Mom calls 911 to help manage autitictic teen/ cops kill him

"My son suffers from seizures and they just murdered him," Camberdella said of her 18-year-old son, Michael Camberdella. "They just killed him."

"The cop got out of the car and just started shooting six times," she said. "(My son) had no weapons, he had no nothing." Sheriff Ric Bradshaw told Parker shortly after noon what 911 callers told dispatchers, that the teen was armed with a hammer and hedge clippers. "He was nervous because he's afraid of police and he suffers from depression and he's, he's autistic," she said. "My son is autistic. He has significant brain damage."

Notice it says here the callers said he had a hammer and garden clippers. The mother seems to dispute that he was holding any kind of weapon when police arrived, although she was traumatized and hospitalized immediately afterward and investigation is still underway.

Mom says teen son shot dead was autistic

Sheriff says using a taser was not an option

I noticed a similar story from February 'Cops kill an autistic teen in his own basement, armed with a butter knife.' Tells me Police need some additional and special training dealing with autistic people, disabled, impaired and handicapped people who are in obvious distress and may even appear threatening.

There must be non lethal options for controlling folks in these situations.
People should really say "enough is enough."
This is not a dog we are talking about now.




This was on the local news. In this story says multiple calls to 911 were made because the boy was acting out in a troublesome way due to his medical condition entirely and was not actually any kind of threat to the officer.

In our local television news, we are told the mother herself called the local Police to help her control her autistic son who had become uncontrollable and she told the 911 operator he had the hedge clippers and a hammer. That's why she called police, hoping they could help her get him under control

The first thing the officer did on arrival was shoot and kill him.
The police chief says that when the officer saw him coming in his direction with the hammer and shears he shot him. Odd because that is what they were called to the scene about.

I wonder if cops will begin to shoot and kill epileptics having seizures, fearing a possible danger to themselves? They may get kicked in the face or injured in the thrashing about? Is there a greater danger seeking the Heimlich Maneuver from a police officer if you can't speak and appear ODD? Might it be better to stand down and risk your chances choking to death? That's a sad commentary on the Police today.

reply to post by newcovenant


Tough call. The teen apparently was approaching the officer with some type of hedge clippers? He ignored commands to stop (bc he was autistic) but to the officer it may have looked very threatening.

Still, why not try a non lethal tactic first?

Senseless tragedy for all. I can only imagine how this poor child's mother feels.

Repugnant. Shoot first, ask questions later... Throw the officer in jail for murder. He categorically has no excuses whatsoever.

even though he may have looked threatening to the officer, surely he knew that this boy was autistic (i would imagine that during the phonecall his mother would definitely have said he was autistic) and like one of the above posters said, he could have used a non lethal tactic first...

poor boy, my heart goes out to his mother.

p.s. idk if there is a department out there that can deal with such situations..? really there should be - where people are trained on how to deal with these situations. if there was such a thing, i doubt the boy would have been killed.

Originally posted by newcovenant
...and was not actually any kind of threat to the officer.

... multiple 911 calls came from inside the home from family members desperate for help.
"(A caller said), 'Not only does he have a hammer, but he's got a pair of these hedge clippers that are really sharp and that he's violent,"

He does have a hammer and the hedge clippers in his hand," Bradshaw said. "He's starting to close the distance between himself and the deputy, the deputy's telling him to get rid of the weapons and get on the ground. "(He's being) non-compliant, he's still moving toward the deputy.

family members told investigators that the teen was not taking his prescription medication, which resulted in the violent behavior.

l ink

The callers were telling 911 that he was violent.
He had weapons.
He was advancing on police.
The family said later that he was violent.

Its a tragic situation and could have been handled better, but dont lie and make out that he a was a peaceful harmless kitten.

Stupid woman, don't you know? "Medication before altercation"
dumbass,you got your son killed.

Originally posted by fluff007
even though he may have looked threatening to the officer, surely he knew that this boy was autistic (i would imagine that during the phonecall his mother would definitely have said he was autistic) and like one of the above posters said, he could have used a non lethal tactic first...

poor boy, my heart goes out to his mother.

p.s. idk if there is a department out there that can deal with such situations..? really there should be - where people are trained on how to deal with these situations. if there was such a thing, i doubt the boy would have been killed.

edit on 5-10-2012 by fluff007 because: (no reason given)

Oh I'm sorry, I must have missed the part that said that an attack with a hammer/hedge clippers from an autistic can't kill you...

reply to post by Thunderheart

Stupid woman, don't you know? "Medication before altercation"

Have you ever had to try and get an autistic person to take their medication if they dont want to..??
I have.. i used to look after my friends 10 yr old severely autistic son. and he was a massive handfull - because they are not good in understanding social interactions if they feel scared or threatened, they will lash - thats the only way they can deal with it...

Oh I'm sorry, I must have missed the part that said that an attack with a hammer/hedge clippers from an autistic can't kill you...

Er... where exactly in my post did i say this..?!

Of course he was a threat... But surely the deputy could have tasered him..? And if he was shouting at the boy whilst telling him to get down on the ground, that would have frightened the boy and maybe cause him to lash out....

Bradshaw said the deputy did not use a Taser because they are “limited in capacity.” Even after a Taser is deployed, a suspect could still keep coming, he said.

“You’re not going to take the chance on doing something that maybe will work,” Bradshaw said, who went on to say: “The deputy doesn’t even know if someone has been murdered in there already.”

Umm.. Gee friggen whiz. It only 'maybe would have worked'? So let me get this straight... Big strong deputy sheriff, when in doubt against a kid with edged weapons, shoots him and kills him in cold blood? What the hell has law enforcement come to?? Where is this? Nicaragua with the Sandinista Death Squads or what?

If we don't have cops that are physically capable of kicking an ass then fire the wimps with guns and GET SOME MEN who can HANDLE a situation without SHOOTING PEOPLE. Trouble is nothing new and disturbance or man with a weapon calls are nothing new. It's as old as populations with cops running around policing them.

What's new is having gutless wimps and cowards who can't face conflict without killing it as the first, last and all too often ONLY solution. My son is autistic. This hits home and that damn cop ought to face a Grand Jury on a manslaughter complaint at a minimum.

I think the headline should read, Autistic cop shoots Autistic teen, because Autistic mom called autistic 9/11.

Originally posted by Thunderheart
Stupid woman, don't you know? "Medication before altercation"
dumbass,you got your son killed.

Here's another that surely fits up your authoritarian, tyrannical alley:

PERSUASION VIA ASSASINATION

By the way, you are part of the problem.

Dead Psychotic Mass Rampaging Lunatic Extremist Heathen Thug.

Cop should have shot like 50 clowns and 4 ponies to seal the deal, yo. That cop was whack..

... the day we see justice come from an article like this, the day we are not constantly told "Look at the jackals howl, they'll devour any old nonsense." and the damn cops who DO GIVE A DAMN stand up and put their traitors in.

The blue gang stinks as it is.

-- added

imagine you're having a really cruddy week. The weathers bad, the heat is hot, every son of a bitch on the road is cutting you off. Headed home, "Hi mom." "Oh whatdyoo want, I'm too tired for this.." "Ok Maww, Shut up.. I'm just getting my thing.."

"Just hurry up and get out..."

"Jesus MOM I've had a crappy week, just let me get my thing and I'll do, OK Mom?"

"Don't you talk to me like that, you son of a ..."

"I'VE HAD IT MAW.. *waves hammer* I'm just going to get my nails and I'll be going. I can't build that damn tree house without them."

"OH MY GOD, HOW DARE YOU THREATEN ME WITH THAT HAMMER!! I'M CALLING THE DAMN POLICE!!"

"Huh? Whatever mom.. You need help. I'm gone..."

"Excuse me sir, put the weapon down... NOW... "

"Wait, it's just a hamme*POP POP POP, POPOPOPOPOPOP, POP POP.*

"This is two-one. One down, request backup."

We're being sent a message folks. Comply or die.

Any good cops left are being weeded out, little by little, and all that will be left are jack booted thugs.

“If you want a picture of the future, imagine a boot stamping on a human face—for ever.” George Orwell

I'm certain my take on this will open a can of worms but isn't that what ATS is all about, examining all sides of a story. It seems to me there are many judgments being made based on assumptions here. For starters, how could the police officer possibly know that the child was autistic? A mother is a sympathetic witness. She would say anything in most cases to protect her child, even to her own detriment. I have personally witnessed violent crimes where witnesses have claimed a mental disability in the suspect when in fact they were just drug crazed lunatics.

The cop saw a male with weapons approaching him and not complying. I feel this does not excuse not using non lethal methods first. But there really is no doubt that this kid was a very real threat.

reply to post by alfa1


I think you are lying if you are saying he was any kind of an actual threat to a trained officer and there was not a non-violent way to take this kid down in front of his family. They were called, they knew what they were dealing with before they got there, they could have brought a stun gun, a net, rubber bullets, he could have shot him in both legs....anything.

They were called to the scene not only by neighbors but by the kids own mother, and she called them to get some men at the house who could help her handle him - not to kill him.

There is no excuse for this though you can try and excuse the officer because he was a chicken. That's the only possible explanation. He thought an autistic kid with grass clippers was going to do him in. He got scared to death, he couldn't think of anything else to do and he fired. He should have run away rather than kill a mentally handicapped kid. The pig.

Where are all the bloody tazers - you know, that thing that doesn't kill?

"I'm so angry I uploaded a sign".........



ETA: Deleted an obscene comment about the Police

Why is it a lot of cops (notice I didnt say "all") are more likely to shoot first then ask questions? All he had was a hammer and clippers not a AR or a AK. Come on all he had to was stay 5 feet away and tase him or spray anything "less than lethal". That is why those protection devices exist to prevent needless death. The guy will get the medical attention he needs and the cop goes home thinking "That could of went a lot worse Im glad I could help". Not killing a man that had a history of mental and medical issues. Crazy, hyped up, jack booted, jack wagons.

Or is this eugenics at work get rid of the malfunctioning or damaged minded in society?

A hammer and hedge clippers? No different from a knife really. You need to be close to do some major damage. Why train cops to shoot if they can't simply aim for your damn legs and arms? Trigger happy S.O.B.'s.

well, this is what you get when you send a nazi pig scum, to try and deal with a delecate situation. Cops just are not trained to deal with people, they are trained to kill them. And that is what they do.

Do not call the police, unless you want a body count. These filthy animals do not know what they are doing, and will kill anyone, for any reason. The have NO ability to defuse a situation without a gun, becasue they are nothing but a bunch of murderers.

Do.Not.Call.The.Police.Ever.

They are not trust worthy, they are not here to help.

Originally posted by newcovenant

In our local television news, we are told the mother herself called the local Police to help her control her autistic son who had become uncontrollable and she told the 911 operator he had the hedge clippers and a hammer. That's why she called police, hoping they could help her get him under control

I really don't understand why this woman is bitching because the police clearly helped her get the boy under control. [/sarc]

Whatever happened to pepper spray? Oh, that's right ... they only use that on protesters ... they now shoot dogs and people.

Oh, and don't even mention the damn taser because it is not non-lethal technology by any stretch of the imagination. Jeez, I can't even fathom the depth to which our police have fallen.