Autism or not, first responders shouldn’t have to be concerned about things like that when their lives are in danger.

Ghetto lottery!!!

police has gotten out of hand they have to many right’s so they khow they can do what they want, they can beat you shoot you and the code of blue will protect each other

I guess whenever something bad in the hood happens, they should call the NAACP or their local church for help. That way, the po po can’t be blamed for making a split-second, life saving decision. With the police being called almost once every 2 months for an out-of-control, 5-10, 220 male, there is a problem. It’s also probably taxpayers fault he was autistic.

YApe- Maybe we can throw a few more bucks in the pot seeing as how his daddy has trouble sleeping. That will make him sleep better.
Readers: Ask yourself. Anytime you involve blacks and the criminal justice system, blacks are unhappy with the outcome. Whether it’s not taking responsibility for the crime (“My son aint no criminal! He was getting his life together”) or not turning in criminals, excusing domestic violence, and the big one, Disproportionally Committing Crimes!

well they shoot him over a butter knife. yeah those cops should be punished

B- Picture that you’re in a basement with little room to maneuver and a person of that size who has a history of violence (I don’t care why) comes at you with a knife. (A butter knife can easily penetrate the skin).

i guarantee i could have stopped that kid by shooting him in the knee, now there will be a huge law suit and the family will get millions all because of some police officer that isnt even smart enough to direct traffic, i hope he has other skills because his days as a cop are over.

Cops shouldn’t be called because your kid won’t go to school….nuff said period!

If you cannot handle taking care of your child then the child needs to be in an environment equipped to handle him.

Cops should not be the go to source for dealing with mentally challenged kids on a repeat basis.

Sad outcome-Was he supposed to be on medication? Did his parents give him his meds that day? Was there facility options available to care for him? Did the parents do all they could to seek those options?

Dig deeper and you might find the series of events that brought the cops to the house that day may have been more to blame.

How about the Police do not come to your house for your autistic child/adult. How about they do not come to youe house for a domestic problem, how about they do not come to your house for your delinquent child.. How about you take care of family problems thru any one of the support/state run centers which can help you with YOUR problem..If you call the police to take care of YOUR problem YOU are the problem. 15 times at this house is enough to say that the parents (PARENT) was not following up with any help for the child and just kept calling for someone else to take care of there problem everytime. Looks like the are going for the jackpot this time. PS–tell the Mom to wail and faint all the time, not just when the camera comes on her,,, she missed her cue one time,. makes her look a little phony. just sayin’

Typical blacks blaming others and then suing. Vote out obama and his racist attorney general holder.

wow are you people angry….

hope law enforcement never shoots one of your loved ones waiving a cell phone like theydid the Northwestern University college footbal player on the Dan Ryan

or drives drunk while on duty and hits you at 400 am like I witnessed
and then has the entire blue code themselves to hiding the officers…
I was harrassed by CPD and followed for a year !!

what kind of people are you??

really shooting an autistic child is ok???

you are all sick ….

I am ashamed to be in the same species category as the rest of you

This is a sensitive issue; how many times the Police have been called; so the parents could not handle this child, so they call the Police. The parents are responsible for his death. The Police should have the correct training to handle these situations; they did not have a stung gun with them. We all have some blame, every one involved.

[...] HERE About 10 people marched with the family of 15-year-old Stephon Watts Saturday, demanding sanctions against the Calumet City police officers who shot the autistic teen to death.NAACP South Suburban chapter President David L. Lowery Jr. said he and the family are scheduled to meet March 9 with an investigator from the U.S. Department of Justice to discuss the case. [...]

first, the defense you used that he was “mentally challenged” so why fire upon him?, is asinine…..there are plenty of mentally challenged people in society with the capability to harm you or anyone else……just because they cannot comprehend things as quick as you (debatable) and I, or don’t have the mental compacity to read and write, does not mean they cannot pose a threat…..I dont have family in law enforcement, so dont go there……i do however, have the right to defend myself, as do police……you were not in that basement, so you have no clue what exactly transpired prior to the shooting……what we do know, is the situation was brought to a certain level of escalation by Stephon, with the knife, and the cut…….this isnt Hill Street Blues, CSI, or your typical cop shoe or movie, this is real life sh#@…….its easy to pick apart from your computer laptop, when you werent in that siutation and probably never will be…..but there are those that choose to be, who put there life in the hands of their training and their partner(s) when they’re the last line of defense for people who run when the sh$# hits the fan, rather then run towards it…..if in fact the cops would have tackled him(again, not a television show), and one of them died, or was seriously injuried, you would prob be the first to comment on how stupid those cops were etc, etc….point is, in your eyes, they cannot win either way…….if someone came at me or my family with a knife, butter or whatever, and i was armed, i’d shoot to stop the threat……in the end, Im going home, and so is my wife and kid…case closed.

capacity i meant

What The F- I know it feels good to try to get everyone to share some blame, but that is unfounded. You try to make your case by saying, “Child waving butterknife” but that is not accurate. Regardless that he was 15yrs old, he was bigger and stronger than most adults, and “waving” a knife around didn’t cause that cop to become injured. You don’t hear about the many times a day police find themselves in life-threatening situations that have peaceful outcomes; save your drama for the academy awards later tonight.

BN- Great explanation!

Despite some of the very racist comments here, as a African American police officer, firefighter and paramedic. It is very difficult to place yourself in this situation. So many things are going on and when a LEO (law enforcement officer) has to make a very rapid decision to neutralize any threat especially in close quarters that there will always be someone there to say “There was a better way to handle that!” No LEO is going to stop to ascertain if a knife is real, steak, or butter! In the same instance, no LEO is going to stop and ascertain if a firearm is real, a replica, a toy or a lighter! LEO’s perceive a threat and respond. Training takes over until the threat ends. Nothing more, Nothing less!! I was not there and I am not going to pick apart the story. What I will say is that I pray that this never happens to me. I also pray for all of the parties involved because the family has to deal with the loss of a child and the LEO’s must deal with the psychological and aftermath of having to take a person’s life. In the end no one win’s

Despite some of the very racist comments here, as a African American police officer, firefighter and paramedic. It is very difficult to place yourself in this situation. So many things are going on and when a LEO (law enforcement officer) has to make a very rapid decision to neutralize any threat especially in close quarters that there will always be someone there to say “There was a better way to handle that!” No LEO is going to stop to ascertain if a knife is real, steak, or butter! In the same instance, no LEO is going to stop and ascertain if a firearm is real, a replica, a toy or a lighter! LEO’s perceive a threat and respond. Training takes over until the threat ends. Nothing more, Nothing less!! I was not there and I am not going to pick apart the story. What I will say is that I pray that this never happens to me. I also pray for all of the parties involved because the family has to deal with the loss of a child and the LEO’s must deal with the psychological and aftermath of having to take a person’s life. In the end no one wins.

Hell yes, MF