So I got pretty much attacked by cops today!

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You've lost all respect for all cops? Forgive me for judging, but doesn't that seem a wee bit... harsh? Perhaps it would take you a few months of living in another country, say, our neighbor to the south, to realize how wonderful, on the whole, our American police force is. They are the reason we can walk and drive around our towns without constant paranoia.

Based on your story, it seems the officers had enough probable cause to assault you, but the verbal humiliation was uncalled for. As someone with AS who's had run-ins with cops before, I've noticed that their general attitude towards autism is one of wariness and misunderstanding, likely due in part to the widely-held (but unfortunately valid) conception that autistics are prone to committing crimes. We live in an evolving society. [Correct] Information regarding autism is still at a dearth. Your experience and others like it will only aid the continuing evolution of law enforcement training. I believe there will be a day in which autism awareness classes will be standard at all police academies. Until then, we'll have to deal with and hopefully flatten the proverbial bumps in the road.

Best of luck in your pursuance of justice.

You should talk to a lawyer about what happened. Sounds like a case of police brutality.

I don't know if a lawyer could do anything. By her getting out of the car and running it gave the policeman "A Reason" to pursue her like he did. I know what he did is wrong but it ain't much they can do.

The thing is, when you run, the officers can only assume the worst.. that you are either a wanted fugitive terrorist, killer, etc..

Running did invite the cops to restrain you... but they don't need to necessarily be so violent to accomplish that.. the laughing was cruel also... unless it was the type of laughter some express as a sign of relief? that you weren't a terrorist or weren't going to shoot at them? Or were they laughing simply because of the pain you were in? That would be sadistic laughter..

It all depends on the extent of the excessive force --- Were there any injuries? bruises, cuts, etc.? How long did this whole thing take and how long did the laughing continue for?

It sure sounds like a horrifying experience and I imagine you probably have a certain amount of Post Traumatic stress from that incident also.. I hope you can get over the ordeal and not be too hard on yourself for running.. I know you probably understand now, as I can see other people have suggested this also, that if you are ever in that situation again, Don't Run ever never..

I really do hate police brutality though.. when it happens.. There needs to be more training and safeguards in place to prevent that.. and the unnecessary cruelty that sometimes goes on..

Firstly, I am prepared for cops, but by me cops arent always the nicest, the town literally next to me, 5mins away whole department got sued I think a couple 30 times due to abuse cops were doing to people, cops literally would attack people, it was all over the newspaper. Yes I did get pulled over, and its not the first time this has happened to me, my fam, or friends. My bf also got verbally attacked. My bf was in shock i took off, i literally just jumped out and ran. Police literally followed my bf for no reason that night. We didnt break that law, by me if you have an out of state license plate, your harassed no matter what, easy ticket for police, and he has a fast car, so another easy ticket. Yet we were doing 5 under the speed limit, seat belts on, no phone, no texting, turn signals on, this is how it happened plain and simple.

We were driving to cvs, we noticed a cop following a good distance behind us, we pull in cvs and get out to go buy some boost, we notice he followed us in cvs, circled cvs until we got out and back in our car, while we were in there, after he circled cvs, he drove to the opposite store and circled that one, then as we left cvs he did a whole uturn to follow us, we got to a red light, he drove right behind us, followed us after the light turned green for a bit then pulled us over. Told us he had a suspended license, and he could have his car impounded. The very next day checked it out and turns out his license wasnt even suspended, was fine! We talked to state troopers and other cops found out that at the of the month local cops love to harasse out of state ppl because its an easy ticket and they think the person wont go fight it since their out of state. Well my bf is currently changing to this state, so he lives 5mins away, but we didnt end up getting a ticket, but he has to fight another one in april, because another time he got pulled over, he turned when it was green, and a cop drove up speeding through a red light for no reason with no lights on, and literally drove up and rode his ass then pulled him over for "cutting the cop off". We have 3 witnesses to fight it. Cops don't always do there job at all! Some, are sweet and helpful others are nasty. I remember one time we asked a cop in another car about directions because we were lost, the cop snapped and said "your bothering me with directions when their could be a robbery happening, f**k this, then we watched how he literally drove into wawa(which is like a 7eleven) and got himself coffee!" We were shocked! So to answer your question, yes it happened, yes i freaked out, yes the cops were way out of line, and we werent breaking any laws, and I admit running was wrong, but like i said earlier, didn't even remembering opening that door, just remember just turning around and being like what just happened.



I shouldnt say i lost respect for all cops, some are so nice, mainly states i guess you could say, and some other local cops, but by me walking and driving without paranoia is not something we have. Cops are not always the nicest by me. Even my mother drives with paranoia due to cops, after the stories you read and the stories you hear, and the things youve seen, and how you can see ppl cring by some cops, thats not the case at all. I understand fully if we got pulled over if he was speeding or swerving or doing something wrong, we should get a ticket, and even if i freak out like usual, even though this was the first time i ran, i usually just headbang a lot, they should just turn off their sirens and lights and actually much at ease, and when they explain why they pulled us over it would be more understandable. But they pull over ppl for anything, and will give u tickets for anything, and after seeing it and living it wayyy too much, and being harassed and being pulled over for nothing is not right. Its called harassement. My father got it done to him, my brothers, my mother, my relatives, my friends, family friends, a lot of ppl, and believe me there has been tons of law suits. So i shouldnt say all cops, but a lot of them take their police officer status to a whole new level that just isnt right, to serve and protect is what suppose to be about, not to scare and hurt!



Actually i did get hurt, my whole under left arm pit has a huge scrape on it where his hand took off some skin, yes took pictures by the way, but i dont think it will do anything either. As for the laughter, they were laughing at how i was acting, having 8 cops surrounding you laughing, pointing, staring while im freaking out is no picnic. This whole thing took about 30mins, i was outside in the freezing cold weather, turning blue, almost passed out. Running like i said wasnt a good idea, i know that now, but like i said was such a fast reaction, even surprised my bf as well. And I agree I think cops need better training which we are going to try to push.

autismo - Wait. You have the details but you've missed the major piece: Meltdown. The stress Age experienced, which for her is sort-of automatic, given past experience, triggered a meltdown/seizure type episode. In this condition, NO ONE can think clearly. That's why this happened; and it's not her fault since it's outside her control due to her condition. I promise, I sure cannot function during a meltdown. Sure, given 'normal' circumstances, Age wouldn't have had any problem - this was an isolated incident.

I'm really sorry this happened to you. I don't think you should be angry at the cops though because they were doing there job. The way you acted made it look like you were guilty of something. If you truly are nonverbal you should not be going out without a parent though for your own safety. Obviously your boyfriend did something illegal or looked suspicious or he would not have been pulled over so whether he was speeding or whatever you should not be out with people who cannot obey all laws including traffic laws or they will eventually get you into these situations. There's something to be said for being careful who your friends are.

If your boyfriend was much of a person he should have announced loudly to the cops "she's autistic and doesn't realize what she is doing".

I am worried about your head. If you hit your head on the pavement you no doubt have brain injury now as its very easy to get. The sooner you get diagnosed for Brain Injury the better able you are to get appropriate treatment that can heal the injury. They say the first 6 months is the most crucial for BI.

Oh that's horrible. That is awful. The police are ret*d themselves to act like that. You should complain. Write a letter of complaint.
I do know how that feels like, because I'm a psych ward veteran. Them psych nurses should know not to physically restrain a person with Asperger's, as the sensory overload makes me scream, kick and struggle more.
As I said, you should write a letter of complaint, or talk to a lawyer.
I made the mistake of not complaining over the time that a nurse nearly broke my arm when he put me into an armlock: it was against my rights (even though I was on section) to have such severe pain inflicted on me like that.
Don't let it slip what they did. That's sickening, what they did. The fact that they laughed at you is even worse, as if they were having some sort of sick joke.
I'm very angry with those policemen now.

I'm sorry to hear about that, here if that happened in the UK. The press will be on them so will lawers!

What ignorant, non empathetic, stupid jerks.

I hope you feel well now, Age1600

How are you now? Have you taken action?

I'm alright, my meltdowns have gotten better, and i finally slept for the first time today, so im def feeling much better thanks for asking. My mother is going to the police station tomorrow with all types of stuff, she didnt tell me what she was going to do about it, so who knows.

Ah, so you're a Joisyite. I've lived most of my life on the east coast, and from what I've noticed, Jersey cops tend to be in a perpetual state of pissed-off-ness. Might be the density, might be from dealing with crazy drivers all day, might be all that Manhatten smog making its way down the coastline.

Hey Age. Glad to hear you've finally got some sleep and I hope you're starting to feel better. I second that you're one of the coolest people on here. Although as you've said you know it was wrong to run the whole incident you described appalled me. Especially the comment of autism being "some sort of retardation". I can only repeat people's advice to get some sort of ID bracelet/card, not that it would probably make much difference if the situation happened again, but you would be in a stronger position legally when you complained.

I hope you and your mother are going to complain and in fact be able to sue them stupid. I would also consider going to the press and making sure their ignorance and cruelty is exposed. Bad press is probably the easiest way to make sure these people lose their careers as senior staff know that the public like to see some heads roll in these cases.

I'd also agree with the concensus opinion here that the police are pretty much useless. Here in the UK they just seem to hassle motorists for easy fines and find excuses not to catch real criminals.

Here's a nice, big hug. :O)

That's quite a sweeping generalization (something people on here seem to take great offense to). My husband is a police detective (former patrolman), I'm AS, and we're the parent of an autistic child.

Like it or not, the police do not instantly know, at a glance, a meltdown from someone on drugs, someone who's very determined not to get caught (perhaps they have warrants), or someone who's having some kind of psychotic break. It is their job to restrain someone who seems out of control, or who they truly perceive as out of control.

Age1600--tell your BF to get his plates switched over. Most states only give you a very short time to transfer out-of-state plates (so in that case, yes, it absolutely is an easy ticket, but no one, not even an adult, can keep fighting a repeat offense). One might say it seems like such a minor thing to pull a vehicle over for (issues with plates, a tailllight that's malfunctioning, etc.), but you'd be very surprised how many people who are wanted get caught this way (just last month a woman my husband was convinced he'd never find--she'd committed fraud at several local stores--got popped for your everyday "rolling stop".

Someone mentioned how cops were jerks for getting upset if you got out of your car during a traffic stop. Why might that be? Why do you need to get out of the car? After all, the officer is coming to you. Approaching him is perceived as confrontational (it also might seem as if you are trying to keep him away from the vehicle) and they are taught to prepare for whatever might happen. So sit in the car, keep your hands on the wheel, and don't even reach for your insurance card, registration, whatever, 'til asked for it.

Finally, there is a gentleman out there named Dennis Debbaudt who is a former cop and who has a now-grown son with autism. Debbaudt gives lectures at police departments on how to recognize and deal with persons with AS and autism. He also has a site out there--I believe it's called "Police and Autism: Avoiding Unfortunate Situations". There is a section on what person with autism need to know when dealing with law enforcement and what not to do.

I'm truly sorry for what you (Age1600) went through. Hopefully, armed with the right information (and a new set of license plates) things will go more smoothly.