DOWNTOWN TALLAHASSEE, FL (WTXL) — A Tallahassee mother says preparing families and helping officers understand individual needs can make a difference during police encounters.
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The Tallahassee Police Department is expanding its Approach with Care initiative, which aims to help officers better understand people with autism and de-escalate encounters involving sensory or communication challenges.
For Juliet Yaques, the effort addresses concerns that can arise even during routine interactions with law enforcement.
"I think any parent with a child on the spectrum, or any kind of intellectual disability or developmental disability, thinks about these things because even if you get pulled over for a speeding ticket, it can be scary. I mean, it's scary for the driver. Imagine how it is for someone who really doesn't understand what's happening, especially at night with lights flashing and who knows what," Yaques said.
Deputy Chief Jeff Mahoney says the initiative is personal to him. He has a four-year-old child with autism who is nonverbal, and his experience as a parent helped inspire the department's efforts.
“It's very difficult to raise a child with autism when they're nonverbal, and they just have a lot of difficulties. And I want them, the other parents out there, to know that I'm here and I'm going through the same thing they are,” Mahoney said.
The initiative began in July with vehicle decals designed to alert officers that someone with autism may be inside a vehicle.
Mahoney says nearly 4,000 decals have been distributed through Leon County Schools and community organizations.
Sensory bags are the next phase of the initiative. Mahoney says the bags contain items intended to help people who may experience sensory sensitivities or have difficulty communicating verbally.
Some of the items in the bags include earmuffs to help reduce noise, sunglasses to address light sensitivity, and communication cards that allow people to indicate their needs, including by pointing to yes-or-no responses. They also contain fidget toys.
TPD is also working with the Florida State University Center for Autism and Related Disabilities, known as FSU CARD, to provide training for officers and other department personnel.
Mahoney described plans for additional autism-related training, including virtual reality scenarios intended to help officers better understand how sensory experiences may affect a person with autism.
Yaques says she would also be interested in families having the opportunities to prepare for police encounters before an emergency occurs.
“Maybe a class down at the police station where, you know, we go look at a police car and here's how it looks with the lights on and what it sounds like, maybe even what it's like to sit in one, just to remove the unknown, because what's scarier than the unknown?,” Yaques said.
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