WARNING: This story contains gory details.
The mother of an Indigenous boy who was handcuffed in a Vancouver hospital on Thursday says it should have been a safe place for her autistic son.
Instead, Mia Brown says her 12-year-old was strapped to the floor and treated like an adult.
When one of the officers put a knee on her son’s back, Brown began recording a video of the incident. She later posted the video on social media.
Brown says he needed his son’s help earlier because he was “pushing” at the Skytrain station. Two of his officers from the Metro Vancouver Traffic Police took him to his BC Children’s Hospital for evaluation under the Mental Health Act.
Her son had been to the same hospital before, and he was upset because the room they were waiting in wasn’t available during an earlier visit, Brown says.
She says officers pinned her son to the floor, handcuffed him at the “first sound of whining,” and didn’t ask him to calm down first.
In a statement to CBC, Transit Police said officers responded to a call for help from a Skytrain crew member at the Broadway Commercial Station before 5 p.m. that day.
Police found a young man “who had been assaulting a woman later identified as his mother.”
“Police officers tried to verbally defuse the situation, but the young man began trying to push her towards the railroad tracks, further raising concerns for her safety.”
A spokesperson for the traffic police said the mother suffered minor injuries, including a bloodied face, and that the boy assaulted him when a Skytrain attendant tried to intervene.
Prior to the incident Brown videotaped, officers used handcuffs to restrain the boys on their way to the hospital, but later removed them.
“The use of physical force is always a last resort,” said the traffic police statement.
But in the case of Ms. Brown’s son, police said it was “a necessary step to ensure the safety of the person, the public and those involved in the midst of a crisis.”
Autistic children need ‘high resilience’: mothers
Ms Brown said officers told her she had a “high tolerance” for her son’s behavior.
“It’s true,” she said in a telephone interview on Friday.
“Children with autism have needs, so we have to be very tolerant of them. I ask him what he needs and find solutions.”
Brown says he respects the police, adding that his son has run away from school several times, and is grateful to the police for finding him.
“Some police know how to treat children with autism,” she said.
“Some police treat him like an adult, probably because he’s autistic and we’re indigenous.”
‘This is too much’
The roughly three-minute video Brown posted on Facebook begins with the boy being handcuffed and held face down on the floor by two police officers.
Brown is heard telling the cops, “This is too much.”
One of the officers said he understood where she came from.
Jennifer Fehn, director of education for the Learning Disabilities Association of Greater Vancouver, said watching the video was unnerving.
“The pain, sadness and fear in the mother’s voice and the son’s eyes were heartbreaking.”
She said that in situations where a child with autism is out of control, police and other authorities should take cues from the parent on how best to help the child.
“Their role is really to create empty spaces or close off areas for parents and staff so that people with autism can get what they need to regulate. is to help
“Coming in with force, screaming, making a lot of noise — letting someone with autism touch a stranger in a meltdown — there’s absolutely no way it’s going to make the situation any better.
Hospital launches review, UBCIC ‘appalled’
After the incident, Brown said it took her son some time to calm himself down, and then asked how she was doing.
“He tried to calm me down and said, ‘It’s okay, don’t cry,'” Brown said.
“But I told him, no, this is what happened to you…and this shouldn’t have happened.
“He doesn’t want to talk about it. He’s trying to keep a strong front.”
A statement from BC Children’s Hospital said, “Providing patients and their families with an inclusive and culturally safe care environment is our top priority.”
The hospital said it had initiated a health and safety review of what happened, and the Indigenous Health Team has contacted the boy’s family to provide assistance.
The British Columbia Indian Chiefs Union said it was “appalled by the appalling treatment of an Indigenous boy” by traffic police.
“Children deserve to be cared for with compassion,” the union said in a statement.
