A Vermont mom called police to talk to her son about stealing. He ended up handcuffed and sedated
A Vermont mom called police to talk to her son about stealing. He ended up handcuffed and sedated
A Vermont mother has filed a lawsuit alleging that police used excessive force and discriminated against her unarmed Black son with behavioral and intellectual disabilities.
What happened next that evening in May 2021 is the basis for a lawsuit by the mother alleging that Burlington police used excessive force and discriminated against her unarmed son, who is Black and has behavioral and intellectual disabilities.
After he failed to hand over the last of the stolen e-cigarettes, two officers physically forced him to do so, then Cathy Austrian’s son was handcuffed and pinned to the ground as he screamed and struggled, according to a civil lawsuit filed Tuesday and police body-camera video shared with The Associated Press by the American Civil Liberties Union of Vermont.
The teen eventually was injected with a ketamine, a sedative, then taken to a hospital, according to the lawsuit and video.
If you have a problem and you call the cops you now have two problems
Edit: Also, who administered the ketamine? Had they received training in appropriate dosing? Or did some dumb cop just shove a needle into a kid and hope he didn't die.
Usually it’s administered by EMS. At least here it is.
At least it’s supposed to be. Cops generally only have slightly better medical training than you’re average cpr/fa/aed cert holder.
Basically, it’s just enough they can say they tried to keep that guy they just shot alive long enough for EMS to show up.
Say it with me, All Cops Are Bastards
Always.
All Carsalesmen Are Bastards. - Defund the dealerships.
All Firemen Are Drunks.
Edit: I know who the downvotes are from!
Obviously the police are the criminals here, but that mom...
They clearly didn't grow up being told what I was always told: "if you've got a problem and you call the police, now you've got two problems."
Yeah this is some abusive, privileged bullshit and I really hope this idiot learned a lesson. I also hope her child reminds her of this shit anytime she starts mounting her high horse in the future.
What kind of idiot calls the cops on their black son expecting any kind of positive interaction?
Oh... right...
The white kind...
(grrr!)
My mom was this stupid
I was actually wondering about that. Like as a white person, I don't want to over step boundaries, but even I'm not surprised.
But this makes a whole lot more sense.
People like her only love the system, not their own kids
That is such a short sighted and dumb response. Really, you can't just see beyond your own prejudices? Oh, she is white so she must be the devil, she must love the system and hate her own child. Really now? Where you there? Were you watching her every move for the past ten years to draw that conclusion, or are you just writing down some dumb "hurr-durr evil white is bad" comment?
This is a minor problem compared to the fucking forced ketamin injections but can we please use more words to describe these types of issues. Like, specific ones. "Behavioral issues and intellectual disabilities" has also been used to describe the kid that almost beat a teacher to death for saying he shouldn't have his Nintendo in school and the flying guy that tried to kill the judge. If there is no difference between how we describe them and this kid, we are just reinventing calling people retarded in increasingly elaborate ways.
I see your point, but that is a bigger can of worms than I think you are expecting. There are dozens of genetic or congenital disorders that can lead to intellectual disabilities and hundreds of acquired ones; all of which result in a range of severity. Also, "intellectual disabilities" and "behavioral problems" are very large buckets of different manifestations. In order to differentiate in the way that you are asking for, they would need to report exact diagnoses and give a detailed description of the individual to differentiate them, and even then, there would need to be a lot of context and clarification if they are to avoid misinterpretation or misunderstanding of any terms or descriptions used.
I'm not saying it's easy. When I say specific I just mean more specific than the huge bucket we currently have. Maybe 5 buckets so that this kid doesn't need to share a bucket with the Nintendo kid i mentioned.
Describing specific issues would violate their right to privacy.
Meh, not criminalizing children is usually a good thing, and language is an important part of that.
Absolute definition of white privilege to think that calling the police to lecture her black son would yield positive outcomes.
I say this as a white person.
What do you say to the armed, violent, unstable nutcase with a gun?
Good morning, Officer.What sound does a cow make? Moo. What sound does a dog make? Woof. What sound does a cat make? Meow. What sound does a pig make? UP AGAINST THE WALL MOTHER FUCKER.
Police are not an education service. They're armed men who have been trained to be aggressive.
Police are not an education service.
They like to pretend they are. Schools used to invite them into classrooms in the before times.
I hear they're allergic to classrooms now
Right in the first part, but for the second: police come in more than one gender and the training is the same.
(Afaik on the training part - I welcome being proven wrong!)
In most civilised countries, the police is trained to de-escalate conflicts and when the do nedd to be agressive, they are trained for it to not be excessive and certainly not letha..
Also in most civilised countries, this takes several years not just 6 months.
That said, I hope that excessive aggression is not taught in the US police and that it is down to bad culture or single bad apples or regions.
I don't think police in other countries are much better. I'm in Canada and our cops can be every bit as bad as American cops.
And then people wonder why as a neurodivergent person, I've passed over several obscenely lucrative contracts simple because they required me to go to the US for any extent of time.
Buddy, I'm not neurodivergent and I also straight up refuse to set foot in that place. I don't even feel particularly comfortable sharing a border with them at this point. Lots of the people are great, but the government and many of its institutions scare the hell out of me.
Naturally you should do what you're comfortable with. I will say that the most upsetting news stories from any place aren't representative of what it's like to live there. As a lifelong resident I don't know anyone personally who has been shot or shot at in the U.S, and don't know anyone who has been wrongfully arrested or assaulted by the police.
That's not to say it's not a problem that needs to be addressed, it is. Just if someone is turning down opportunities they would otherwise accept out of fear of this thing, I would say they may be overweighting the risk.
It reminds me how my mom would always text me when I lived in the city, "did you hear about this shooting? Are you ok?" But I wouldn't have even been aware there was an incident. There are a lot of people in the world. The absolute crime rate has overall been going down. But the ability for us to hear about horrible incidents has only increased.
I talked to a guy a while ago that genuinely would not believe I've never owned or handled a gun. Absolutely would not accept it and said I was lying lol. I think I briefly saw a hunting rifle in my uncle's closet as a kid but that's pretty common even outside the US. There are people out there that really think we're ALL armed to the teeth I guess
Fine with us. We don’t want cowards walking around, quivering and jumpy.
We don’t want cowards walking around, quivering and jumpy.
So when are you going to deport NRA, cuntbag?
Ooo big man. So cool.
But you already have cops doing that now.
Let's have police reform and additional training or more services!
Also...
PARENT YOUR OWN KIDS. Don't call the cops on your underage children to "teach a lesson" you're the parent, YOU do it. That call doesn't come with a lesson, it comes with a pretty larceny charge to help with your kid's "bad week".
This. Honestly this is the one comment in this cesspool that makes sense. The thing that failed here is parenting.
And parenting a disabled kid for crying out loud. What a shit show.
When you have a hammer everything looks like a nail.
And when all you have is ketamine ...
Everything looks like a horse?
Yeah god bless the woman I’m sure she had good intentions - but she’s not living in some 1990s public service announcement where the nice policeman gives valuable lessons to children.
Police are like… an absolute last resort “I need someone shot” measure. The fact that we also have them (for no particular reason) also authorize things like reports for insurance related incidents is a pretty colossal failure of “the system” as a whole
Exactly this. I can’t imagine how sheltered I’d have to be to still believe calling the police to “teach someone a lesson” is anything but a catastrophically bad idea. And I’m pretty sheltered already!
Can we start IQ testing for cop hiring?
They do already. Average intelligence or higher? Rejected.
They filter out those who score too high.
Is having the cops beat your black son the new falling down at walmart
Mom fucked around and found out! Reminds me of this story https://youtu.be/OvPJGW1yqkw?si=BJwfD1bCykog2wrQ
I'm 100% on board that this was unnecessary, but how should police handle something like this? It's a 230 pound 14 year old hormonal teenager that turned sullen and refused to comply.
Presumably the smart way would be to say "Ok your behavior is not ok but I'll leave you be for now until you cool down." and then just leave. I mean if you want to press charges you can come back any time. I don't quite understand why in the US everyone is arrested instead of getting "a summons" (?).
I'd also say that nicotine is often used for self medication by people with mental issues, including ADHD. Smoking is more prevalent. Vaping provides a much safer alternative. Not condoning 14 year olds vaping but it could explain why he wants them.
I’m 100% on board that this was unnecessary, but how should police handle something like this? It’s a 230 pound 14 year old hormonal teenager that turned sullen and refused to comply.
USING WORDS.
Liberals: "GUNS BAD!"
Also Liberals: "Calling the cops will get you killed!"
Fuck am I supposed to do?!
POC, LGBT and women: "We're the biggest gun purchasing demographic because we see what's coming." That's our right, and everyone but white liberals seems to be exercising it.
Did I make you uncomfortable? Sure as hell hope I did. The problem is our culture, not people like me.
I'll defend you if it comes to it, do my damndest if it comes to "trains", but please stop whining about gun owners. Stop whining about, "They want to exterminate trans people!" Get a fucking clue and work towards self-defense. FFS, stop losing votes.
I often read, "But gosh! What if the pigs exterminate ME personally?!" Either grow a pair and die with your boots on, or get the fuck out my face. This isn't a schoolyard tussle. We're entering a fight for American democracy, and for you gay and trans folks, it's a fight for your right to continue life.
Liberals don't say "guns bad." They say "let's make sure only people who pass a background check can buy them."
But I guess the truth isn't relevant to your narrative.
I mean it's the same problem broad labels always have ... liberals the term is for everything left of Bernie Sanders to the ball park Joe Manchin depending on who you're talking to.
Guess what? If you had good laws the other side wouldnt have guns either. What we propose? No guns and a well educated police force. You in america have the worst combination of crazy people like you, hoping for the day they can shoot someone, gun fetishism, idiotic gun laws and a completely untrained and aggressive police force.
Love seeing liberals get called out on their weird takes
I'm not sure what you expected. You told the police about a crime, do you not expect them to arrest the criminal?
Do they not treat children and adults differently in the legal system where you come from?
This wasn't a murder or any other violent crime. It was petty theft from a business committed by a minor.
Yeah, if he was an adult they might have killed him instead.
I didn't expect them to inject ketamine into a child
If a cop in my country injected ketamine into a minor during an arrest it would be in the national news for weeks. Totally unacceptable.
For a petty theft committed by a mentally disabled minor?
The situation was non-violent and under control - the cops escalated far beyond what was needed because they got bored waiting for the kid to fork over the last couple of e-cigarettes. There was no need to pin the kid to the ground, and definitely no need to inject them with ketamine.
In a world where all cops weren't bastards, they would have continued to build a rapport until they could convince the kid to give them back, give the kid a lecture about stealing, then let everyone be on their way.
It's like some people don't understand what community policing or policing by consent is. Cops shouldn't be resorting to force unless they really have to and someone not handing over an e cig in no way warrants being tackled or restrained plus with neurodivergent people that only makes them more agitated which then obviously makes the situation worse.
It's not fucking rocket science that different situations call for different responses and some situations only really need a fucking talking or conversation.
