(no subject)
Jun. 17th, 2010 07:05 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
hopefulnebulaSo there's this guy named Neli Latson. He's 18 years old, and he was arrested recently for being black and autistic.
According to the post about Mr. Latson at Shakesville (all emphasis mine):
Stories like this -- and this is, unfortunately, not the first such story -- always terrify me, for more reasons than I can name. This is why I react with fear every time I read about police/security officers learning ways to spot evildoers through "subtle behavioral cues." I walk funny. I avoid eye contact as much as humanly possible (because it can physically hurt). I act agitated in crowds, because I am agitated in crowds. This could be me -- there but for my skin color and gender go I.
More information about Neli's case, his story, and a page where you can donate to his legal defense, are at A Voice For Neli. Even if you can't donate, please sign the petition to raise awareness of his case. So far the only mainstream news stories have been one-sided -- they quote the police report and nothing else. Neli's mother plans to send the petition to news agencies in hopes that they decide his story is worth covering.
This young man was arrested for sitting under a tree in front of a library. There are so many levels of racism, ableism, and general fuckery at play here that I could puke.
According to the post about Mr. Latson at Shakesville (all emphasis mine):
This call set in motion a cascading series of events in which police ordered eight schools locked down; Neli, who did not know police had been called, tired of his wait and moved on toward the nearby high school; he was confronted by a County Sheriff's deputy who also worked for the school district; and a physical struggle ensued between Neli and the deputy.
Neli says the officer threatened him; he tried to walk away, and the officer grabbed him from behind, choked him, and sprayed him with pepper spray. Neli took the pepper spray from the deputy and, according to the police report, sprayed him in return and fled. The deputy sustained a broken ankle which required surgery.
The police say Neli "attacked and assaulted the deputy for no apparent reason." That seems rather against the odds, given that Neli was not expecting any trouble, while the deputy was actively looking for a suspicious, possibly armed, person meeting Neli's description. Of the two, the one primed for aggression was the deputy. But perhaps, purely by coincidence, Neli "attacked and assaulted" the deputy "for no apparent reason."
The story gets worse from there. Neli was charged with malicious wounding of a law enforcement officer, assault and battery of a law enforcement officer, and knowingly disarming a police officer in performance of his official duties. When Neli's mother, Lisa Alexander, reported him missing several hours later, she learned he was in custody and being questioned.
Police would not tell her why, would not allow her to see her son, and seemed uninterested when told Neli is autistic. They held the young man in isolation for 11 days without bail, allowing his mother to visit him only once.
His condition has deteriorated considerably during his incarceration, according to his mother. He has been transferred to a state mental hospital for a 30-day evaluation period. Ms. Alexander has set up a web site, A Voice for Neli. There, his mother tells a bit of the story of Neli's life and of her and her husband's struggle to secure for him the services and educational support he needed.
Stories like this -- and this is, unfortunately, not the first such story -- always terrify me, for more reasons than I can name. This is why I react with fear every time I read about police/security officers learning ways to spot evildoers through "subtle behavioral cues." I walk funny. I avoid eye contact as much as humanly possible (because it can physically hurt). I act agitated in crowds, because I am agitated in crowds. This could be me -- there but for my skin color and gender go I.
More information about Neli's case, his story, and a page where you can donate to his legal defense, are at A Voice For Neli. Even if you can't donate, please sign the petition to raise awareness of his case. So far the only mainstream news stories have been one-sided -- they quote the police report and nothing else. Neli's mother plans to send the petition to news agencies in hopes that they decide his story is worth covering.
This young man was arrested for sitting under a tree in front of a library. There are so many levels of racism, ableism, and general fuckery at play here that I could puke.
no subject
Date: 2010-06-18 01:58 am (UTC)