A 17-year-old nonverbal autistic teen, Victor Perez, has died after being taken off life support, days after being shot nine times by police in Pocatello, Idaho, The Associated Press reported. Officers had responded to a call at his home on April 5, where they saw the teen holding a knife in a fenced yard. Despite the fence between them and the teen, police opened fire within a few seconds of arriving on the scene and appeared to make no effort to de-escalate the situation.
Perez, who also had cerebral palsy, was then rushed to the hospital in critical condition. Doctors removed nine bullets from his body and had to amputate one of his legs due to the severity of his injuries. He later slipped into a coma and remained unresponsive until he was taken off life support.
What has happened?
Police in Pocatello, Idaho, responded to a 911 call reporting that an intoxicated man with a knife was chasing someone in a yard. The man was none other than Perez, who was walking with a staggered gait due to his disabilities. His family members had been trying to take the large kitchen knife away from him before the officers arrived.
A video of the incident taken by a neighbour shows Perez lying in his yard after falling over when four officers arrived. They rushed towards him and ordered him to drop the knife. Perez, who did not understand their commands, slowly stood and stumbled towards them. That’s when officers opened fire at him.
His aunt, Ana Vazquez, as quoted by The Associated Press, said, “Everybody was trying to tell the police, no, no. Those four officer’s didn’t care. They didn’t ask what was happening, what was the situation,” adding, “How’s he going to jump the fence when he can barely walk?”
Officers placed on administrative leave
All four officers involved in the shooting have been placed on administrative leave. The Eastern Idaho Critical Incident Team is now investigating, and a decision on potential charges will follow.
“…To ensure independent and objective consideration, said report will be reviewed by an agency outside of Bannock County,” AP quoted Bannock County Prosecutor Ian Johnson as saying.
GoFundMe campaign for Perez
A GoFundMe campaign, titled, Justice for Victor Perez, was started by his family. According to the campaign, Perez is an autistic teen with mental health issues. “He is physically disabled and unable to walk well, and his sister was struggling to help him stand up off the ground in their front yard,” it further explained, adding that “a neighbor called the police to de-escalate the situation, and four members of the Pocatello PD arrived on the scene and within 30 seconds had shot him.”
Many people have reacted to the killing of the teen by the US police, with one, who donated $30, expressing, “I have an adult son with Autism. This could easily have been him. This is not okay! Police need to be trained and equipped with the skills necessary to interact with people living with mental illness, autism or any other disorder that is out of one’s control. I am so saddened by your family’s loss. For his sister, who had to witness this unfair tragedy while trying to help her brother. My heart is breaking for all of you!”
“I am so sorry for your loss. I am a mom of three Autistic children, and I am mourning with you all. This shouldn’t have happened. My heart goes out to you all,” said another who had donated $25 for the cause.
A third, who made $100 donation, posted, “Been thinking about your family all week. Such a tragedy. Praying for your family for peace and improved police training. Rest in peace, Victor. You have got a whole community of people who love you and support you through this.”
ASAN condemns police violence
“Our hearts are with Victor’s family, community, and all who are reeling in the wake of this tragedy,” said Autistic Self Advocacy Network (ASAN) in a statement.
It noted, “In spite of how quickly police opened fire and the fact that there was a barrier between them and Victor, Pocatello’s police chief insists that ‘the threat [to the police officers] was immediate’ and justified their shooting.”
“ASAN has long maintained that the culture of policing makes police a threat to disabled people in the US, especially disabled people of color like Victor Perez. It teaches police officers to immediately take control of any situation using lethal force. Disabled people may not be able to immediately comply with police demands. As we see in this case, police can respond even to a delay in obeying an order with deadly violence. Too often, police see any person acting unusually as a danger to them and the public,” the statement further read, adding that autism trainings for police officers are not the solution as “there have been cases where police who have been through autism-specific trainings still went on to shoot and kill autistic people they were called to help”.