What police should consider when interacting with people with autism

Experts say compassion and understanding are critical when police encounter people with autism, as their responses and reactions are often misunderstood. It can also have serious consequences.

The comments come after a CTV News report on Soren Martin, a 48-year-old Cambridge, Ont. man with autism, who was arrested after a physical encounter with a jogger.

Soren’s father believes what happened on the morning of Sept. 18 was an accident. Glaspa Martin says Soren told him so, adding that his son doesn’t have a violent history. He also believes his son was likely focused on catching the bus that takes him to work when he ran into the jogger.

The Waterloo Regional Police Service report on the incident, however, states the jogger was trying to get out of Soren’s way when he bodychecked her, knocked her to the ground and then attempted to kick her.

After the encounter, Soren got on his bus and headed to work. Partway through the journey, while the vehicle was stopped at the Cambridge Centre transit terminal, he was arrested, handcuffed, taken to hospital and charged with assault.

The case has yet to go before the courts and none of the allegations have been proven there.

Glaspa Martin stands with his son Soren Martin in Cambridge, Ont. (Krista Simpson/CTV News)

Experts weigh in

“I do hear quite often about encounters between police and autistic folks where things don't go well,” says Margaret Gibson, an associate professor of social development studies and social work at Renison University College and the University of Waterloo.

In a stressful situation, she says, people with autism may be slow to respond to verbal commands or requests, or may not do so smoothly or quickly.

“They might not be able to use verbal language, especially when they’re in a really, really stressful situation. So maybe somebody can speak sometimes, but suddenly can’t. And that can also be interpreted as they just won’t,” Gibson explains. “So all of these situations, I don’t think it’s even just specific to law enforcement, but those sorts of misunderstandings when you’re in a situation with police just have much greater consequences.”

Gibson is doing research on why people with autism leave situations, noting: “If you’re in a police or legal situation, it could be seen as trying to get away, or they lack understanding or remorse. All kinds of assumptions about intention are layered into that.”

In speaking to people with autism for her study, they also provided a different explanation.

“The top reason that they listed was wanting to get away from overwhelming and distressing situations. So, leaving a place might not be because they think police are coming or because they think it’s funny… all of those things are assumptions. Probably it’s an unpleasant place to be.”

Gibson notes that while there are still many questions about what exactly happened on the sidewalk with Soren and the jogger, it’s not always necessary to involve police when there’s a misunderstanding or encounter with a person with autism.

“Sometimes, I think as a society, we’ve decided police should handle everything,” she says.

Instead, Gibson suggests the first step should be to think about whether police are actually required, adding that not everything automatically needs to become a law enforcement or medical situation. “Sometimes it can be a human situation and saying: ‘You seem in distress, is there anything I can do to help?’”

Gibson also notes that shouting, giving numerous instructions at once and instant compliance commands are likely to make a difficult situation worse, so staying as calm and supportive as possible can go a long way.

She said many of the people with autism she has spoken to are already afraid of police and hospitals, so having a negative interaction with law enforcement where they end up at the hospital can make those fears worse.

Reaction from former OPP commissioner

CTV News public safety analyst Christ Lewis, who is also a former OPP commissioner, has a brother with autism. He says when police officers encounter someone with autism they have to make numerous judgment calls, noting that while police services will have procedures in place, each situation is different.

“It all depends on the approach at the front-end, and the officers’ ability to be compassionate and understanding and aware that, yes, there’s an issue here, we may have to handle this a little differently than other situations.”

Lewis says it’s hard to pass judgment on a situation when you’re not there and don’t know the circumstances that an officer is facing. He notes officers have to also make decisions on the use of handcuffs, for instance, taking into account a range of possibilities.

“That’s a difficult judgment call for the police, because if that’s a person that should be handcuffed and they don’t handcuff, they’re opening themselves up to potentially being hurt or having to use force on that individual to defend themselves. So it’s definitely a judgment call, in every situation that is different of course.”

Lewis does feel awareness of autism has come a long way from when he began his policing career.

“We just hope that, over time, more and more people learn to handle these situations more carefully and ultimately end up with a safer outcome for all.”