North Texas police department working to improve interactions between officers, people with autism
A North Texas police department is working to create more positive interactions between officers and the autism community.
Autism is a neurological disorder that can affect how people interact with others, communicate and behave.
"It can cause the body to not work right, or a person to just not be able to write or speak or do anything, or they can be really slow," said Brooke Garrison, a 19-year-old who lives in Midlothian.
Garrison has no trouble talking about what it's like to live with autism.
"It can sometimes be hard because sometimes you do things wrong and you think you're not wrong, so it's also sometimes confusing," she said.
Government research
shows that people with developmental disabilities like autism are approximately seven times more likely to come into contact with law enforcement.
"Just in Texas alone, there's 1.3 million residents that have an intellectual disability of some kind," said Michael Boler, the COO of the
Bridges Training Foundation
, a resource center for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. "That's an awful lot of opportunities for interactions to go poorly."
Common behaviors associated with autism, like breaking eye contact, pacing, or repeating words, can often be viewed by officers as suspicious.
"When there's not the ability to communicate, that could be construed as either being not cooperative or combative," said Chief Carl Smith with the Midlothian Police Department. "And the officers, if they don't have the training, could intensify their effort to get information, certainly become frustrated, which I know will heighten the level of concern for the citizen and the officer."
That's why the Midlothian Police Department has partnered with the Bridges Training Foundation to increase autism awareness on the force.
"We want to create an environment where they're comfortable with our officers as they approach, and knowing techniques and having the training behind us is very beneficial for the officers and our citizens who are not only autistic but have other special needs," Smith said.
The department has even created a Crisis Intervention Unit dedicated to helping residents with mental health issues, developmental disabilities and cognitive decline like dementia.
"We're the only agency in Ellis County that has a full-time unit that focuses on that," he said.
All their efforts give Garrison's mom some peace of mind.
"We don't anticipate having those interactions, but if they were to happen, it is nice to know that there's been some training and they know how to communicate properly or find out the best way to communicate with someone with autism," said Susan Garrison.
Midlothian police officers wear pins throughout April for Autism Awareness Month. It's a small gesture with a powerful message.
"Not a bad idea because then people will see that autism is a serious topic that needs to be talked about," Brooke Garrison said.
She believes people with autism deserve to be treated fairly, by police and by the rest of the community.
"Anyone with autism, they need to keep chasing their dreams because they can't just give up just like that," said Brooke.
MPD has also created the
Guardian Program
, where people with mental illness or special needs or their guardians may provide critical details for first responders who may be called to assist them.
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