AZ cop makes unprovoked attack on 14 year old autistic kid doing nothing wrong.....

Bill · 03-25-2023, 5:03pm

....jury finds for the cop in the civil trial.

https://www.azcentral.com/story/news...e/69969081007/

Quote:

Decision reached in case involving Buckeye police officer who confronted teen with autism

A jury decided in favor of Buckeye and former Buckeye police Officer David Grossman on Thursday in a federal trial that was to decide whether Grossman used excessive force when confronting Connor Leibel, a teenager with autism, six years ago.[/B]

Connor was 14 when the incident occurred in 2017. Connor was "stimming"— a term used to describe self-stimulating — with a piece of string when Grossman approached him at a city park. Grossman later stated he thought Connor was using drugs because he held the string close to his face.

Connor proceeded to walk away from Grossman, and the two engaged in a confrontation that ended with Connor sustaining scratches and bruises to his face, back and legs. He also sustained an ankle injury that eventually required surgery.

Since then, his parents, Danielle and Kevin Leibel, have taken the case in and out of the court system. And on Thursday, the family finally got an answer in a ruling in U.S. District Court in Arizona.

The jury answered three questions in the ruling: if Grossman deprived Connor of his constitutional right to be free from excessive force; if Buckeye violated Connor's rights under the Americans with Disabilities Act; and if Grossman committed unintentional battery against Connor under Arizona law. The jury ruled "no" on all three questions.

The Leibels declined an interview at the time of publication. A representative from the city of Buckeye did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Good learning experience for Connor. Ass beatings work.

https://thefreethoughtproject.com/co...autistic-child

Quote:

Buckeye, AZ — Following a national outcry surrounding the violent takedown of an autistic boy by Officer David Grossman, the Buckeye Police Department began conducting damage control. As the world lashed out at the department for mistreating Connor, an innocent autistic boy in such a violent and callous manner, the parents simply asked for an apology—one that would never come.

As ABC 15 reports, after the incident, the Leibel family through an attorney sent Buckeye Police Chief Larry Hall a letter with three requests: (1) Grossman apologize face to face (2) Grossman perform community service in the autism community (3) Buckeye institutes autism training for officers.

The letter then said, “If these terms are agreed to first, any financial component of this case will be quickly resolved.”

All the department had to do was agree to those terms, an apology, teach cops not to beat up autistic kids, and have the abusive cop who did beat up an autistic kid volunteer at some local events in the autism community. They refused to do any of it.

Instead, they instituted some Orwellian Scarlett letter program in which they tagged people with disabilities so cops wouldn’t beat them up. Instead of teaching cops not to hurt disabled people, they made disabled people register with the city and wear a wristband so cops could identify them. Seriously.

Now, six months after Grossman attacked the innocent autistic boy, the family has filed a multimillion-dollar lawsuit—because the department refused to take any action.
“So it’s with a heavy heart, and having received no meaningful response or apology from Buckeye to date, that Connor L. and his family are forced to pursue legal action…,” the claim states.

The entire disturbing interaction and subsequent assault were captured on the officer’s body camera and serve to illustrate the destructive and violent nature of both the war on drugs as well as police ignorance in dealing with those who have disabilities.

The department, who subsequently cleared the violent officer of all wrongdoing, described Grossman as a “drug recognition expert” with the department’s patrol division. As The Free Thought Project has reported, officers can attend a weekend training seminar where they learn how to escalate traffic stops under suspicion of drug use and charge more motorists with “driving under the influence of drugs,” even though many who are charged had no drugs in their system at all.

As TFTP reported at the time of the original incident:

Grossman approached Leibel and asked him what he was doing. The autistic boy responded with “good” and that he was “stimming” — short for self-stimulation — the often repetitive actions, movements, and sounds many if not most autistic individuals make to calm and stimulate themselves.

“I’m okay. I’m okay,” Connor screamed as the man he was likely always was told by his family was there as a protector, in that moment, became his tormentor.
Anyone who knows anything about working with autistic individuals knows how to spot someone who is likely autistic. There are the tell-tale signs of repetitive behaviors, rocking motions, awkward social interactions, and inappropriate speech responses in some. And one thing experts also know is autistic individuals get extremely agitated, anxious, and sometimes combative when they’re touched.
Grossman grabbed Connor as the young teenager attempted to walk away from the officer, an action which was well within his civil rights since he was not a suspect in any crime. But Grossman quickly told him not to walk away and attempted to place the boy in handcuffs after grabbing him by the arm.

When Connor attempted to pull away, Grossman took him to the ground and held him there until backup arrived, all the while Connor was screaming in agony and trying to mentally make sense of everything happening to him.

“Don’t move…Stop moving…Don’t you move, you understand?” Grossman told the boy as a dangerous situation could have quickly gotten out of hand. If the boy had reached back and grabbed Grossman’s gun, what would have happened then?
“Why are you acting like this Connor,” he asked. “Cause I’m okay,” the boy replied.
The young boy’s aunt, Diane, heard all the child’s screams and approached the scene. She told Grossman she was sorry if her nephew had done anything wrong but stated he had autism. “He’s fighting with me,” the officer said being completely untruthful with the boy’s guardian.

At that moment, the officer should have removed his hands from the boy and allowed him to get to his feet. Instead, he held him down (a no, no with autistic individuals) for what must have been agonizing minutes until his backup arrived.
“He’s doing something with his hands…I don’t know what that is,” the officer stated. “You don’t have anything (drugs) on you do you,” he ignorantly asked again.

Predictably, the Buckeye Police Department investigated the incident with Grossman and concluded “no use of force” occurred in dealing with the teen. But his body and the pictures of the damage to his body, tell a different tale. Bruises, scrapes, and cuts covered the autistic boy’s torso that were inflicted as a result of the fact that a poorly trained “drug recognition expert” could arguably not tell the difference between someone who is on drugs and someone who is autistic.

Following the incident, which took place on June 19, the Buckeye Police Department conducted their own internal investigation and concluded Leibel’s autism led to “suspicious behavior” which gave officer Grossman “reasonable suspicion” to believe Leibel was under the influence of drugs.

Just like that, a young man’s autism was declared to be a justified reason for his detainment and physical assault — in the land of the free.

Now, the taxpayers will undoubtedly be held accountable for not only the violence of one cop but for the stubborn, callous, and obstinate behavior of the entire department who is protecting him.

Watch the infuriating Body Cam footage below:

TL;DR: We ain't apologizing for shit. You should just be glad the beating wasn't worse. Cop didn't even tell the kid he was detained, although even if he had, something I'd expect him to do prior to randomly grabbing people off the street, I doubt the kid would have understood what was happening to him.

Millenium Vette · 03-25-2023, 5:39pm

That woman was wayyy nicer than my mother would have been had this pig done this to my autistic sister. Mom didn't take no shit and dad was worse. He would have been kicking that officer to let her go. Not an exaggeration.

Bill · 03-25-2023, 5:46pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by Millenium Vette

That woman was wayyy nicer than my mother would have been had this pig done this to my autistic sister. Mom didn't take no shit and dad was worse. He would have been kicking that officer to let her go. Not an exaggeration.

Watching the whole video, we find that she's the (I guess) daytime caregiver for the autistic boy and another child who is getting a music lesson across the street. I take it from her apologizing right away to the cop that the boy probably has a history of some kind of inappropriate behavior. She automatically assumed the kid had done something wrong. Either that, or she was trying to deescalate the situation, fearful that the attack would be even worse. I tend to think it's the former, that the kid has a history of behavioral problems, because the aunt didn't seem that calculating and self aware.

Millenium Vette · 03-25-2023, 6:06pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by bill_daniels

Watching the whole video, we find that she's the (I guess) daytime caregiver for the autistic boy and another child who is getting a music lesson across the street. I take it from her apologizing right away to the cop that the boy probably has a history of some kind of inappropriate behavior. She automatically assumed the kid had done something wrong. Either that, or she was trying to deescalate the situation, fearful that the attack would be even worse. I tend to think it's the former, that the kid has a history of behavioral problems, because the aunt didn't seem that calculating and self aware.

No shit, any kid with that level of autism has behavioral problems.

I would say her reason for apologizing is she doesn't have the balls to confront anybody. She should never have left the kid alone in the park. Shitty "caregiver".

Bill · 03-25-2023, 6:10pm

Looks like the cop broke the kid's ankle, among other injuries inflicted. I don't understand how the kid wasn't screaming in pain after the attack? Maybe autism makes people less succeptible to pain?

Local TV station investigates Buckeye PD and city:

Millenium Vette · 03-25-2023, 6:19pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by bill_daniels

Looks like the cop broke the kid's ankle, among other injuries inflicted. I don't understand how the kid wasn't screaming in pain after the attack? Maybe autism makes people less succeptible to pain?

Family of teen with autism files $5 million claim against Buckeye police - YouTube

Possibly it does, or it could make one more susceptible to pain, with autism there are many mysteries.

My sister was born in 1960 and back then few people, including doctors, had ever heard of autism. There was nothing back then as far as education for autistic kids or much of anything else. There was no "spectrum" either. My mother fought in the late 60's/70's for educational and clinical programs for children with autism.

Now, it seems like half the young people today claim they are on the spectrum...

Frankie the Fink · 03-26-2023, 8:18am

Not to excuse this bit of nonsense, but cops have to try to figure out if somebody is mentally ill, has a chronic condition, on prescription or illicit drugs or just plain goofy and the difference is not always apparent:

Strats-N-Vettes · 03-26-2023, 8:23am

Quote:

Originally Posted by Frankie the Fink

Not to excuse this bit of nonsense, but cops have to try to figure out if somebody is mentally ill, has a chronic condition, on prescription or illicit drugs or just plain goofy and the difference is not always apparent:

Kinda like cops needing to immediately decide if a person is extremely drunk, or in diabetic distress.

Bill · 03-26-2023, 10:12am

Quote:

Originally Posted by Frankie the Fink

Not to excuse this bit of nonsense, but cops have to try to figure out if somebody is mentally ill, has a chronic condition, on prescription or illicit drugs or just plain goofy and the difference is not always apparent:
https://youtu.be/30InBgGhiSo

Quote:

Originally Posted by Strats-N-Vettes

Kinda like cops needing to immediately decide if a person is extremely drunk, or in diabetic distress.

I can see that it would be tough to evaluate medical issue v. drunk or high, all in an instant. Time would be the friend of anyone in that position, time to evaluate and investigate, time to formulate a plan of what to do about it. In this case, however, I can see an honest mistake, that no matter how much time our cop spent with that kid, he could still think the kid was on drugs. I get that. So then, it's a question of what's an appropriate response to a potential, at worst, public intoxication charge on someone who hasn't exhibited any danger to others, only perhaps, to himself.

Then there's the question about what this was. Was it community caretaking? Or was it a simple public intoxication investigation? Seems like a PI investigation, because if my interest was simply the well being of a kid, I don't think I'd intentionally hurt the kid I was trying to help.

I'd say body slamming a kid is a bit overkill, but apparently both the jury and the police investigators that looked at this video all felt it was appropriate.

Rodnok1 · 03-26-2023, 10:56am

Never know exactly what was presented to the jury, past incidents with this person, past of the officer, etc.
Perhaps that area is know for junkies and constant issues.
Not saying cop was right ot wrong mind you.

Mick · 03-26-2023, 6:42pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by bill_daniels

I can see that it would be tough to evaluate medical issue v. drunk or high, all in an instant. Time would be the friend of anyone in that position, time to evaluate and investigate, time to formulate a plan of what to do about it. In this case, however, I can see an honest mistake, that no matter how much time our cop spent with that kid, he could still think the kid was on drugs. I get that. So then, it's a question of what's an appropriate response to a potential, at worst, public intoxication charge on someone who hasn't exhibited any danger to others, only perhaps, to himself.

Then there's the question about what this was. Was it community caretaking? Or was it a simple public intoxication investigation? Seems like a PI investigation, because if my interest was simply the well being of a kid, I don't think I'd intentionally hurt the kid I was trying to help.

I'd say body slamming a kid is a bit overkill, but apparently both the jury and the police investigators that looked at this video all felt it was appropriate.

I'll start by saying that I believe the job of an LEO, especially in this environment, is somewhere between extremely difficult, and nearly impossible. I also recognize that the following is nothing more than Monday morning quarterbacking.

All that said, when the kid showed that what he had in his hands was a string, for reasons I don't understand, the officer aggressively escalated the situation, when it seems like that would have been to take a deep breath and assess the situation further.

I also agree with others that leaving an autistic kid in a park by themselves "stimming" is not a great care strategy. IMO, lots of blame to go around on this one, so not the kind of incident that I would want to see a guy lose his job over.

Bill · 03-26-2023, 6:51pm

https://www.abc15.com/news/local-new...ckered-history

Quote:

Buckeye officer who mistook teen with autism for drug user has checkered history

By: Dave Biscobing
Posted at 7:12 PM, Oct 25, 2017
and last updated 2017-10-25 22:12:19-04

The Buckeye police officer, who traumatized an autistic child he mistook for a drug user, has a mixed record that includes high praise for his DUI enforcement but also multiple concerns over potential acts of cowardice and unconstitutional stops, records show.

Officer David Grossman was hired by the Buckeye Police Department in 2009.

ABC15 requested and obtained significant portions of Grossman’s personnel file after his controversial stop of a 14-year-old boy with autism made national news last month.

The July incident was recorded on Grossman’s body camera.

“We are very much advocates of law enforcement. They should be proud to put on the badge,” said Danielle Leibel, the boy’s mother, in an interview with ABC15. “This one individual is where I think there is some fault.”

Since being hired, Grossman has become Buckeye’s top DUI officer and often leads the department in drunk driving arrests. His work as a traffic cop has brought Grossman glowing reviews and multiple awards in recent years.

In 2014, he was named one of Buckeye’s “Officers of the Year.” Last year, the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety named him “Impaired Driving Enforcement Officer of the Year.”

But his “intense interest” for traffic enforcement caused Grossman to neglect other areas of police work, records show.

“There are times he does not exert the efforts he could when engaged in activities he finds less enjoyable than traffic enforcement,” a supervisor wrote in 2010.

In his annual reviews, supervisors also documented a pattern of past issues with Grossman’s performance, including being too “headstrong,” “talking down” to citizens, and “getting too far ahead of himself so that he makes a wrong statement or decision in the process.”

In 2011, Grossman was put under an extensive “performance improvement plan.” The plan sought to correct several instances of unconstitutional actions, poor report writing and issues with his vehicle operation.

But most concerning, the plan addressed multiple police calls in which supervisors felt Grossman "failed to act" in critical situations, which violated department policies that cover “cowardice" and "unsatisfactory performance."

One of the situations was so concerning that a supervisor questioned Grossman’s fitness for the job.

“I am concerned that your situational awareness may not be adequate for the rigors of law enforcement,” the supervisor wrote.

READ THE PERFORMANCE IMPROVEMENT PLAN BELOW:

Grossman performance improvement plan by Dave Biscobing on Scribd

According to the performance improvement plan, the incident with the autistic boy in the park also wasn’t the first problematic run-in Grossman’s had with a teenager.

In an undated incident, supervisors wrote that Grossman “grabbed” and “wrestled to the ground” another minor, who he claimed was running away. While on the ground, Grossman twice sprayed a “chemical agent” in the boy’s face.

After the stop, Grossman couldn’t justify the reason for his stop and use of force. “Looking for charges after an arrest is made is unacceptable and unconstitutional,” a supervisor wrote.

In the case involving the boy with autism, Buckeye police have defended Grossman’s actions. For this story, requests to interview Grossman and top Buckeye officials for this story were declined through a city spokesperson.

Since the Leibel family has retained an attorney, the spokesperson said city officials won’t comment because of the potential for litigation.

Murray · 03-26-2023, 7:25pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mick

I'll start by saying that I believe the job of an LEO, especially in this environment, is somewhere between extremely difficult, and nearly impossible. I also recognize that the following is nothing more than Monday morning quarterbacking.

All that said, when the kid showed that what he had in his hands was a string, for reasons I don't understand, the officer aggressively escalated the situation, when it seems like that would have been to take a deep breath and assess the situation further.

I also agree with others that leaving an autistic kid in a park by themselves "stimming" is not a great care strategy. IMO, lots of blame to go around on this one, so not the kind of incident that I would want to see a guy lose his job over.

*a LEO 🙄

Hardluck · 03-26-2023, 7:32pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by Murray

*a LEO 🙄

You're a grammar nazi snobola!

Bill · 03-26-2023, 7:33pm

Murray · 03-26-2023, 7:47pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hardluck

You're a grammar nazi snobola!

Most everyone does it regarding LEO and I have no idea why

Hardluck · 03-26-2023, 7:59pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by Murray

Most everyone does it regarding LEO and I have no idea why

Well obviously somebody lied to us that "L" became a vowel and nobody told us smucks it really wasn't!

It's prolly also a "hoser" thing and you wouldn't understand since you're not a, uh never mind!

Mick · 03-27-2023, 6:34am

Quote:

Originally Posted by Murray

Most everyone does it regarding LEO and I have no idea why

Because if you say "Ell ee oo" like saying the letters, like most people do, then "an" is correct.

Murray · 03-27-2023, 9:48am

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mick

Because if you say "Ell ee oo" like saying the letters, like most people do, then "an" is correct.

I’ve always read it as Lee-oh when the acronym is used

Bill · 03-28-2023, 11:10am

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