Minnesota police officer Rob Zink, whose sons have autism, understands that it might not always be the best for law enforcement to deal with autistic people the same as everyone else. The situation may be much more complicated. He decided to do something about it.
According to IJ Review,
The Star Tribune reports that about five years ago, Zink was at the scene of a domestic assault. A mother had been hit by her autistic son and had a bloody nose. Though his fellow officers had put the son in the squad car, Zink persuaded them to let him take the very worked up young man for a walk.
It took about eight blocks before the son calmed down. Eventually, they learned that the bloody nose was an accident, caused when the son, “geeked out.”
“I understand them,” Zink said. “A regular cop is not going to understand it when someone on the spectrum doesn’t do what they are told. Lights, sirens, yelling — those things can make them go into panic mode.
Zeke took his knowledge and started the Cop Autism Response Education (CARE) Project to educate police officers about the different types of autism they may encounter among the general public. He also gives talks to families with autistic children. What an admirable man. People cannot help being born with autism, and it is truly noble of him to try and help them deal with what could otherwise be terrifying situations confronting the police.