In 2016 in North Miami, Florida, a police officer’s lack of knowledge about autism led to a shooting. Arnaldo Rios, a 26-year-old man with autism, had strayed from his group home and was sitting in the middle of the street. One of his therapists had followed and was trying to coax him to return home. A passerby alerted the police, and, mistaking the toy truck in Rios’ hands for a gun, an officer fired.

The bullet hit the therapist in the leg, and the incident so upset Rios that he began having trouble eating and sleeping, which led to him being moved from his group home to a psychiatric institution.

Last July, a 14-year-old Arizona boy with autism named Connor Leibel was standing in a park awaiting his caregiver. Connor was playing with a piece of string, which he kept raising to his nose and sniffing. A police officer trained to recognize drug use noticed Connor from his patrol car. He pulled over and approached the boy. “What are you doing?” he asked.

“I’m stimming,” Connor replied, using the familiar slang for the repetitive movements that people with autism often make to calm themselves.

The officer had no idea what Connor was talking about. “What?” he responded, and then, in a threatening tone, “Stop walking away from me,” and “You have any ID on you?” Connor turned away, his way of de-escalating the situation, but his reaction increased the officer’s suspicions. He forced Connor to the ground and attempted to handcuff him while yelling at him not to move.

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