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UNAPOLOGETIC BLACK OP-ED
Ryan Gainer Would Still Be Alive if Not For Police Assumptions
Not every citizen is capable of immediate compliance.
In America, the constant drumbeat of conformity is stifling for Black people, who are too often deprived of any grace for their differences. The fact that law enforcement fatally shot Ryan Gainer, a 15-year-old autistic Black teenager, while he was holding a gardening tool last Saturday is further evidence of this notion. According to DeWitt Lacy, the family’s lawyer, the incident began when he reacted poorly to parents insisting he complete household chores before playing video games or listening to music. While any teenager would put up a little resistance, some autistic people experience heightened emotions. It’s common for children diagnosed with autism, a neurological disorder, to throw “tantrums, hitting or injure themselves or others, yelling, social withdrawal, or even extreme silliness.”
According to a portion of a 911 call obtained by a San Bernadino County Sheriff’s Department dispatcher, the family said Ryan had broken glass and physically hit his sister. This behavior, though harmful, is consistent with someone having an autistic episode, a time when some struggle with emotional regulation. According to the LA Times, Lacy noted that “by the time…
