People with disabilities and mental illness are subject to criminalization, violence, and death.
They are overrepresented in all interactions with the criminal justice system, and at all points, the system is failing them.
States spend millions of dollars on bias and sensitivity training to help police better interface with vulnerable communities.
But the evidence shows that this training, while well-intentioned, does not work. Wherever possible, we need to reduce the level and the length of contact between vulnerable disabled people and police / jail staff.
People with disabilities are 16x more likely to be killed by law enforcement
Deafness
People who are deaf can be perceived by police as uncooperative.
Psychiatric Difficulties
Persons with intellectual or psychiatric difficulties are often shot or beaten when they cannot follow the orders of police officers.
Epilepsy or cerebral palsy
Persons with epilepsy or cerebral palsy are often assumed by police to be on drugs or intoxicated.
Aphasia or autism
People with aphasia or autism might repeat police officers’ statements or be unable to maintain eye contact, which gets construed as uncooperative or hostile behavior.
People with disabilities and mental health diagnoses are disproportionately incarcerated
1 in 5 people incarcerated have a cognitive disability, and another 1 in 5 have a serious mental health diagnosis.
Incarcerated people are 4x more likely to have a disability than the rest of the U.S. population.
Sources/Further Reading
Prison Policy Initiative: Police, courts, jails, and prisons all fail disabled people
Michael Marshall was a homeless street preacher killed by Denver Deputies while having psychiatric episode.
He was held on $100 for a low-level trespassing offense.
We’re building a coalition.
We are stronger together. Let’s work together to protect our most vulnerable neighbors in Colorado from the harms of the criminal INjustice system.