Redding California

Is it worth the logon?

Don't forget the beating up of autistic kids by the local Festus gang! Damn, psy I like your style!

Autistic teen is beaten
Deputies thought youth was prowler following a 911 call

By Christina Lucarotti, Record Searchlight
March 22, 2005

MOUNTAIN GATE -- An autistic Mountain Gate teenager is recovering from a fractured elbow and a head wound after apparently being mistaken for a prowler by three Shasta County sheriff's deputies.

Pierre Cowell, 17, whose parents say he has the mental capacity of a 4-year-old and no verbal ability, wandered from his Phaedra Lane home early Friday, his mother said.

He had dressed himself in a shirt and jeans, shoes and a denim jacket that fit loosely over his lanky frame.

Cowell's mother, Cynthia, said that at 5 feet 11 inches tall and 140 pounds, her son is "very, very thin."

A neighbor, who did not recognize him, called 911 after seeing him approach her home about 2 a.m., sheriff's Capt. Tom Bosenko said Monday. The woman, who has two small children, reported that she could hear her doorknob jiggling, Bosenko said.

"She was very scared," Bosenko said. At one point, she believed someone had entered her home, which increased the severity of the situation, the captain said.

As deputies Brian Jackson, Ray Breshears and Boun Kongkeoviman approached the house, Cowell came running toward them and bumped into one of them, Bosenko said.

"From that second on, the fight was on," Bosenko said.

Cowell escaped from deputies three times before being subdued, Bosenko said.

Despite deputies' repeated orders to stop, Cowell continued to struggle and tried to run away, Bosenko said. Deputies used a baton, a Taser stun gun and pepper spray to stop him, Bosenko said.

The deputies weren't sure the Taser was penetrating Cowell's jacket, he said.

"The officers were very much concerned for their safety," Bosenko said, stressing that deputies had no information about a missing autistic boy in the area.

He said the deputies thought Cowell was under the influence of drugs.

"Based on the information they had at the time and the subject resisting them, they did in fact use reasonable force," Bosenko said.

Bosenko said he did not know how many times Cowell was struck by a baton or Taser, but that it was more than once. He said it is unknown if a baton strike was responsible for the cut on his head.

Doctors later closed that wound with six staples.

It is unclear if Cowell fought back or attempted to hurt the deputies, but "he was resisting being subdued, resisting being captured or restrained," Bosenko said. He said the youth was very strong and "none of the pain-compliance (holds) worked on him."

Cynthia Cowell said she was unaware her son had even left their home when deputies came to her door early Friday. Pierre Cowell had wandered away only once before, she said, and that was during the day.

"He doesn't understand anything to do with danger. He has to have someone constantly with him," she said.

She said the deputies did not know he was autistic until she told them.

While she said she understood how such an oversight could be made during a struggle, she was surprised that deputies failed to recognize Cowell's mental disability after he was apprehended.

"Being totally nonverbal would be a clue," Cynthia Cowell said Monday.

She also questioned the level of force used to control her son and suggested deputies receive better training to avoid future confusion of a mentally disabled person with someone on drugs.

"I think I got more upset when I found out the extent of his injuries," she said, adding that she wants to read the police report.

Bosenko said the majority of sheriff's deputies have received crisis intervention training, but he did not know for sure if Jackson, Breshears and Kongkeoviman had.

Given the situation, he said, making an evaluation would have been extremely difficult.

It is yet to be determined if the Sheriff's Department will conduct a formal internal investigation into the use of officer force, Bosenko said.

The case will be forwarded to the Shasta County district attorney's office and the juvenile probation department for review, Bosenko said.

"I really suspect no charges would be filed against the individual," he said

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The website dosen't appear to be there anymore... I really wanted to check this one out! : (