A SAD TRAGEDY

A SAD TRAGEDY
By: Deon Joseph

Before activists and activated journalists spark flames here, I’m going to give my professional opinion on the shooting of a 15-year-old autistic teen.

My first thought is to offer my deepest condolences to his family. In their grief, I know there are no right answers anyone can give. 

But for the rest of us, the facts based on what we have seen are important.

Contrary to many people’s indoctrinations about cops, the vast majority of police contacts with the mentally ill, even violent ones, do not result in killings. I’m pretty much an expert on this. I work in the mental health capital of the world and dealt with thousands of people with mental illness in varied stages of crisis.

For those wondering why the officers didn’t “De-escalate” and why mental health experts were not called instead:

In fairness to these officers, the individual did not appear to give them time to assess him. He just went on the attack. That’s a key factor. If it were two metal health clinicians he charged at, they would run and call the police, because the situation was dangerous. They will not approach most people on the spectrum of mental illness when in a volatile state.

Even at mental health facilities, they have security and/or hospital police. Also, there is minimal access to potential weapons someone in crisis can harm others with.

I know many will be caught up in the emotionalism of the reporting.

“He’s 15,” “He’s autistic” so automatically it’s the cops’ fault, right? That’s your process, right? The truth is in this rare occurrence, the officers had no time to assess this as they do in many others.

The truth is, officers responded to a call of a disturbance because someone was in fear for their safety. When they arrived, they were immediately charged by a male with a weapon that could cause injury or death.

It was later discovered that he was autistic. But based on the immediacy of his actions, the officers had no time to assess this. They had to act.

Whether the shooting was justified or not will be determined by experts. If the weapon used had the potential to seriously injure or kill anyone, that shooting could very well be justified, even though we all wish it never came to that.

Before you jump to conclusions, before Ben Crump and others exploit this young man and his family, think a bit more critically before you judge.

No, the young man wasn’t a bad person. No, the officers were not trigger-happy and untrained. It was just a situation that got out of control before the officers could even make an attempt at de-escalation. A sad tragedy.

Deon Joseph is a 28 year veteran of law enforcement in Southern California - 24 of those years working in the homeless community to create an environment conducive to change for those in recovery, as a Lead Officer. He’s been recognized for his work locally and nationally, and news stories and documentaries surrounding his work in crime fighting and community relations featured him. www.deonjoseph.org