'Work with the disability community': Advocates call for better police training

Oct. 25--An incident involving Old Saybrook police and a man with Down syndrome earlier this month has prompted statewide calls to improve law enforcement training.

When it comes to how police interact with individuals with disabilities, Connecticut has made strides in recent years, implementing cutting-edge initiatives, according to advocates.

But advocates also say police training requirements could be improved.

According to one advocacy group, the issue takes on even more importance because of negative police interactions with those in the disability community.

"A sizable portion of negative police interactions occur with people with disabilities," said Michelle Duprey, director of disability services in New Haven.

New Haven Executive Director of Disability Services Michelle Duprey talks to the Community Development Committee about electric scooters on Oct. 30, 2019.

Photo: Brian Zahn /Hearst Connecticut Media /

The Connecticut Cross Disability Lifespan Alliance issued a statement in response to the Old Saybrook encounter, contending that people with disabilities often have been left out of discussions about police reform.

"Miscommunications, failure to effectively communicate with individuals with disabilities as required by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and failure to accommodate arrestees in custody continue to remain as barriers for individuals living with disabilities in America, even 30 years after the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act," the statement said.

The group called on Connecticut'sPolice Officers Standards and Training Council to "set criteria for each department to train its recruits and active officers on disability rights and sensitivity on a regular basis."

Duprey, a certified POST instructor, described a lack of guidance from POST around what training should include, which she said leaves reform to occur on a town-by-town basis.

On the other hand, POST administrator Karen Boisvert, who can note in detail the training officers do receive, said there is a new, optional course designed to fill a need in law enforcement training when it comes to working with the disability community.

A local issue

The incident that spurred recent calls for change occurred Oct. 10, when Rebecca Roy alleged Old Saybrook police "aggressively" questioned her brother, who has Down syndrome, during an investigation into a stolen street sign.

The encounter scared her brother, Roy said later .

Officials ultimately determined the Roys had nothing to do with the theft.

Roy expressed thanks in regard to restorative meeting between police and the family, which she says left her brother with a sense of security.

But she believes the department needs to improve its training programs, she said.

Old Saybrook Chief of Police Michael Spera, who did not return a request for comment, told members of the town's Board of Police Commissioners that he will consider "adding additional professional development concerning people with special needs in the near future," according to correspondence obtained via a records request.

Duprey suggested the OSPD "work with the disability community to come up with a strategy on what training should look like."

Area residents protest in front of the Old Saybrook Department of Police Services on Oct. 15, 2020 concerning an incident involving the Old Saybrook Police Department and a man with Down syndrome.

Photo: Arnold Gold / Hearst Connecticut Media file photo

Outreach programs through which members of the disability community can have positive interactions with police also may lead to better outcomes, according to Duprey.

In the state

Currently, recruits in basic training must complete a minimum of four hours of training around "law enforcement & citizens with special needs," according to material available on ct.gov.

But Boisvert said other subjects in basic training, such as interactions with juveniles and implicit bias, incorporate elements on disabilities.

Boisvert has attended one of the basic training courses on working with the disability community, which gives a "great overview," she said.

"That's its strength. Its weakness is they can't get into the weeds of everything," she said.

In-service training -- the 60 hours officers must put in every three years for recertification -- is meant to fill in the gaps, Boisvert said.

Requirements for in-service training are flexible, according to Boisvert, who said departments must dedicate a certain number of hours to specific topics but can tailor curricula to their needs.

Given how many calls officers get that involve children with autism, POST recently recognized a need to offer a special course on interacting with individuals with developmental disabilities, she said.

They launched the course at the start of the year, according to Boisvert.

The challenges

New Haven police Sgt. Michael Fumiatti works with the Connecticut Alliance to Benefit Law Enforcement to offer training in crisis intervention, he said.

The program, which is in high demand, has a piece on autism, Fumiatti said.

In New Haven, police training on autism has proved integral in creating positive interactions with citizens on the autism spectrum, he said.

New Haven Police Commissioner Donald Walker addresses 18 New Haven Police Department recruits in June.

Photo: Peter Hvizdak / Hearst Connecticut Media file

"It really changes the perception of the officers when they're going into the call," he said.

A representative from CABLE could not be reached for comment.

When it comes to autism and other disabilities, police might run into a number of problems and risky situations.

Folks on the autism spectrum, for example, can have weaker chest walls, which means it's dangerous for officers to use a takedown position that involves a knee on the back, said state Rep. Liz Linehan, D-Cheshire.

Linehan, who has three nephews on the autism spectrum, has worked extensively on legislation designed to improve relations between law enforcement and the disability community.

"Some of the issues in the autism community can mirror drug abuse," Linehan said, adding that certain tics associated with autism can resemble signs officers are trained to look for when it comes to drug abuse.

"This could lead to misunderstandings and escalate a situation," she said.

Moreover, some individuals in the autism and Down syndrome communities tend to wander off, she said.

But they can also be over-responsive to sensory inputs, a reality police need to know so that they don't scare them away with lights and sirens, according to Linehan.

Improving outcomes

In 2017, Linehan penned "Logan's Law," which provided an incentive for police to participate in a special training program on how officers should interact with individuals on the autism spectrum by allowing the program to count toward required training hours.

The training is not required, according to Linehan.

"It should be, but we can't pass that law," she said. "There is always, always a general pushback against any mandate."

The legislation was inspired in part by a 2016 incident in Cheshire involving officers who had received a special training, one that could have gone awry but instead had a positive outcome.

On Aug. 29, 2016, Logan , a teen on the autism spectrum, left his house and wandered into a backyard in Cheshire, attempting to use a resident's hose and holding what looked like an ax, according to testimony Cheshire police Sgt. Jeffrey Falk offered in support of Linehan's legislation.

Falk, who was on scene, said in testimony in favor of Logan's Law that officers quickly realized Logan was on the spectrum, and that the ax was plastic.

Five months before the incident, Falk and other Cheshire officers received training from Autism Speaks, he wrote.

"I want the best possible outcome for any situation ... simple steps that we learn from training can help tremendously," the testimony says. "If we, as Officers, did not recognize the signs of autism and treated Logan as a neurotypical teen the outcome could have been drastically different."

"I'm always a proponent of training," Falk said Thursday. "I believe we can never get enough. ... The more knowledge you have the better off your outcomes will most likely be."

"With this program Liz put together and the training that has been provided to first responders, they are better adapted to handling children and young adults on the spectrum with underlying triggers you can't see on the surface," Stephanie Gibbons, Logan's mother, said in a written statement Thursday.

meghan.friedmann@hearstmediact.com

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