Fatal shooting of autistic teen raises concerns about police response to people with mental health issues

Ryan Gainer, 15, rear right, is pictured with his family. Ryan’s death has heightened concerns from activists about law enforcement’s use of force against people suffering from mental health issues and the lack of supportive services available for families when they call police for help. Nobody’s life was within imminent danger.” Lacy added the officers “should have created time and distance and talked to Ryan using the skills they learned in the basic police academy.” By the time deputies responded to the 911 call at the Gainer home on Iroquois Road, Ryan’s father had helped the teen calm down, Lacy said. The deputy yelled, “Hey, get back, you’re going to get shot” as Ryan approached him carrying the tool, according to edited body-camera footage released by the sheriff’s department. Areva Martin, a civil rights attorney and disability rights advocate, said the sheriff’s department’s decision to only release a portion of the video was “a deliberate obfuscation of the truth.” “The fact that Ryan, who had autism, was shot and killed while holding a gardening tool in what was clearly a state of distress, raises grave questions about the adequacy of law enforcement training and their ability to de-escalate situations involving vulnerable members of our community,” she said.