In a stark contrast to investigations after police shoot–and many times kill–unarmed Black people, police in Salt Lake City, Utah are cooperating with investigators after officers shot and wounded an unarmed 13-year-old white autistic boy, the Associated Press reports.
Police were called Friday night after the boy became uncontrollable after a breakdown. The call reported a boy had threatened people with a weapon. When police arrived at the scene, the boy ran from the house. The boy’s mother, Golda Brown, informed police that the boy had autism and was unarmed but could not regulate his behavior.
Police entered the house, with the boy’s mother outside. Brown said she heard police yell a number of commands including “Get on the ground” before shots rang out. No weapon was found on the boy.
Mrs. Brown said she had called 9-1-1 in the hopes of getting a crisis intervention team to respond, but armed police responded and immediately intervened.
The boy is hospitalized in serious condition with damage to his shoulder, ankles, intestines and bladder.
The Salt Lake City Police said in a statement “a protocol team made up of officers from multiple agencies with no ties to the Salt Lake City Police Department conducts an independent investigation. We are cooperating fully with the protocol team assigned to this case.”
This reaction contrasts with how other police departments have responded to the shootings of Black people or the deaths of Black people in police custody. In those cases, officers and police unions attempt to impede local, state and federal investigations.
The process to have independent agencies without connection to the police department involved is a procedure advocated by the Biden-Harris campaign as a part of a investigation into police shootings, designed to increase confidence in the outcome of investigations. The Trump campaign has made no policy proposal to address issues of police abuse.