Police in Fort Lauderdale are taking steps to increase understanding and interactions between officers and residents with autism.
April is Autism Awareness Month, so police are launching FLPD Cares, an Autism Outreach Program.
Among the program’s goals and tools will be the maintenance of a confidential database of residents with autism so patrol officers can access the file, assess an encounter with autism, and react accordingly, said Police Chief Rick Maglione.
“The state now mandates that all police officers attend annual training on interacting with folks with autism,” Maglione said during a news conference Tuesday. “We wanted to expand on that program and better assist our neighbors with autism and their families.”
The voluntary program involves filling out a form online at: flpd.org/community/flpd-cares.
“It provides information on their family member that has autism, including a description, unique characteristics, emergency contact information,” Maglione said. “Things that will help law enforcement better serve that individual when responding to an incident.”
The issue was spotlighted after an incident in 2016 in North Miami that received national attention. North Miami Police Officer Jonathon Aledda shot the caretaker of Arnaldo Rios, a 26-year-old man with autism who had wandered away from a group home.
Police received a call about a suicidal man with a gun wandering the street. But Rios had a toy truck, not a weapon. His caretaker, behavioral therapist Charles Kinsey, was trying to calm Rios and laid on the ground next to Rios when Aledda pulled his weapon. In a trial that ended in March, Aledda was found guilty of culpable negligence but jurors were unable to reach a verdict on the charge of attempted manslaughter.
Maglione said the FLPD Cares program aims to prevent a repeat of a situation like that.
“For example, if they happen to wander off and we make contact with that individual, we will be able to assess their needs more quickly and reunite them with their loved ones,” he said.
wkroustan@sunsentinel.com or 954-356-4303 or Twitter @WayneRoustan
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