Rant about the police

[kathyanne]

Hi,

i have just come on to have a rant as i know most of you will empathise with this. My son has asbergers syndrome./ He lives in our flat and has been doing really well lately. Basically, some mail went missing from the flat above so the lady who lives there knocked on my sons door and asked if he had seen it, he said no sorry he had not. This happened on his 22nd birthday. About an hour later, the police came to the door and started questioning him. James started getting anxious, so told the police he suffered from asbergers syndrome. The police went onto say........

............. so , does asbergers syndrome make you steal mail ??............

 

.......... you can understand my horror and that of my poor son and my family family.... unbenown to james, his birthday cards with all his money in had been stolen too, we know who the culprit is.. unfortunatly it was someone who james let in and thought was a friend.We have been to the police and lodged a massive complaint.

James anxiety levels have heightned and he is soo upset.. he is sick of being percived as strage, different and hates people taking him the wrong way.. hes a gentle lad, who keeps himself to himself and this is what he gets treated like....

just wanted to know your views on the situation.. thanks ... kat

[Mumble]

My son has asbergers syndrome.

Asperger's.

[Pancakemaker]

Hi,

i have just come on to have a rant as i know most of you will empathise with this. My son has asbergers syndrome./ He lives in our flat and has been doing really well lately. Basically, some mail went missing from the flat above so the lady who lives there knocked on my sons door and asked if he had seen it, he said no sorry he had not. This happened on his 22nd birthday. About an hour later, the police came to the door and started questioning him. James started getting anxious, so told the police he suffered from asbergers syndrome. The police went onto say........

............. so , does asbergers syndrome make you steal mail ??............

 

.......... you can understand my horror and that of my poor son and my family family.... unbenown to james, his birthday cards with all his money in had been stolen too, we know who the culprit is.. unfortunatly it was someone who james let in and thought was a friend.We have been to the police and lodged a massive complaint.

James anxiety levels have heightned and he is soo upset.. he is sick of being percived as strage, different and hates people taking him the wrong way.. hes a gentle lad, who keeps himself to himself and this is what he gets treated like....

just wanted to know your views on the situation.. thanks ... kat

[Pancakemaker]

Thats disgusting,at least the police are out having to do their job over the past few days instead of intimidating a 22yr old asd sufferer.extremely hard to put in as as pe rg ers in as spell checker changes it to as ethers .x

[baddad]

Hi kathyanne -

 

Sorry to hear about your son and his problem 'mate'. Very difficult to deal with, but if you've informed the police of the actual thief that will probably be the last James sees of him. If not, you need to put your foot down. (NB: I'm assuming that's what you mean by 'massive complaint' to the police - that you have complained about the theft and turned the boy in?). Did the boy admit to you that he stole the things, or did you see him do it / with them, because you'll probably have to give evidence at some point (?). Does James know /did James tell you his friend commited the theft? If no those questions, how do you know the other boy stole the things? Does he have autism or Aspergers? Has James made a statement?

 

It's difficult from the info given to work out why the neighbour identified James as the likely culprit. How many flats are there in the block, and did she make similar accusations at others? Was it a 'circumstantial' thing - i.e. was the post delivered and stolen at a time when other flats were unoccupied, so that only James (and his mate) were the only people with an opportunity? Have there been previous incidents or run-ins with this neighbour? When you say the mail was stolen from the flat above do you mean it was 'intercepted' in a communal hall or something, or was it stolen from the nighbours flat (i.e. unlawful entry?). One other thing I'm slightly confused about: You say James lives in your flat but the neighbour knocked on his door(?) Do you mean this is a flat you've bought and provide for James where he lives independently, or does he live in the flat with you? In either case, were you there at the time of the incident, or when the neighbour called, or when the police called?

 

Sorry for all the questions, but it is difficult to give a view on the situation from the info you've given. As far as the question the police put to James it seems perfectly legitimate to me if questioning him over the possible theft of property. Basically, the police were investigating a theft and had been given (from the scenario you describe) your son's name as a potential - possibly the chief - suspect. What would have been wrong would have been to assume, on the basis of his diagnosis, that either it would be a reason for him stealing mail or something that ruled out the possibility of him doing so. That would have been discriminatory / prejudicial.

 

Hope that helps, and good luck with the mate and any pending court case.

 

L&P

 

BD

 

PS: Just seen above post. Pancakemaker, why do you think the police were intimidating James by asking him about his AS and why do you feel they were not doing their job when following up a theft/burglary?

Edited August 9, 2011 by baddad

[Pancakemaker]

Hi baddad if the police did not understand as per Gera (see what happens when I try to put it in) is they should have asked,they were obviously being sarcastic "does it make you steal mail." I would have asked if having a uniform automatically gave you a right to be a prick and talk to my son like that.there's a way of doing your job and if a person your questioning is distressed and has said he's got an asd which is termed as a disability then have a bit of compassion and consideration and take a bit of time to draw the story out of them,remembering the whole time that it's a communication disorder.

[baddad]

Hi baddad if the police did not understand as per Gera (see what happens when I try to put it in) is they should have asked,they were obviously being sarcastic "does it make you steal mail." I would have asked if having a uniform automatically gave you a right to be a prick and talk to my son like that.there's a way of doing your job and if a person your questioning is distressed and has said he's got an asd which is termed as a disability then have a bit of compassion and consideration and take a bit of time to draw the story out of them,remembering the whole time that it's a communication disorder.

 

My son has that communication disorder too. So does my 22 year old nephew living in very similar circumstances to those being described here. If either was accused of stealing and mentioned AS as a possible excuse (not saying that's what happened here, BTW, but it could have been, and it could be how the police interpreted it) I would jump on them immediately. I've not seen anything in the post that suggests the police lacked compassion, behaved like 'pricks' or failed to take James' distress into account, considering that they were asking questions of someone they believed to be the most likely suspect in a criminal act...

 

I know nothing of James other than what is posted here - i.e. that he is 22yrs old and has AS, and is/was suspected of stealing from a neigbour.

 

L&P

 

BD

Edited August 9, 2011 by baddad

[Special_talent123]

baddad, what pancakenaker means is that police should be aware of how to speak to someone with aspergers. in my town, they have to have training of how to speak to people with learning disabilities/autism/aspergers because they may give an answer which they dont understand.

[darkshine]

baddad, what pancakenaker means is that police should be aware of how to speak to someone with aspergers. in my town, they have to have training of how to speak to people with learning disabilities/autism/aspergers because they may give an answer which they dont understand.

I used to volunteer on a police IAG (independent advisory group) that did exactly this kind of thing - trying to enhance the polices' knowledge of different people in the community - incidentally I got asked to give up my membership when agoraphobia got worse and I was struggling to attend - and was also offered every assistance to try to help me within reason and both I and they were regretful when I had to give that up.

 

The police stuff isn't straight-forward and every county is different.

 

The police themselves a couple or 3 years ago had a huge campaign within the forces to raise the understanding of MH and associated/similar problems because members of the force were not comfortable with admitting stress or MH probs as members of the force - so until they understand that they have some of these problems themselves and accept that without stigma, I don't see how they will understand every other type of disbility/disorder.

 

I know there is work being done on this and they are trying - but not every pc in the country is going to be able to deal with these in a sensitive manner - and not every force will have sent every officer on training courses to learn. There isn't the money and they have other things they have to do as well.

 

Part of the volunteering I did with that group was to do with police perception (from people in the community) and another very big part was about cultural differences and pulling everyone together as a community.

 

Asperger's never got mentioned once. Not in the 2 years I did that. Not in the 100's of emails that were exchanged.

 

If however many people in the country don't even know what ASD's are - then I don't see why every single police officer would yet.

 

Also there are certain unscrupulous individuals that use "umbrella disorders" as a means to try to get away with things.

 

In addition, a lot of police stations will access the appropriate service that an individual requires - don't hear of that happening so much upon an initial enquiry when they wouldn't have known a person has/hasn't got AS until they arrived - and to me - although the question your lad got asked was highly insensitive - it also kinda makes sense if you know nothing of AS.

 

Darkshine

[baddad]

baddad, what pancakenaker means is that police should be aware of how to speak to someone with aspergers. in my town, they have to have training of how to speak to people with learning disabilities/autism/aspergers because they may give an answer which they dont understand.

 

Hi special talent. I know what pancakemaker means. I just don't agree that what was said was aggressive or inappropriate. It was direct (whether that directness equates to sarcasm is an unknown quantity, but I've seen nothing in the OP's post to suggest that her son would be so severely compromised that that equated to intimidating or disgusting or even prickish behaviour), non-patronising, didn't make assumptions or value judgements and was quite a reasonable question (IMO) given the circumstances outlined.

 

I really have tried to ask pertinent questions about the situation, how it developed, how it evolved, the history and everything else - all of which seem very relevant to me in answering the question the OP asked 'what are people's views'? Others seem to see it in very simplistic terms of there being an autistic person involved and therefore he must be a victim and the police his victimisers, but I think those are very unhelpful and patronising assumptions.

 

I've responded twice now to people taking issue with my posts, and that's fine, but I really don't think it's going to help anyone to continue asking or objecting to my views rather than responding to the OP. I only really came back into the thread at all because I felt the accusation that the police should be 'out doing their job' rather than intimidating 'a 22 yr old asd sufferer' was a completely unjustified one (especially given what I assumed to be a reference to riot control as their 'proper' job) when they were investigating a theft.

 

That others feel there is some sort of injustice here purely on the basis of assumptions made about people with AS is fine - I pretty much thought that would be the case. But my alternative opinion is an equally valid one, and the questions I've asked are perfectly reasonable/understandable questions, so what's the problem?

 

L&P

 

BD

[darkshine]

Hi baddad if the police did not understand as per Gera (see what happens when I try to put it in) is they should have asked,they were obviously being sarcastic "does it make you steal mail." I would have asked if having a uniform automatically gave you a right to be a prick and talk to my son like that.there's a way of doing your job and if a person your questioning is distressed and has said he's got an asd which is termed as a disability then have a bit of compassion and consideration and take a bit of time to draw the story out of them,remembering the whole time that it's a communication disorder.

I don't think they were being sarcastic at all and I don't think they all know what aspergers is - I think that the anger here is because of knowing how this young man may have felt - but if you take a step back from it and forget about AS for a bit and work on facts or guessed facts even it doesn't sound that bad.

 

Police get a report of stolen mail.

Police knock on initial suspects door.

Police get told no - didn't steal mail - I have AS

Police maybe not knowing what that is go ah! so does that make you steal mail then?

 

To me it seems to make logical sense.

 

Did they then interrogate him and drag him off to the station and leave him in a cell all night? No. Ok I can see that the young lad is upset but I don't think the police did this on purpose, and they have to deal with everyone the same to begin with. If further investigations or a charge occurred then yes, they should definitely take AS into account, but at that moment of knocking at the door and the initial conversation - I reckon it wasn't that bad what they actually did. Ignorant maybe. But not wilfully hurtful and prejudiced... And if this was to be explained to the young man in question he might be able to understand why they acted the way they did and that is wasn't anything personal to him - nobody like being accused or questioned - but this is the way the police work (minus the stupid question obviously)

 

Just wanted to add that it seems that the person potentially making the judgements was the neighbour in this situation and not necessarily the police.

Edited August 9, 2011 by darkshine

[baddad]

I don't think they were being sarcastic at all and I don't think they all know what aspergers is - I think that the anger here is because of knowing how this young man may have felt - but if you take a step back from it and forget about AS for a bit and work on facts or guessed facts even it doesn't sound that bad.

 

Police get a report of stolen mail.

Police knock on initial suspects door.

Police get told no - didn't steal mail - I have AS

Police maybe not knowing what that is go ah! so does that make you steal mail then?

 

To me it seems to make logical sense.

 

Did they then interrogate him and drag him off to the station and leave him in a cell all night? No. Ok I can see that the young lad is upset but I don't think the police did this on purpose, and they have to deal with everyone the same to begin with. If further investigations or a charge occurred then yes, they should definitely take AS into account, but at that moment of knocking at the door and the initial conversation - I reckon it wasn't that bad what they actually did. Ignorant maybe. But not wilfully hurtful and prejudiced... And if this was to be explained to the young man in question he might be able to understand why they acted the way they did and that is wasn't anything personal to him - nobody like being accused or questioned - but this is the way the police work (minus the stupid question obviously)

 

Just wanted to add that it seems that the person potentially making the judgements was the neighbour in this situation and not necessarily the police.

 

 

Same as...

 

And i'd add that my questions about the history, flat layout, situation etc were all exactly related to what you've said about the neighbour - was she being judgmental and prejudice, or is there some other, more understandable reason why her suspicions immediately turned towards the OP's son (or the occupants of that particular flat, if he doesn't live alone / has regular visitors). And again, I think it's relevant to know how and why the OP knows it was the friend that enacted the theft and ehat action has been taken regarding that...

 

L&P (again)

 

BD

[Tally]

Yes, the police had every right to question James as they had reason to believe he had committed a crime. Kathyanne has not given us a full account of what happened with the police. Maybe she didn't think her post was going to be picked apart and thought we would take her at her word that the police were rude and that James's confidence has been knocked by being accused of a crime he did not commit and was also victim to.

 

If the police have any concerns about a person's ability to understand what's going on, they are supposed to make sure an "appropriate adult" sits in on the interview. When your son told them he had Asperger's, they should have made sure someone else was there before continuing. They have acted wrongly and you are right to make a complaint about this.

[darkshine]

Same as...

 

And i'd add that my questions about the history, flat layout, situation etc were all exactly related to what you've said about the neighbour - was she being judgmental and prejudice, or is there some other, more understandable reason why her suspicions immediately turned towards the OP's son (or the occupants of that particular flat, if he doesn't live alone / has regular visitors). And again, I think it's relevant to know how and why the OP knows it was the friend that enacted the theft and ehat action has been taken regarding that...

 

L&P (again)

 

BD

TBH BD that's exactly why I posted here - I appreciate its a thing that gets people's emotions going - but only one side was being looked at and these things are never as clean cut as they first appear.

 

I like the police and I know they were implementing a lot of important things when I was a member of that IAG - and although change is always slow coming when its on such a massive scale - it is happening, people are thinking about it, member of the force from receptionists to the top dogs are going on learning courses to understand things and they are improving - I would also add that the offer of an open door was given to me should I be in a position to commit my time and be able to travel.

 

I didn't always like the police - where I grew up the standard phrase amongst the youngsters was that they were f-p's along with several other derogatory phrases. It wasn't until I got stopped by them a few times between 14 and 17 that I realised they weren't that at all - and when years later I got arrested (on 2 separate occasions) again, I was treated very well, they were very understanding and helpful. I think I intrigued them cuz when I had fingerprints done and everything else that happens when your there I'm like a kid going what's that? Can't you do that this way? Why don't you do that? And a million questions about what they do, see, whether they break the law - and they definitely loved my attention to detail cuz I reminded them of things they hadn't thought of - and they didn't mind when I got them in trouble by calling a higher ranking officer a nickname they were all calling him behind his back (I thought it was his actual name )

 

I've had the police knock on my door recently - there was a break in on the opposite side of the street and they were after any info - now I always look instantly suspicious cuz I can't meet their eye, or talk proper, so I attract possibly a little harder scrutiny than the average joe - but here's the thing. Those officers that do the door to door - they are trained to look people in the eye and see if they have anything to hide - unfortunately some of my probs makes that a little more complicated but stupid questions aside (we all ask stupid questions - I know - I'm brilliant at it) they are doing a job and that job involves them to do it thoroughly and if that means I have to feel uncomfortable and upset in order to scratch me from their list or to aid their investigation then I'm willing to go through it, cuz I'd want em to be thorough if something of mine had been stolen or my house had been broken into.

 

Guess you'll have to wait and see if your questions get answered BD

[Special_talent123]

i was not having ago at you. Im telling you from me being a victim side of view, but it doesn't mean he did right if he did do it.

 

But what i meant was police knows i have autism and Learning disabilities, and i say ' what do you mean' if i dont understand, some don't understand what they mean and are unable to even ask what they mean. although i had an appropriate adult from safe guard sit in

I know the law is not good when it down to disabilities because it doesnt matter whether they have disabilities or not- if they are guilty thats a fact and they cant change it but if there not guilty then nothing we can do.

 

but i have been victim and i have found that it gets complicated when it abuse towards someone with disability, when also the offender has a disability and then the system they don't take quite seriously thats how i feel. I mean i have had sorry its got dropped 1. because there understanding is very limited, 2 because not enough evidence when they had evidence, 3 ' wont cope in court'. none of them helps one bit.

Edited August 9, 2011 by Special_talent123

[baddad]

i was not having ago at you. Im telling you from me being a victim side of view, but it doesn't mean he did right if he did do it.

 

But what i meant was police knows i have autism and Learning disabilities, and i say ' what do you mean' if i dont understand, some don't understand what they mean and are unable to even ask what they mean. although i had an appropriate adult from safe guard sit in

I know the law is not good when it down to disabilities because it doesnt matter whether they have disabilities or not- if they are guilty thats a fact and they cant change it but if there not guilty then nothing we can do.

 

but i have been victim and i have found that it gets complicated when it abuse towards someone with disability, when also the offender has a disability and then the system they don't take quite seriously thats how i feel. I mean i have had sorry its got dropped 1. because there understanding is very limited, 2 because not enough evidence when they had evidence, 3 ' wont cope in court'. none of them helps one bit.

 

 

Hi special talent...

 

No worries, I didn't think you were 'having a go', as such, just not 'seeing' the points I was trying to make...

 

Tally - Why do you think the OP is being 'picked apart'? The poster asked for opinions and I gave mine... It was sympathetic, reasonable and asked for further info on things I felt needed clarifying to enable people to give informed opinions. I'm sorry i don't endorse the view that if a policeman asks an autistic person what seems IMO a legitimate question it amounts to bullying (or whatever) or that the default position of all people on the autistic spectrum should be one of assumed victim all the time. Sorry, but I just don't. You've said

If the police have any concerns about a person's ability to understand what's going on, they are supposed to make sure an "appropriate adult" sits in on the interview.

, which I agree with, but I read nothing in the OP to suggest any reason why the police would have had those concerns...

 

From their POV they were talking to a grown man, living alone in a flat (that may not be the case, but unless otherwise stated probably how it would seem) who appeared nervous (not entirely unusual considering he was being questioned about a criminal act) and who said they have AS (which is no reason whatsoever for assuming that the person being asked questions lacked the ability to understand them or had need of an 'appropriate adult' to support them).

 

If there's more to this that we haven't been told then potentially there is a case of 'police brutality' or bullying or whatever, but I really don't see it from what's been posted, or how other people seem to have arrived at the conclusion there is? If the police have done something wrong that's a different kettle of fish, and I'd be the first to say so, but just for happening to be policemen who happened to be asking questions of a suspect who happened to have AS doesn't, IMO, constitute a 'wrong'.

 

Please, can I ask again that rather than responding to the issue of my opinion (or of anyone who may agree with my opinion) people respond to the issue in question? And if anyone can come up with an explanation for why, from the scenario outlined, the police behaved inappropriately (other than the fact that the person they spoke to happened to have AS) I'd really appreciate a pointer(?)

 

L&P

 

BD

[Pancakemaker]

tally,Darkshine and special thank you your the only ones who got why I'm angry,I'm sure Kat is angry,and I'm glad she made a complaint,and I still think the policeman who said that is a prat.xx

[Special_talent123]

Hi special talent...

 

No worries, I didn't think you were 'having a go', as such, just not 'seeing' the points I was trying to make...

 

 

 

sorry i keep misinterpreting, i have difficulties with reading what things mean sorry about that.

But i do speak from me being a victim.

[Mumble]

they were obviously being sarcastic

Really?

[Pancakemaker]

Really?

Yes mumble,they were.

[Mumble]

Yes mumble,they were.

What tells you that when we only know the statement/question they made/asked? I thought you would need to know the tone to know if it was sarcastic?

[Pancakemaker]

What tells you that when we only know the statement/question they made/asked? I thought you would need to know the tone to know if it was sarcastic?

It's like saying to someone who has ,god this is hard,ok it's like saying to someone who's just said they have had a ###### removed " well at least you 'll save a fortune on bras,or to some1 with one leg "don't run off will you,or asking a black person if they get lighter when they have a wash,( and before any 1 says I'm racist I'm mixed race) ,some times you don't always need to hear their tone,sometimes you just know their taking the Michael ,hee hee. <'>

[baddad]

It's like saying to someone who has ,god this is hard,ok it's like saying to someone who's just said they have had a ###### removed " well at least you 'll save a fortune on bras,or to some1 with one leg "don't run off will you,or asking a black person if they get lighter when they have a wash,( and before any 1 says I'm racist I'm mixed race) ,some times you don't always need to hear their tone,sometimes you just know their taking the Michael ,hee hee. <'>

 

 

No, it's nothing like any of those things. Sorry, it just isn't I'll accept he might have been being mildy sarcastic, a bit like asking a speeding driver 'where's the fire', but then saying 'I have AS' could be interpreted as being mildly sarcastic depending on the circumstances. The examples you've offered are all highly offensive - a completely different thing. As I've said, it would be worse, IMO to have such a low and patronising generalised opinion of all autistic people that despite appearing to be independently living adults you considered them incapable of being treated the same way as everyone else, and presumed they needed 'help' from a non-autistic advocate to answer a simple question.

 

L&P

 

BD

[Pancakemaker]

Ok,how could saying I have 'AS' be sarcastic?and what if there really was a fire,and the driver stopped was racing home to it?and furthermore and definitely more importantly how does saying I have AS be sarcastic?

 

Post edited by moderator. Personal abuse will not be tolerated on this form

 

Simon (mossgrove)

Edited August 9, 2011 by mossgrove

[Pancakemaker]

My pancakes are burning!

[baddad]

Ok,how could saying I have 'AS' be sarcastic?and what if there really was a fire,and the driver stopped was racing home to it?and furthermore and definitely more importantly how does saying I have AS be sarcastic?

 

 

If being used as a 'get out of jail free' card / Then it wouldn't be sarcastic, unless the policeman was a psychic and could 'divine' that the driver was racing home to it before stopping him/her / If being used as a 'get out of jail free' card.

 

L&P

 

BD

Edited August 9, 2011 by baddad

[Pancakemaker]

Bad dad,I think we're going to have to agree to differ on this one!and above post makes it look like I said something really horrible,and I didn't because at the end of the day people will disagree,and it would be a boring world if we didn't,and the lady who started this whole discussion about her son must be wondering what on earth happened!but I am very curious to know what you do for a living?is it something that requires a lot of attention to detail?

[darkshine]

Yes, the police had every right to question James as they had reason to believe he had committed a crime. Kathyanne has not given us a full account of what happened with the police. Maybe she didn't think her post was going to be picked apart and thought we would take her at her word that the police were rude and that James's confidence has been knocked by being accused of a crime he did not commit and was also victim to.

 

If the police have any concerns about a person's ability to understand what's going on, they are supposed to make sure an "appropriate adult" sits in on the interview. When your son told them he had Asperger's, they should have made sure someone else was there before continuing. They have acted wrongly and you are right to make a complaint about this.

Didn't mean to pick anyone's post apart just wanted to point out that it's not always as simple as it seems (which is something I'm told on an almost daily basis - cuz its supposed to be important to view all sides and see things in perspective).

 

But it wasn't an interview I don't think which means they didn't do anything wrong in terms of actual deliberate wrong - I think the biggest fault so far from the police is their ignorance - but aren't we all guilty of that sometimes?

 

From their POV they were talking to a grown man, living alone in a flat

the OP says that James lives with them in their flat I think...

[baddad]

the lady who started this whole discussion about her son must be wondering what on earth happened!

 

I did ask, several times, for people to stop posting about my posts rather than the OP's post

 

 

but I am very curious to know what you do for a living?is it something that requires a lot of attention to detail?

 

I'm a policeman.

 

 

(Now that's sarcasm! )

[Suze]

One post on this thread has already been moderated, please refrain from making personal comments and get back to discussing the OP,s original query.Thanks

[dekra]

The example of the speed cops made me think of a story I heard a few years back - Nigel Mansel was stopped by police for speeding and asked "Who do you think you are Jenson Button?" or it was the other way around or was Hamilton or something like that, but funny co-incedences do happen. And it might have been facetious not sarcastic, there is a fine line between the 2.

 

As for the actual comment regarding AS making you steal mail, it could actually be a valid genuine question. If an officer doesn't know what AS is or how it affects people it's a logical question to ask for all the officer knew it might have been similar to kleptomania - we know it's not but we shouldn't assume he had that knowledge and had to ensure it wasn't. It would be wonderful for all police officers to have full knowledge of various conditions they are likely to meet in the community but it's just not possible to cover all bases. A modicum of common sense would mean for me that the officer should have asked James for some details of AS so he could get a rough understanding of it.

 

I also agree with darkshine that those with issues looking officers in the eye are going to have to tougher time than most, must be very difficult for the person with AS and also for the police officer who's training and insincts will be telling them to not trust this person.

[Pancakemaker]

I actually did think you might be!

[dm2010]

The Nigel Mansell one was actually even funnier I believe.

 

Because it was him they stopped, then delivered the "who do you think you are, Nigel Mansell ?" line.

 

Casually dressed, unshaven and wearing sunglasses they did not recognise him at first.

Edited August 10, 2011 by dm2010

[dekra]

Yeah DM I think there was a Mansell being asked if he thought he was Mansell and a seperate incident where it was Hamilton/Button being asked if they were the other and I mixed both up in my head. My memory which used to file away all these thousands of useless facts changed from a large room filled with filing cabinets into a huge warehouse filled with bits of paper dumped haphazardly on any available space.....the dangers of getting married and having kids!

Edited August 10, 2011 by dekra

[kathyanne]

Wow everyone... i did not expect all this fuss...I have just logged back on as been away, at the time I wrote it.. my emotions were high... basically.. he rents our flat and lives in there, there are 4 flats in the building, he was the only person to get questioned, the poiceman said that the woman above belived it was him who stole the mail/ Yes, he did dob his mate in for it!

 

james also said the police were not sympathetic to him when he got anxious and he felt the officer was pointing the finger straight away before he had chance to say anything..... they didnt seem to know what AS was, and he felt hurt and stupid when asked if it made him steal.... i think there is a total lack of knowledge and compassion in this case and also a little predudice in there too... sorry if you dont agree L&P, but sadly the police this time have acted inapropriatly.

Kat:)

[Pancakemaker]

See I knew he was a xxxx!hi Katherine,how's u?glad your sons ok,the so called friend of James sounds like a horrible bloke,hope they throw book at him.x

Edited August 16, 2011 by Suze

[dekra]

Has anyone considered the fact the police officer himself may have undx as? Would be an irony and might explain less than subtle queries? It's unlikely but it's as discriminatory to completly dismiss the idea as in any other circumstance.

Edited August 17, 2011 by dekra

[Mumble]

Has anyone considered the fact the police officer himself may have undx as? Would be an irony and might explain less than suble queries?

Oh FFS. I seriously hope you're not serious! So now, making one 'less than subtle query' (which, BTW, we only have the word of the mother who wasn't there as being of this nature...) equates to having undx AS?

 

In that case, I would also like to dx the following:

 

The student who left the cooker in a state - clearly no thought for others using the kitchen

The person who pushed past me at breakfast - clearly ecocentrically focussed

Ditto the above for the person who took the last orange juice...

The smelly person who sat next to me on the bus - clearly no sense of person hygiene and they didn't take the hint when I opened the window

The person who didn't hold a shop door open - very poor social understanding

 

Shall I go on or have I made my point? If those on the spectrum (or their parents) start reducing a dx to individual traits what hope do we have of the wider public understanding ASDs?

[dekra]

Oh FFS. I seriously hope you're not serious! So now, making one 'less than subtle query' (which, BTW, we only have the word of the mother who wasn't there as being of this nature...) equates to having undx AS?

 

In that case, I would also like to dx the following:

 

The student who left the cooker in a state - clearly no thought for others using the kitchen

The person who pushed past me at breakfast - clearly ecocentrically focussed

Ditto the above for the person who took the last orange juice...

The smelly person who sat next to me on the bus - clearly no sense of person hygiene and they didn't take the hint when I opened the window

The person who didn't hold a shop door open - very poor social understanding

 

Shall I go on or have I made my point? If those on the spectrum (or their parents) start reducing a dx to individual traits what hope do we have of the wider public understanding ASDs?

 

 

It was mostly tongue in cheek Mumble BUT not outwith the realms of possibility. I am more inclined to think it's a normal interview tactic to keep a suspect uncomfortable and off balance.

[Special_talent123]

Oh FFS. I seriously hope you're not serious! So now, making one 'less than subtle query' (which, BTW, we only have the word of the mother who wasn't there as being of this nature...) equates to having undx AS?

 

In that case, I would also like to dx the following:

 

The student who left the cooker in a state - clearly no thought for others using the kitchen

The person who pushed past me at breakfast - clearly ecocentrically focussed

Ditto the above for the person who took the last orange juice...

The smelly person who sat next to me on the bus - clearly no sense of person hygiene and they didn't take the hint when I opened the window

The person who didn't hold a shop door open - very poor social understanding

 

Shall I go on or have I made my point? If those on the spectrum (or their parents) start reducing a dx to individual traits what hope do we have of the wider public understanding ASDs?

 

LMAO