Ontario father demands accountability after autistic son's arrest for assault

Disbelief over arrest of autistic man A Cambridge man with autism was arrested after he ran into a jogger. As Krista Simpson reports, his father's questioning how it was handled.

A Cambridge, Ont. father wants answers after his adult son, who has autism, was arrested and charged with assault after an encounter with a jogger.

On Sept. 18, at around 8:50 a.m., Soren Martin was walking on the sidewalk along Jamieson Parkway on his way to catch the bus that takes him to work.

“I was walking, walking too fast,” Soren recalled.

The 48-year-old then knocked a woman jogging on the sidewalk.

“I tripped her up,” he added.

According to Soren’s father Glaspa Martin, Soren later said he did not purposely run into the jogger. Glaspa confirmed Soren walks quickly and would have been focused on getting to work.

“It was an accident,” Glaspa told CTV News. “And Soren indicated that, over and over again: it was an accident.”

Soren got on his bus, but when it stopped at the Cambridge Centre transit terminal shortly after 9 a.m., he was arrested by officers with the Waterloo Regional Police Service.

“Police officers arrested me. Taken straight to the hospital, immediately,” Soren recalled.

Glaspa said he received a call from Waterloo Regional Police at 10:20 a.m. but did not pick up, thinking it was a scammer. Twenty minutes later, police called again, and this time he did answer.

“The person, she identified herself, and said… my son Soren was arrested for assault and he’s at the Cambridge Memorial Hospital.”

Glaspa went to the hospital where he ran into Soren’s job coach, who had also been called. He found Soren in handcuffs, which his father said left marks on his wrist. The job coach then told Glaspa that Soren had asked officers to loosen the handcuffs.

Soren’s father also learned a blood test had been done on his son, and he wondered who had authorized that procedure. He believes Soren’s parents should have had a say.

“Based on the fact that he would not be able to articulate certain things, then of course, an adult or a parent should be called,” Glaspa explained.

He’s concerned assumptions were made about his son.

“My only reason for believing why he was taken to the hospital, which was not explained to me, [was] because Soren walks very brisk and, of course, is not able to articulate well,” Glaspa said. “I believe they thought Soren must be on drugs or he must have been intoxicated.”

Soren was charged with assault.

Waterloo Regional Police did not provide an interview to CTV News, but sent a summary of the incident as reported to them, which reads, in part: “A female was running in the area of Jamieson Parkway and Franklin Boulevard when she attempted to move out of the path of a male who proceeded to body-check her, causing her to fall to the ground. The male tried to kick the female while she was on the ground before being startled by a passerby honking their horn. It was reported that the male laughed and ran away, boarding a Grand River Transit bus.”

Soren’s father told police at the hospital that Soren would not have intentionally knocked someone over, or tried to kick the woman.

“I said: ‘No, Soren would never do such a thing,’” Glaspa said. “Soren, of course, over the years has shown no sign of being violent at any point in time.”

The family has many other questions, including why handcuffs were used on Soren and who authorized a blood test.

The family has cited research from Britain’s National Autistic Society, which says using handcuffs should be avoided when police encounter individuals with autism.

Cherri Greeno, the director of corporate affairs for the Waterloo Regional Police Service, said officers are limited as to what can be said while the case remains before the courts. She did, however, provide a list of eight reasons for the use of restraining devices:

Greeno said any medical procedures would have been done under the direction of medical professionals.

CTV News also reached out to Cambridge Memorial Hospital who declined to comment, citing patient privacy.

Greeno also added that officers are provided with a variety of training courses, including an Autism Spectrum Disorder course “which outlines some of the indicators that a first responder can recognize as indicative to an individual with autism, as well as some strategies and recommendations that may help first responders adapt or modify their approach to better support the individual in an emergency situation.”

Soren’s father does not believe more training is what’s needed, but rather, accountability.

He said he’s speaking publicly about what happened to his son so it doesn’t happen to others.

“I would like to create some kind of awareness about autistic people and, at times, the way they are treated,” Glaspa explained. “Society should know, and equally law enforcement, the vulnerability of these people.”

Soren has a court date at the end of October. His father would like to see the assault charge dropped – along with an apology.