Opinion: Need to Focus on Excessive Police Force of People with Disabilities

This op-ed in The Hill co-authored by Jay Ruderman, the president of the Ruderman Family Foundation, and Jo Ann Simons, president and CEO of the Cardinal Cushing Centers in Massachusetts, is truly important. In part, it’s because the authors point out something that doesn’t get much attention in mainstream (or, sadly, nonprofit) press coverage of police brutality: Persons with disabilities are its all-too-frequent victims.

Ruderman and Simons write about the deaths of Ethan Saylor, a 26-year old with Down syndrome who died of asphyxiation after being dragged by police from his seat in a theater in Frederick, Maryland, in 2013, and James Boyd, a homeless man (reportedly diagnosed with schizophrenia) who was shot and killed by police officers in Albuquerque in March of 2014.

Ethan Saylor's Legacy: Training for Frederick County Deputies

Ethan Saylor’s name was not on the curriculum.But it was clear his death was the reason two dozen Frederick County deputies were sitting in a classroom Tuesday, learning how best to interact with people with intellectual disabilities.

Opinion: Ethan Saylor's Death Deservedly Under Investigation Again

Ethan Saylor would be alive today if Frederick County sheriff’s deputies had exercised good judgment and restraint.
Instead, they ignored explicit warnings from the caretaker who accompanied Mr. Saylor, who had Down syndrome, and physically confronted him over an unpaid $12 movie ticket. In the ensuing scuffle, he died of asphyxia. The Maryland medical examiner’s office ruled his death a homicide. A grand jury declined to bring criminal charges against the three off-duty deputies, who were working as security guards at the movie theater in Frederick.That shouldn’t be the end of the story.

Mom of Man with Down Syndrome Discusses Death at Cinema

Ethan Saylor simply wanted to see a movie one more time.

The Frederick, Md., man had just watched "Zero Dark Thirty" in a theater inside a mall and wanted to see it again.

Patti Saylor, right, is trying to publicize
her son's story at the Colorado Convention
Center Friday afternoon, July 19, 2013
 at the National Down Syndrome Congress

Saylor, 26, had Down syndrome — a genetic condition that impairs physical growth and intelligence. His condition was likely apparent to the off-duty sheriff's deputies working at the mall on Jan. 12 who were called to remove Saylor because he hadn't paid for another ticket. But those deputies clearly didn't know how to help Saylor work through the issue.

Saylor's aide told them to wait it out. His mother was on the way and he just needed some time. She warned them not to touch Saylor, who could quickly become agitated.