that they can calm down. But
first and foremost, there just needsto be more understanding, more information,
a little more widely disseminated within communitiesof color, so that we can do
better in protecting them against police brutalityor police murders. I mean, honestly,
(03:43):
that's what it is. That's whathappened, is Stefan, he was
murdered in his own home, helost his life. And so imagine you
being a cancer survivor at that point, and by the grace of God,
you're at home to be with yourfamily and you just call the police and
your son just got killed. Andyou know, and sadly, mister Watts,
he had to live with that fora while. He passed away a
(04:06):
couple of years ago, but Imean, just imagine the guilt that he
had to live with because of thatincident. Although Camille Proctor is an advocate
for hundreds of parents with their organizationColor of Autism, her fear of police
interacting with her black autistic son,who is now an adult, is a
real concern. However, she says, changing police policy and procedures starts in
(04:30):
the black community with education. Ifwe become stronger advocates for our children and
stop denying who they are and startto really build a community that embraces these
people, and I think that thepolice, then we can start dealing with
some of the systemic issues. Butyou see, when you have parents and
(04:53):
stuff like I'm giving another example.I always have a parent who says,
I don't want my son to havea label exactly. Ain't fine cool?
No, worries. Then he'll geteight nine four one eight. What's that
his prison inmate number? And they'relike, what you mean, I said,
because you don't want him to havea label. So the school told
you what was that word? Theschool said, Oh, he's oppositional defiant.
(05:15):
You think that's a good time.So basically, you've just labeled your
child bad. So you fed intothe system of your child being a throwaway
kid. He's bad, so you'rejust fast tracking him into the prison prison
system, right, the criminal justicesystem because you don't want to have a
label. Oh don't want to havean IEP. Don't worry, he doesn't
(05:36):
need an individual education plan because youdon't like the way that sounds. I
said, But there's a little whitekid in Harvard. He has an IP
in college, and you know what, he's probably gonna get PhD with it
while yours sits in your basement playinggame board or whatever. You know,
it's fine. You don't need tomake anybody's life better that's related to you
(05:59):
and has your D. And theylook at me because I don't, you
know, I'm to the point whereI don't coddle people because the reality of
it is is that Black people havenever been coddled, and even when we
do get caddled, we don't understandhow to effectively forge the change we want
to see because we're too busy lickingour wounds. Some Black parents say the
isolation from their own network of familyand community keeps many in the dark about
(06:23):
resources that are available or their rights. My son is my passion, and
Jeremiah was not diagnosed until he wassix years old, and prior to his
diagnosis, I experienced many barriers toeven get into a diagnosis. He was
being tested for everything but autism.Janet Jones Jordan is the parent of an
(06:47):
autistic adult, an advocate for caregiversof children of autism. She, like
other parents, says giving her twosons the talk or safety conversation black parents
often have with their children about whatto do if stopped by a police officer
is an ongoing process that evolves andis often complicated. I know that he
(07:08):
doesn't understand the safe that safety isan issue for black men in this country.
I also have an older son whowould be thirty next month, and
just like I've had that what wecall the talk with him, I've also
had that talk with my younger son, and my younger son is what I
(07:29):
what we call a wanderer. Orhe will run or he will you know,
flee, And for that reason alone, I never allow my younger son
to ride along in the car withmy older son for fear that if my
older son is stopped for whatever reason, the blaring lights, the sirens,
(07:50):
all of those things may terrify myyounger son and he may start running.
YEA, And I think that inmy family we have a little of an
advantage that some families don't have.My son's father is a police officer,
my brother is a police officer.But again, it doesn't negate the fact
(08:13):
that if something happens, Jeremiah mayrun because he's afraid. A recent study
by the Rutterman Foundation found that peoplewith disabilities are more likely to be unjustly
harmed by law enforcement. Researchers addedin that report, it's safe to say
that a third to half of alluse of force incidents involve a disabled civilian.
(08:35):
As of June twenty twenty one,the Legislative Analysis and Public Policy Association
reported that twenty five states have lawsor programs that address mental health emergencies or
ways to keep police from having torespond. One of them was passed in
Illinois because of Stefan Watts. Ourfamily experienced a very traumatic event with the
loss of stuff On. We knewSefon's death will not be in vain.
(08:58):
We knew that the community would riseand demand change. That's Renee Watts,
sister of Stefan, who says herfamily fought to get the governor to sign
a law preventing police from responding tomental health emergencies in twenty twenty one.
She gave a talk about it withadvocacy group Disability Lead in twenty twenty one.
Next week, in the extended versionof Part two of our special report,
(09:20):
Black, Autistic and Safe, wehear more about her mission to change
the system to make it safer forteens and adults on the autism spectrum in
Illinois. I'm Aster Dillard on theBlack Information Network.
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