A new Florida law requiring autism awareness training for law enforcement officers takes effect Sunday.
The new law adds autism training to law enforcement agencies’ curriculum. It includes recognizing the symptoms and characteristics of people with autism. Florida Police Benevolent Association Executive Director Matt Puckett calls it “smart policy,” that builds on past legislative efforts.
“The year before we had worked on making sure law enforcement officers understood when someone is going into diabetic shock or having some kind of episode from diabetes,” he said. “So, these are things we’re trying to make officers, we’re asking them so much…we’re having so many interactions with our law enforcement officers and people in the streets that are mentally ill, that are suffering from some kind of illness that makes their behavior abnormal, at least to what the current training standards are. We’re trying to specify these things, so that officers are better equipped to handle this sort of stuff.”
According to the CDC, about 1 in 68 American children have autism spectrum disorders.
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