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Richmond Virginia police are under investigation after a young autistic boy received a concussion at a police-run community event after being handcuffed and detained.
On November 3, an incident occurred at an after-school tennis program at Virginia Commonwealth University run by Richmond Police Department volunteers through the Richmond Police Athletic League. The program was intended to promote positive relations between the police and the community.
Shiela Jackson, the mother of the 12-year-old autistic b, said he signed him up for the program to help him engage with police officers in a positive way.
“I wanted him to have a positive view of police officers and not all the negativity he sees on TV,” Jackson said.
However, Jackson says that was not the case when she returned to pick him up from the program.
“When I got here my son was handcuffed on the ground right behind where that fence is opened,” the distraught mother said. “There was an officer holding his head, there was an officer on his left leg, someone on his right leg, there was an officer on his right side kneeling holding his shoulders down, and then there was another officer standing up.”
“We ended up going to VCU emergency room. They diagnosed him with a TBI concussion,” Jackson continued.
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According to Jackson, her son said one of the police officers raised her voice at him, and he walked away.
“He knows to try to self-regulate and walk away from a situation, she may have thought he was being defiant,” Jackson said.
Richmond Police told the mother that her son headbutted an officer while they detained him.
“That is not how he should be dealt with, not only my son, anyone,” Jackson said. “Where is the training? Are you just going to the training and you’re not taking it in?”
A spokesperson for the Richmond Police Department said they are conducting an internal investigation that is ongoing.