Another Police Encounter with Autism Goes South
The Autism News | English
A young man with autism and schizophrenia, yet able to live in his own apartment, had a harrowing trip to a Whole Foods Market in Dallas.
After customers complained that he was “behaving oddly,” police were called to the store. Apparently, the young man was running in the aisles and not staying in the store proper. Confronted in an “Employee Only” area and told to leave or he’ll be arrested, 28-year-old Blake Wimberly refused, stating that he needed to call his mother. He also told the officers he was autistic, displaying his medical alert bracelet. Officers nonetheless arrested him for criminal trespass and took him to jail, an action that was totally at their discretion. His mother was in the shower when the police station called and no one answered when she returned their call. Blake was in custody for twelve hours.
Even before this episode Blake suffered from a paranoid fear of the police, which was at times crippling. Now one wonders if it wasn’t a premonition.
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