by Thomas Oswald
Saturday Dec 28th, 2013 12:40 AM
Across the United States the rights and lives of people with
disabilities are being violated by police officers. Reports show that as many
as 50 percent of those shot by cops are have mental illnesses. The current
system allows police to use their authority to justify the outright killing of
disabled people. Usually, the police officer receives no penalties.
Last summer in Oregon, an 11-year-old girl on the Autism
spectrum was tasered after failing to respond to an officer. The officer
claimed that the violence was necessary to protect the girl, who was naked and
walking alone along a road. However an eyewitness refuted this by saying that
the girl was not walking towards traffic and was not in immediate danger.
Because the girl is nonverbal, she was unable to respond to the officer. Even
after his false statement the policeman remained unsuspended.
Even an unarmed double amputee’s rights were ignored when
another police officer killed Brian Claunch, with a gunshot to the head in
Houston. The officer arrived at care center because Claunch was distressed. The
officer claimed that the disabled man was armed and shot him; however it was
found he only was holding a pen he used to doodle. Just recently on Oct. 14, a
mentally ill man in Dallas was also shot by police. Both officers at the scene
made false statements claiming Bobby Bennett lunged forward, which contradict
the surveillance camera evidence which showed him standing still when shot.
Another tragic story involves the death of Robert Ethan
Saylor, a 26 –year-old with Downs syndrome. On Jan. 12 in a movie theatre in
Maryland, he wished to watch the show again. When security guards placed their
hands on him he reacted in fear and distress. He was handcuffed and thrown
forcefully to the ground, where he struggled for breath and then died.
These are just a few stories of this kind of brutality,
police kill hundreds of disabled individuals every year. Given the inadequate
health care system, the disabled often cannot receive the help they need. The
budget cuts to health care combined with few attempts to fix the broken mental
health care system, demonstrate that the lives and rights of the mentally ill,
physically and intellectually disabled poeple are not as important to the
government and business as profit. Disabled people are not viewed as equal
beings but are often treated with discrimination. The way to make sure that
these individuals get their needs met is to do away with the system of profit
and to implement a socialist society. Under a planned economy the people’s
needs are able to be fully met, allowing a safe healthy environment for people
with disabilities, where they can be valued members of society.
