Black Lives Matter St. Paul is planning to protest the forceful arrest of 17-year-old Marcus Abrams by attempting to shut down the light-rail line in St. Paul before the Vikings’ home opener at U.S. Bank Stadium.
Abrams is diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome and while he was on his way home from work at the Minnesota State Fair with his friends on August 31st. The teen jumped onto the track as a joke and Police approached the teen to investigate. They addressed the youth but Abrams, who said that he was wearing headphones, couldn’t hear them.
Abrams said that officers accused him of being intoxicated or under the influence of drugs.
"One grabbed my arm and the other one grabbed my wrist and I told them to get off me - I did nothing wrong," Abrams said. "They just slammed me right on the ground. I tried to get them off me and (one officer had his) whole body on my whole face and I couldn't breathe.”
Abrams has touch-sensory problems and doesn’t like to be touched or have people invading his personal space. So when officers were attempting to speak to him he recoiled and police felt the need to gain control of Abrams, which drew out a stronger reaction. Police didn’t recognize the boy’s developmental disabilities and took his reaction as resisting arrest.
Abrams was hurt in the scuffle, being prone to seizures, seized due to stress. He became unconscious and was taken to a hospital by an ambulance.
"If they had training with dealing with an autistic child or someone like an Alzheimer's patient ... it would seem they would have known how to handle him better than they did," said the boy’s mother Maria Caldwell. ”He has the mind of a 12 year old ... even though he doesn't look like that.”
"I don't want autism to be a crime, I don't want people that have it to think that it is a crime. I don't want people going around saying, 'oh well if your child is this way they shouldn't be out here by themselves,'" she said. "He was put in a situation where he was stressed out, a lot of pressure and confused. And I think that is what brought on his seizures.”
Metro Transit spokesman Howie Padilla said that Transit police officers do go through training to better work with individuals who suffer from "emotional-behavioral issues" as well as crisis intervention. Padilla has also stated that the case was under review "to ensure all of our standard policies and procedures were followed.”
While Abrams isn’t facing any charges, members of Black Lives Matter St. Paul doesn’t feel as though that is enough. In their eyes, this case isn’t just an unfortunate misunderstanding. They invoke the call to “bring an end to white supremacy” because of the Metro Transit’s refusal to fire the officers involved.
“As a community we all know that Autism is not a crime, but Marcus Abrams' beating is a clear indication that criminal justice reform is a must,” reads the group’s post on Facebook from Wednesday. “We want those officers fired, but John Harrington would rather protect the officers who beat Marcus Abrams as if it’s just business as usual.”
“Sunday September 20th is the Minnesota Vikings’ home opener, big money day, so what better day to shut the light rail down and disrupt business as usual.” the post said. “Enough is enough of business as usual! We must bring an end to white supremacy and the status quo.”
According to the Pioneer Press, a Metro Transit spokesman said they have successfully dealt with similar demonstrations on the light-rail line and plans to ensure that it can continue to provide the services riders expect on Sunday. Though, riders are advised to keep in the loop that morning and allow extra time for their trips.