Autistic boy with cerebral palsy shot and killed by police in Idaho this month

Autistic boy with cerebral palsy shot and killed by police in Idaho this month

Guest Commentary by Janine Warrington

On April 5, police in Pocatello, Idaho, shot Victor Perez, a 17-year-old autistic boy with cerebral palsy, nine times. One week later, on April 12, Perez died in the hospital after receiving a number of surgeries and being declared officially brain dead. 

This story highlights serious and ongoing issues with the way police interact with disabled individuals. A police violence report from 2024 shows 1,260 people killed by police in the United States in 2024, 119 of which were in response to a call about a mental health crisis.

Police in Pocatello were responding to a call from a neighbor who stated, “He’s laying on the ground, sort of, he looks like he’s on drugs or something.” According to The Police Brutality Center, symptoms of cerebral palsy are often misinterpreted as being under the influence of drugs or alcohol “such as an unusual gait, slurred speech and shakiness.” (There are multiple cases of people being arrested for a DUI because their cerebral palsy was mistaken for drunkenness, including Garry Palmer in Tennessee in 2011 who was arrested despite presenting a medical note explaining his condition.) 

Upon arriving at the scene, video shows four officers running up to a chain link fence surrounding the yard where Perez was lying on the ground holding a kitchen knife. Pocatello Police Chief Roger Schei said officers gave “repeated commands” for Perez to drop the knife. The video shows officers yelling “Drop the f***ing knife” at Perez.

Autistic individuals often approach communication differently than neurotypical individuals, which can lead to challenges during police encounters. A 2019 study on criminal justice students’ knowledge of Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD) suggests that police may “misinterpret communication impairments and other atypical behaviors as an indication of a lack of cooperation.” The Police Brutality Center lists other autistic behaviors that police may misinterpret, including “fearing people in uniform” and “not responding to commands such as stop or to provide a name.”

Given all of this, Perez was likely frightened by the sudden appearance of four men in uniform yelling commands at him. When Perez stood and took a step toward the officers on the other side of the fence, they opened fire on him, continuing to shoot after Perez had already fallen to the ground. Twelve bullets were shot and Perez suffered nine gunshot wounds.

Brad Andres and his son, the neighbors who placed the 911 call, feel that the police response was disproportionate to what they reported in their call. They also stated to East Idaho News that the woman in the yard with Victor Perez at that time “started yelling ‘No! No! No!’ and put her hands up with the body language saying, ‘No, you don’t need to come over here,’ to stop the police. They ignored her.”

As of now, the four officers involved in Perez’s killing have been placed on administrative leave. It is very uncommon for police officers to face criminal charges. Between 2005 and 2021, the Henry A. Wallace Police Crime Database recorded at least 140 officers arrested for an on-duty shooting, and of those, only seven officers (5%) were convicted of murder. Of the 1,260 killed by police last year, only 9 officers (<1%) were charged with a crime.

As we approach the central Christian holiday of Easter this Sunday, we remember Jesus’s brutal execution at the hands of Roman law enforcement. When preparing the way for Jesus’s ministry, John the baptist called the crowds to repentance. The Gospel according to Luke tells us that soldiers came to John, asking him what they should do. John answered, “Do not extort money from anyone by threats or false accusation, and be satisfied with your wages” (Luke 3:14).

Russell Moore, editor in chief of Christianity Today interprets this as “a call to stop using their authority — and with it the implicit threat of violence — to do wrong.” Yet, a few short years later, the innocent Jesus was stripped, mocked and beaten by Roman officers.

At the conclsion of this Holy Week, I implore Pocatello police to do the right thing and try these officers for murder. I ask readers to hold the memory of Jesus along with the memory of Victor Perez and all other victims of police brutality. And I beg you, especially if you are a neurotypical and nondisabled individual, to educate yourself on neurodiversity and disability so that we can avoid any future instances like this one.

The views expressed in this opinion column are those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect the views of FāVS News. FāVS News values diverse perspectives and thoughtful analysis on matters of faith and spirituality.