VivirLatino

From the community news section over at Flip Flopping Joy comes the story of a Chicago teen, Oscar Guzman, who was beaten by the police because Guzman was “threatening” to the police. Totally justified. Except that Guzman was 16, autistic, and standing in front of his family’s restaurant doing nothing.

Guzman, 16, was standing on the sidewalk Wednesday night, taking a break from working in his family’s fast-food restaurant in the Pilsen neighborhood. He was watching cars go by when a police cruiser pulled up and two officers began asking him questions, his family says.

Guzman didn’t understand the questions, said his sister Nubia, 25, and looked down, away and eventually began walking away. Diagnosed with moderate autism at age 4, he doesn’t like confrontation, his sister said.
The officers went after him, his family said, prompting the frightened boy to run into the family restaurant, yelling “I’m a special boy!” as he fled, his sister said.

Despite Guzman’s parents yelling to the officers that he was a “special boy” with “special needs,” one of the officers struck Guzman in the head with a baton, cutting a gash that would require eight staples, his sister said. The parents witnessed the blow being struck, she said.

On the ground, blood pouring from his head, Guzman, who has the mental capacity of a 5th grader, mumbled again and again, “I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I submit. I submit,” his family said.

Vivir Latino has covered previous cases of disability interacting with the police–and again, the results weren’t good. Although the Chicago police have set up a program to help officers understand and work with autistic folks–clearly the program has had the greatest success as of yet.

My heart is broken for Oscar and his family. I’m just overwhelmed with the level of violence people who should be “protected” are forced to deal with.