Who's the bigger D Bag?

[hornadylnl]

Petition calling for investigation into death of man with Down syndrome goes viral

I'm ASSuming the theatre staff are the ones who called the mall cops (off duty officers in this case) to have this guy removed.

 

[CavMedic]

I am not well versed in law but, if something is ruled a homicide how is no one held accountable for it?

 

[VUPDblue]

Attributable (IMHO) to lack of training of the officers on how to interact with people who have autism spectrum disorders. Not their fault that they weren't trained (if that is the case) and an unfortunate result no matter what.

 

[VUPDblue]

I am not well versed in law but, if something is ruled a homicide how is no one held accountable for it?

The definition of "homicide" is "the taking of a human life by another human being". It doesn't indicate criminality or the lack thereof.

 

[hornadylnl]

Attributable (IMHO) to lack of training of the officers on how to interact with people who have autism spectrum disorders. Not their fault that they weren't trained (if that is the case) and an unfortunate result no matter what.

Do officers have to be trained to be decent human beings?

Right now, I'm leaning towards the theatre staff being the bigger douche bags for calling security in the first place. They're out $20 or less in tickets and they're willing to create a scene over a Down Syndrome guy wanting to see a movie again?

 

[VUPDblue]

Could have been handled differently on a million different levels. Once the cops got involved, they are not going to just throw in the towel and say they are not going to resolve the issue.

 

[drillsgt]

I never thought that anything like this would happen in my town, let alone to my brother,” Emma Saylor, 23, told Yahoo News on the phone.

Hello, you live in Maryland, you don't exactly have the most stellar law enforcement there. Could be worse she could live in Prince Georges County, okay I guess it can't get worse.

 

[hornadylnl]

Could have been handled differently on a million different levels. Once the cops got involved, they are not going to just throw in the towel and say they are not going to resolve the issue.

Guess its a good thing I'm not a cop then. If I'd been that security guard and saw that it was a guy with Downs Syndrome, I'd have told them to get bent. If the guy was a danger, I could see using force.

But I guess simply stating "I wasn't trained for that" will get you out of anything.

 

[drillsgt]

Do officers have to be trained to be decent human beings?

Right now, I'm leaning towards the theatre staff being the bigger douche bags for calling security in the first place. They're out $20 or less in tickets and they're willing to create a scene over a Down Syndrome guy wanting to see a movie again?

Exactly, they were informed of the downs syndrome as if you couldn't tell by the obvious physical characteristics exhibited by Mr. Sayler but as VUPD said it is partially a traning issue, when all you have is a hammer everything is going to look like a nail.

 

[VUPDblue]

I doubt that they guy's Downs had anything to do with why he died. It was more likely positional asphyxiation that killed him, and that would not be unique to someone with Downs. The fact this type of force was used would not be unusual or unwarranted if the guy did not have Downs. It wasn't until very recently that officers began being trained on how to interact with autism spectrum disorder patients and how the best method is to NOT treat them like everyone else. Hell, it wasn't all that long ago that we as a society would lock those people up and disregard them totally into an institution.

 

[hornadylnl]

I doubt that they guy's Downs had anything to do with why he died. It was more likely positional asphyxiation that killed him, and that would not be unique to someone with Downs. The fact this type of force was used would not be unusual or unwarranted if the guy did not have Downs. It wasn't until very recently that officers began being trained on how to interact with autism spectrum disorder patients and how the best method is to NOT treat them like everyone else. Hell, it wasn't all that long ago that we as a society would lock those people up and disregard them totally into an institution.

Seriously? You need formal training to know that you should not go hands on with a Downs Syndrome guy who simply wants to watch a movie a second time? If he was lashing out and violent, do whatever is necessary to prevent harm to others.

I still want to know why the mall cops were called in the first place. If this guy was a somewhat regular customer as the article indicates, he'd have a lifetime free pass as long as I were the manager or owner.

If I'm ever charged with a crime, my defense will be that I never received formal training from a government entity. What's good for cops is good for me.

 

[hornadylnl]

I don't know what sort of state the guy was in once the off duty cops arrived. Don't know if he was silent and just simply refused to get up or was violent with theatre staff and his caregiver at any attempt to get him leave or somewhere inbetween.

Regardless of what state of mind and action he was in. The moment these off duty officers went hands on, were they acting as security guards or as policeman with full arrest powers?

 

[GodFearinGunTotin]

What a terrible situation and resolution. Just based on the facts given, I'm not sure why the off-duty officers thought they had to lay hands on this guy. I'm no expert, but the kid's reaction was predictable and I haven't had any special training either. It just seems to me this appears to be another example of how many of us have lost our compassion and patience for those less fortunate than ourselves. Kinda like this:

Family Of Boy With Autism Receives Shockingly Offensive Letter (PHOTO)

 

[hornadylnl]

What a terrible situation and resolution. Just based on the facts given, I'm not sure why the off-duty officers thought they had to lay hands on this guy. I'm no expert, but the kid's reaction was predictable and I haven't had any special training either. It just seems to me this appears to be another example of how many of us have lost our compassion and patience for those less fortunate than ourselves. Kinda like this:

Family Of Boy With Autism Receives Shockingly Offensive Letter (PHOTO)

That child is a weapon being used against the letter writer.

Also, what's wrong with the youth today? Can't be the older generations raising them.

 

[GodFearinGunTotin]

That child is a weapon being used against the letter writer.

Also, what's wrong with the youth today? Can't be the older generations raising them.

You mean the ones that have paid into social security all their lives and are expecting to get their fair share, posterity be damned?

Yeah. We're reaping what we've sown.

 

[indiucky]

Seriously? You need formal training to know that you should not go hands on with a Downs Syndrome guy who simply wants to watch a movie a second time?

Kind of what I was thinking. I had no idea treating a fellow human being with an obvious disabilty required any further training. I thought being a human being would cover that...No Sunday School even required...This is just..It hits close to home and thank you for pointing out the obvious.

 

[BehindBlueI's]

Shut the movie off, tell him the projector broke but that there's some free jelly beans if he'll follow you, problem solved. I hated going to group home disturbances, but stuff like that usually worked. Well, until one resident bites another one's ear off, that's something of a game changer.

 

[GodFearinGunTotin]

Shut the movie off, tell him the projector broke but that there's some free jelly beans if he'll follow you, problem solved. I hated going to group home disturbances, but stuff like that usually worked.

There you go...everybody gets to go home safe that way.

 

[hornadylnl]

Kind of what I was thinking. I had no idea treating a fellow human being with an obvious disabilty required any further training. I thought being a human being would cover that...No Sunday School even required...This is just..It hits close to home and thank you for pointing out the obvious.

Apparently it is the duty of every police department in America to train their officers on life lessons that their parents should have taught them by age 6-8. You know, like don't lie, cheat, steal, stare at the handicapped or beat them up.

 

[hornadylnl]

Shut the movie off, tell him the projector broke but that there's some free jelly beans if he'll follow you, problem solved. I hated going to group home disturbances, but stuff like that usually worked. Well, until one resident bites another one's ear off, that's something of a game changer.

If I were one of the "off duty cop" security guards and had my squad with me, I'd have asked him if he wanted to come out and run the lights and sirens.

I've seen people with Downs Syndrome who have varying levels of manors and functionality. I don't know if it's due to nature or nurture but I don't really care. We're talking about an individual who most likely had no concept of idea of authority and obeying it.