MD - Robert Saylor, 26, w/ Down syndrome, dies in LE custody, Frederick, 12 Jan 2013

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"died by homicide"

"placed on administrative leave"

^ These two statements together make me angry.

Homicide does not imply by malice, it simply means that he died as a result of other's acts.

My guess is that he was going nuts and they tried to restrain him.
 
But Down syndrome is not a "hidden" disability.
It's pretty freaking obvious they have it! How do the cops not know? :please:

It is not hidden, but on the other hand LE have a duty to restrain someone who is acting in a threatening way.

They can't exactly say, "oh, he has Down's syndrome" and go on their way.
 
He did NOT react to them until they tried to remove him. Tried to keep him from following the instructions he was given.

Children with Down syndrome have a HUGE rate of abuse. We teach our kids to protect themselves.
He defended himself when 3 strange men put their hands on him. That's what a child is supposed to do!

If they didn't have the basic knowledge to know how to deal with this situation, that is a huge issue.

Positional asphyxia is a well known issue in LE. But yet, LE put him on the ground on his stomach.

If they had just waited a few minutes for his aide to return, he would have left on his own.
WHY was it so important for these cops to physically remove him right that second?
It's like they went in to remove a problem and didn't change their plan once they saw who they were dealing with.

Aside from ego or being in a hurry I don't see a reason to forcibly remove this guy who was simply waiting as instructed.
I really wish that at least one of the cops had been familiar with Ethan... that likely would have made a difference.

I want better training all over the country for law enforcement to deal with people with disabilities.
I especially want these cops to replay this issue with another person with Down syndrome.
There are many better ways they could have handled it and I want them to see those other options.
 
Ethan's Mom has made a point to say they are NOT soliciting donations.
So, if you see someone asking for them... it's not legitimate.

Ethan is being described by friends and those who worked with him as genuine, funny and loving.
Family and friends are asking people to be respectful towards the family... and the Frederick Police.
They are hopeful that Ethan's story will be heard by every law enforcement agency across the world. :please:

Several different Down syndrome groups have commented on Ethan's homicide.
I am linking this specific one because it is one Ethan's Mom chose to share.

http://blog.thearc.org/2013/02/21/the-arc-responds-to-the-death-of-maryland-man-with-down-syndrome/

The Arc believes that all law enforcement professionals should receive crisis intervention training to help them work with individuals with disabilities who find themselves in highly charged emotional situations like Robert did.
There are many ways to help a person with a disability who is upset, scared, anxious, and feeling threatened.

-------------------------------

Finally, The Arc believes that all law enforcement personnel must learn that prone restraint, or taking a person to the ground and immobilizing them face down, is a very dangerous technique that can lead to tragic outcomes.
 
He did NOT react to them until they tried to remove him. Tried to keep him from following the instructions he was given.

Children with Down syndrome have a HUGE rate of abuse. We teach our kids to protect themselves.
He defended himself when 3 strange men put their hands on him. That's what a child is supposed to do!

If they didn't have the basic knowledge to know how to deal with this situation, that is a huge issue.

Positional asphyxia is a well known issue in LE. But yet, LE put him on the ground on his stomach.

If they had just waited a few minutes for his aide to return, he would have left on his own.
WHY was it so important for these cops to physically remove him right that second?
It's like they went in to remove a problem and didn't change their plan once they saw who they were dealing with.

Aside from ego or being in a hurry I don't see a reason to forcibly remove this guy who was simply waiting as instructed.
I really wish that at least one of the cops had been familiar with Ethan... that likely would have made a difference.

I want better training all over the country for law enforcement to deal with people with disabilities.
I especially want these cops to replay this issue with another person with Down syndrome.
There are many better ways they could have handled it and I want them to see those other options.

He is not a child, he is an adult. From the looks of him based on his pictures he is also probably as strong as an ox. They would not handle someone like that with kid gloves, it is simply too dangerous.

If he was getting agitated and possibly aggressive, what were the officers supposed to do? They can't just walk away. They have a duty to intervene.

They don't know there is some care giver supposedly around somewhere.

This guy was not defending himself, he was resisting ligitimate demands for compliance. It might be a tragic outcome, but there it is. If he is really that incapable of behaving himself properly when alone in public then he should not have been left alone in public in the first place. You should instead be questioning the negligence of whoever it was who left him there alone.
 
Do you know any adults with Down syndrome?

This is a CHILD in an adult's body. That isn't always the case with adults with Down syndrome... but in this case it was.

This was an adult with the mentality of a child.
That should have been presumed because of his Down syndrome until proven otherwise.
This wasn't a HIDDEN disability that totally blindsided these cops. They could clearly see he had Down syndrome.
They should have simply talked to him like they would a child. Treated him like they would a child. They should KNOW that!

He reacted the way a CHILD would if someone tried to remove him from a place he was told to stay.
He was NOT aggressive until these strangers put their hands on him. He was sitting peacefully in a chair.

He was likely strong, yes but also likely very uncoordinated. People with DS are not known for their quick reflexes.

He was behaving himself perfectly fine in public. He sat through the whole movie didn't he?

I think that Ethan may very well have had some joint issues. (Common in Down syndrome and overweight people both.)
I think that his aide was trying to be NICE by pulling the car up to the door and not making him walk as far.

I know the aide never imagined that 3 law enforcement officers would forcefully remove Ethan in the time that she was gone.
Sure the aide could have not left him. His parents could have never let him go. The movie theater could have left him alone.
The cops are the ones with training. They are the ones who treated him like a criminal rather than an adult with a disability. :twocents:
 
.... Are law enforcement officers pulling private security in plain clothes really supposed to be putting their hands on anyone to begin with? Some random dressed movie goer who tries to convince me he is a cop and puts his hands on me will find be resisting as well.
 
.... Are law enforcement officers pulling private security in plain clothes really supposed to be putting their hands on anyone to begin with? Some random dressed movie goer who tries to convince me he is a cop and puts his hands on me will find be resisting as well.

That is exactly my point! :clap:
If someone in plain clothes came up to YOUR child in a movie theater, would you want them to comply?! :what:

Even if they were in security outfits, are they supposed to physically remove someone who isn't endangering anyone?
He was sitting in a movie theater. Quietly waiting. That is not reason to put your hands on someone. It's a $10 movie ticket!

Today we were at the DMV and there was a security guard walking around. Staring everyone down.
Opening doors and looking outside. It was creepy. He was swaggering. Looking at us all smugly.

He completely IGNORED my daughter and gave me a dirty look when she got excited about him. :what:
We promptly had the "difference between security guards and police officers" talk again.
It really makes me wonder what these 3 officers attitudes are towards people with disabilities in general. :waitasec:
 
Canadian Down Syndrome Society offers Canadian police services training in response to the incident between Robert Ethan Saylor of Frederick, Maryland, and off-duty policemen.

http://www.cdss.ca/blog/elxis-media...offers-canadian-police-services-training.html


From another young man, self advocate with Down syndrome:

"I think a better way to deal with this situation would have been if the police talked to him.
I think that police should have made sure he understood the situation better before they used force.
This man probably did not want to hurt anyone and so he didn’t need to be treated so roughly.
I think if police had more information on how to work with people with disabilities this situation could have been avoided."

http://cdss.ca/network/paul/
 
This is still one of my big issues here.
In so many of these cases a family member or aide comes up and offers to fix the problem... and the police ignore them.
Why not back off at that point and just observe, letting the aide take over?!
Before I thought the aide arrived after Ethan was in distress, but it sounds like it was before he was even out of the chair!

The aide spoke with management and at least one deputy to try to defuse the situation but was ignored,
according to Espo.

--------------------------

“Sadly, this tragedy could have been prevented,” Kate Fialkowski, executive director of The Arc, said in a news release.
“With proper training, these officers would have realized there was a better way to work with Robert,
as opposed to simply using force — an extreme and unnecessary reaction.”


-----------------------

“When an individual with developmental disabilities is challenged in our society, efforts must be made to patiently work with them to resolve the situation,”
said the statement, signed by F.R.I.E.N.D.S board of directors.

--------------------

The FCBI investigation is being reviewed by county State’s Attorney Charlie Smith, two assistant prosecutors and the head of the Violent Crimes Division.

They will determine whether to bring criminal charges or present the case to a county grand jury, Smith said.

-----------------

“[Saylor] was gentle; he was not a threat to anybody,”
Espo said. “The family is still waiting for answers.”

------------------------

“He was interested in the police,”
Espo said. “His interactions with them, up until his death, were pleasant.”

http://www.gazette.net/article/2013...ck-county-after-death-of-man&template=gazette
 
I hope I am wrong but IMO absolutely nothing will happen in the long run with these officers. We had an horrific incident where I live, several cops were captured on video beating and kicking a man who'd already put his hands up and was flat on the ground. One policewoman was seen kicking him repeatedly in the head. Lots of uproar at first and they were all suspended and the kicking woman was fired. Then something funny happened- gradually they all went back to work. The woman was reinstated after her union filed suit.

I confess to having something of an attitude toward LE in most cases. I admire many of them but there is a culture that brings out this behavior in the best of them. The best this young man's family can hope for is some settlement in court that will send a message.
 
I just want this to mean TRAINING for ALL law enforcement.
The parents of kids with Down syndrome are totally freaking out right now.

We generally see our kids as marginally "safer" because their disability is "obvious."
They are not likely to be mistaken for a "typical" person like someone with autism, or schizophrenia might be.

Kids with Down syndrome are not bullied as often as kids with less visible disabilities.
Kids with Down syndrome are still abused just as often simply because they often can't testify...

Yet we don't generally worry about their interaction with the cops or strangers on the street.
Because people are generally a bit more understanding and patient.
We have to come to expect that from those in authority.

2 of these cases in 2 months?
One with a fatality... and both with people who knew the victim trying to intervene who were ignored?
That is disturbing.
 
We haven't forgotten Ethan. I check his Mom's facebook daily.

Direct the DOJ & FBI to investigate whether civil rights violations & police brutality led to the death of Ethan Saylor.


They dragged Ethan from the theater, hog-tied him with 3 sets of handcuffs, held him down with their weight, ignored the health-care worker that told them she had the situation under control, & intimidated others trying to render aid.
Ethan suffocated to death. His final words: "I Want my Mommy".

https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/pe...ice-brutality-led-death-ethan-saylor/zYRrPjvc


The Down syndrome community is not forgetting Ethan.

The National Down Syndrome Congress (NDSC) believes that Robert Ethan Saylor’s civil rights were violated when he died after being restrained by three off-duty Frederick County, MD, Sheriff’s deputies. Although the coroner ruled Saylor’s death a homicide, a grand jury declined to indict the deputies.

-----------------

Tolleson noted that NDSC believes an independent investigation of what happened is necessary. “Beyond the need for accountability, we need to know exactly what occurred so that we can work with law enforcement to ensure that it never happens again.”

http://ndsccenter.org/independent-investigation-needed-in-death-of-ethan-saylor/


CALL TO ACTION - Robert Ethan Saylor

http://downsyndromeuprising.blogspot.com/2013/03/call-to-action-robert-ethan-saylor.html
 
Last week, a grand jury declined to indict those deputies, but that isn’t stopping the family from seeking justice.

-----------------

After a request from Down syndrome advocates, this week the Department of Justice agreed to continue looking into the case.
Attorney Joseph Espo represents Saylor’s family.

“The family would welcome a truly independent examination of events that led to their son’s death,” said Espo.

The medical examiner ruled Saylor’s death a homicide by asphyxiation, but last week a grand jury declined to indict.

http://baltimore.cbslocal.com/2013/...h-of-man-with-down-syndrome-at-movie-theater/



This terrible turn of events highlighted a critical problem in the United States: many police officers do not know how to interact with disabled people.

http://www.care2.com/causes/time-for-better-police-training-on-disability.html#ixzz2PtZPDM5i


Supporting those with disabilities

http://www.fredericknewspost.com/sections/opinion/display_lte.htm?storyid=149182#.UWMDPFdaa3o
 
Tonight I was looking at some police officer things for my daughter for the holidays.
She still has not lost her love of officers. She has her two officer cars with her constantly.
But I admit sometimes when she mentions it, I think of Ethan and get a little sick to my stomach.

Ethan still has not been forgotten!!!

Justice For Ethan

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Justice-For-Ethan/158571137638103


Ethan's Mom is still fighting hard for Justice.

https://www.facebook.com/patti.richmond?hc_location=stream


Justice for Ethan

http://www.justiceforethan.com/


We won't stop fighting... and I wish I could just stop my daughter from growing up anymore. :please:
 
Justice for Down syndrome man who died in movie theater

http://www.cnn.com/2013/08/29/opinion/perry-down-syndrome-death/?iref=obinsite


We spoke to Frederick County Sheriff Chuck Jenkins. At first, he didn't want to talk about Ethan Saylor, and although he wouldn't go on camera, he said he stands by the three deputies in whose custody Ethan died.

Sheriff Jenkins also says he believes his men did not use excessive force, and that once the United States Justice Department is done with their investigation, he feels his men will be exonerated.

Meanwhile, the "Justice for Ethan" movement is growing.

It has its own hashtag, and people in the Down syndrome community are rising up.

http://www.wusa9.com/dontmiss/270559/379/Sheriff-speaks-in-Ethan-Saylor-case
 
A lot more has come out recently...
Interviews with witnesses, Ethan's sister, his aide.
They are still fighting for Justice for Ethan.

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Justice-For-Ethan/158571137638103


According to witnesses, when the first plainclothes officer told him he had to leave, Ethan stubbornly replied, "I'm not leaving." (If they had only been wearing a uniform and a badge the young man who was so fascinated by police might have reacted differently.)

The aide urgently told them Ethan required time to process the situation and begged for their patience. She warned them about his phobia of being touched and specifically said Ethan would "freak out" if they forced the situation. Her warnings went unheeded.
As patrons began to fill the theater for the next showing, the officers may have felt pressure to quickly resolve the issue.

---------------------

Eyewitness statements say as the officers tried to pull Ethan out of his chair he both verbally and physically resisted. During the ensuing wrestling match, the officers struggled with three sets of handcuffs (made necessary due to Ethan's short arms and girth) and told him he was going to jail.

One witness said Ethan was crying and calling out for his mom, clearly unable to process what was happening. As the scrum scuffled toward the exit, they fell in a heap with Ethan at the bottom — face down.

----------------------

Look, no one thinks the officers deliberately set out to do harm to Ethan that day.
But the fact remains he died because of their actions. Ethan had the bad luck to be born with an extra chromosome, but that doesn't mean he forfeited his rights as an American to respectful due process.

The justice system already gives special treatment to those who are targeted by hate crimes or those with alternative lifestyles. Now it's time to give disabled Americans a break, too.

http://www.noozhawk.com/article/dia...ns_deserve_full_protection_under_law_20130831
 
Interview with Ethan's sister Emma

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/gailzahtz/2013/09/13/emma-saylor-sister-of-ethan-saylor


What Happened The Night Ethan Saylor Died?
Interview with the aide with Ethan that night. :please:

http://www.wusa9.com/video/2652139575001/1/What-Happened-The-Night-Ethan-Saylor-Died


Even though the facts of the story, scarce as they may be, are distressing the most difficult part of all of this, Emma says, has been adjusting to what she's missing. Emma talked about her relationship with her big brother, how he loved to make her coffee and breakfast.

She said how proud she was of him for being able to "use his words" that night and stand up for himself. She also talked about the duty she feels to keep fighting. "There's no way we're giving up just because somebody said no." "I would never forgive myself if I gave up now."

http://walkersvillemom.weebly.com/1/post/2013/09/justiceforethan-a-sisters-story.html


It started with a dispute over a movie ticket in a Maryland movie theater and ended with the death of Robert Ethan Saylor.

Now, Emma Saylor, the sister of the 26-year-old man with Down syndrome who died while in the custody of three off-duty Frederick County deputies, is petitioning Gov. Martin O'Malley for an independent investigation and better training of law enforcement.

http://news.yahoo.com/petition-call...-with-down-syndrome-goes-viral-001259972.html


Ethan's Petition Delivery:

On Thursday, September 5, 2013, Patti and Emma Saylor, mother and sister of Ethan Saylor, and representatives of the National Down Syndrome Society and National Down Syndrome Congress along with Delegate Heather Mizeur will deliver a change.org petition with over 340,000 signatures to Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley at the State House

https://www.facebook.com/events/1385004131729837/
 

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