Thank you for posting this. This was something near and dear to me when I
worked with the Story Avenue Block Association. I can[t open the report links
now on my break on my phone but will read them tonight at home
Frank Ventura
Sent from my iPhone
From: blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of joe harcz Comcast
Sent: Monday, March 28, 2016 1:43 PM
To: blind-democracy@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [blind-democracy] media missing the story
Media Missing the Story: Half of All Recent High Profile Police-Related
Killings Are People with Disabilities
March 08, 2016
by Justin Ellis
disabilities,
media coverage,
police,
Ruderman White Paper
0 Comment
The Ruderman Family Foundation released the first Ruderman White Paper today -
a groundbreaking, comprehensive study on the topic of police-related violence
and media coverage in cases involving a person with a disability - which
shockingly reveals that up to half of all people killed by police in the United
States are disabled, and that almost all well-known cases of police brutality
involve a person with a disability. This is true both for cases deemed illegal
or against policy and for those in which officers are ultimately fully
exonerated.
However, perhaps more shocking is the prevalence of disabilities in these
encounters not being accurately or commonly reported. The report, co-authored
by professor David M. Perry and award-winning disability activist Lawrence
Carter-Long, unveils that media coverage of police violence fails to recognize
or report the disability element when Americans are injured or killed by law
enforcement, resulting in their stories being segregated from the issue in
the media. This report examines the past three years of media coverage relating
to police violence and disability, reviewing eight individual cases against
people with disabilities since the death of a young man with Down syndrome
named Ethan Saylor in January 2013.
In the vast majority of cases within this timeframe, the research reveals the
following patterns in the overall data:
List of 5 items
* Disability goes unmentioned or is listed as an attribute without context
* An impairment is used to evoke pity or sympathy for the victim
* A medical condition or "mental illness" is used to blame victims for their
deaths
* An estimated 80% of all cases that involve disability are categorized as
"mental illness"
* In rare instances, where disabilities are used as reason for intersecting
forces that lead to dangerous use-of-force incidents, better models for policing
in the future are suggested
list end
"This White Paper reveals that people with disabilities are senselessly being
subjected to a disproportionate use of force by our police and many of these
encounters are leading to unnecessary deaths. Police forces need better
practices, policies and procedures when interacting with people with
disabilities
so that harm by our law enforcement authorities is prevented," said Jay
Ruderman, president of the Ruderman Family Foundation. "Training is a necessary
first step. Reforming the system follows closely behind. The rights of people
with disabilities must be respected just like any other American citizen."
PDF version available for download
here
Text Only version available for download
here
So how often do American police use force against disabled civilians? The
problem is we do not know. No one knows because we lack comprehensive data, and
currently there is no legal requirement for local, state or federal law
enforcement agencies to aggregate or collect the number, type, and result of
violent
incidents that occur between police officers and disabled people. From a purely
practical standpoint, those who seek to track, monitor and/or analyze trends
related to police violence and disability are limited to collecting the data
themselves from print and online media coverage.
When we leave disability out of the conversation or only consider it as an
individual medical problem, we miss the ways in which disability intersects with
other factors that often lead to police violence. Conversely, when we include
disability at the intersection of parallel social issues, we come to understand
the issues better, and new solutions emerge. Disability intersects with other
factors such as race, class, gender, and sexuality, to magnify degrees of
marginalization and increase the risk of violence. When the media ignores or
mishandles a major factor, as we contend they generally do with disability,
it becomes harder to effect change.
The Ruderman White Paper making headlines:
WBEZ 91.5 Chicago
: Listen to Ruderman White Paper Author David M. Perry, PhD Discuss Disability
and Police-Related Violence
New York Daily News: The Disabled are at Higher Risk of Being Killed by Police
(Source to activate links:)
http://www.rudermanfoundation.org/blog/in-the-media/media-missing-the-story-half-of-all-recent-high-profile-police-related-killings-are-people-with-disabilities
