Velazquez 1

Aracelina Velazquez
Professor Batty
English 113B
24 March 2016
Lack of Police Training Towards Individuals with Disabilities
People with disabilities often times become victims of law enforcement. The majority of
individuals with disabilities have higher chances of being victimized by a police officer than
those without inability. Indeed, most disabled people have an impairment that is physical,
mental, emotional, cognitive, or an amalgamation of these issues that affect the person's ability to
do things that are considered normal. Individuals with disabilities are usually misinterpreted by
police officers because they might look suspicious, be uncooperative, or be accused of doing
something illegal. Although some people might argue that police officers are suppose to
stereotype individuals for their own safety. Police officers are required a lot of mandatory
training in order to be prepared when being on duty; However, there is insufficient Mental Health
training hours which can be seen through the amount of brutal actions done to disabled victims
and the miscommunication; moreover, the Crisis Intervention Training program should be
mandatory for all law enforcements.
To begin, there are cases where disabled individuals are brutally beaten or end up fatal
due to the lack of law enforcement training. In the article, Police Violence and People with
Disabilities claims, The Bureau of Justice Statistics surveyed 6,000 people and based on
extrapolations of the information estimated that around 500,000 people every year are, 'hit, held,
pushed, choked, threatened with a flashlight, threatened or sprayed with pepper spray, threatened
with a gun or other form of force,' by police. This article discusses the estimated amount of
people who are inhumanely beaten with weapons used by law enforcement. While it is true that

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police officer carry weapons for self-defense and to protect the community, It does not
necessarily follow that police officers should use their weapons against a disabled person who
cannot defend themselves. There are many cases where disabled individuals are beaten to death
because police officers do not know how to respond properly to a disabled individual. For
example, in the article, How Misunderstanding Disability Leads to Police Violence, David M.
Perry argues, In January 2013, Ethan Saylor a 26-year-old man with Down syndrome was killed
by three police officers because he refuse to obey orders. Perry asserts that Mr.Saylor diagnosed
with Down syndrome wanted to rewatch a movie and was brutally forced to leave even after his
caretaker told the officials to let her handle it. This case demonstrates an unnecessary beating
that could have been handled in a different manner. Police officers should have calmly tried to
convince Mr.Saylor to leave the theater. Instead, the police officers removed the boy using brutal
body force towards him crushing a larynx that lead him to his death. If this situation was
processed in a proper trained way, Ethan Saylor might still be alive today.
In addition, police officers often miscommunicate situations with disabled victims that
lead to tragedies. Police officers often approach a victim if they look suspicious, threatening, or
simply doing something illegal. In most cases, there is a miscommunication between a disabled
person and a police officers because the officers automatically jump to conclusions on to the
behavioral actions done by an individual. Yet some readers may challenge my argument by
insisting that police officers are suppose to take precautions from a victim. However, due to the
lack of insufficient training police officers are often unaware to the behavioral actions of a
disabled person, therefore causing a tragic situation. For instance, in the article, Police Officers
in America & People with Disabilities, Thomas C. Weiss argues, In 2008, Ernest Griglen was
removed from his car by police who thought he was intoxicated. He was subsequently beaten.

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Griglen was, in fact sober, but he is diabetic and was in insulin shock. Weiss states, that Mr
Griglen was taken away from his own car because authority thought he was drunk and then was
inhumanly beaten. If the police officers tried to speak to the man instead of jumping to
conclusions, the man could have got some type of emergency help. But due to the lack of
miscommunication, critical situations such as Mr.Griglen end up tragically.
Furthermore, the Crisis Intervention Training program should become a requirement for
all law enforcements. The C.I.T program provides police officers with training strategies for
victims with Mental Health illnesses or disabilities. Some will argue that there is no need for CIT
required training because police officers have sufficient training; however, there is not enough
mental illness training hours. The article, How Police Are (or Arent) Trained in Mental Health
Megan Pauly claims, Michael Woody, president of CIT international, researched the number of
hours of mental health training required of officers in different states, he found a sliding scale of
0-40 mandatory hours of training. Many states had no mandatory training for an issue that
accounts for 10 percent of police calls. Pauly states, the insufficient hours towards mental health
illness training, claiming that many states registered with zero hours of mental health training.
Therefore, police officer should be required to get to take the CIT program. The CIT program
helps police officers get training on how to act appropriately to situations involving a disabled
victim. In the article, Police Brutality Hidden Victims: the Disabled, Elizabeth Heideman
claims, CIT-trained officers ask the individual how and what they're feeling, as well as what
they would need to feel better; The officers address individuals in a soft and calm voice, making
sure their body language is open and non-threatening. Heidman discusses that the CIT programs
trains police officers on behavioral communication skills when approaching the individual so
that the victim won't get scared and feel comfortable talking to the police officer. In addition

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Heidmann argues, Officers who are receiving CIT training get to know vulnerable members of
the community and their families on a good day, when they're feeling healthy and happy.
Heidman claims, this gives police officers the advantage to have face to face interactions with
those with disabilities, including their families to be able to get to know them better in case of a
future crisis. The CIT program is a great way for police officers to get proper training when
dealing with crisis situations. Police officer will get sufficient practice and can reduce the amount
of injuries and deaths caused by the lack of training.
Overall, If police officer had enough hours of training for mental health issues, they
would be prepared to face individuals with disabilities. However, due to the lack of hours police
officers do not know how to react to individuals with mental health issues or disabilities. Most
cases that police officers face with a disabled victim, end up tragically or even in some cases
fatal. Also the miscommunication when approaching a disabled individual causing the situation
to end terribly. For instance, when police officer jump to conclusions assuming that the person is
drunk, threatening, nor following orders, but the victims reason is they have a mental disability.
It is important that the law enforcement gets together to be involved in CIT training that helps
reduce the mistreatment of those with disability. The CIT program will help reduce the unjust
killings and help police officers be aware of training skills. There will be less brutal beating and
miscommunication with the CIT program and behavioral strategies towards the disabled victims.
Work Cited
Center, Claudia. "How Police Can Stop Shooting People With Disabilities."American Civil Liberties
Union. N.p., 20 Mar. 2015. Web. 24 Mar. 2016.
Heidman, Elizabeth. "Police Brutality Hidden Victims: The Disabled." N.p., 8 Sept. 2014. Web. 20
Mar. 2016.
Pauly, Megan. "How Police Officers Are (or Arent) Trained in Mental Health." The Atlantic. Atlantic
Media Company, 11 Oct. 2013. Web. 06 May 2016.

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Perry, David M. The Atlantic. Atlantic Media Company, 6 May 2014. Web. 24 Mar. 2016.
"Police Violence and People with Disabilities." Disabled World. N.p., 9 Jan. 2013. Web. 23
Mar. 2016.
Weiss, Thomas C. "Police Officers in America & People with Disabilities."Disabled World.
N.p., 20 Oct. 2015. Web. 24 Mar. 2016.