Enhanced training recommended for PSNI officers after young autistic woman removed from shop
It follows an investigation into an incident in a CeX store in Lisburn in December when a
young autistic woman was physically removed from the premises by four police officers and her father.
Footage of the incident was posted online by the woman's older sister, Eileen Mitchell, and showed her being carried out of the CeX shop on Bow Street.
In the social media post, Mitchell said her younger sister wanted to buy a second-hand Thomas the Tank Engine DVD, which cost £2.
However, when the woman and her parents went to pay, they were told by a staff member that the till was already closed for the day and that the purchase couldn't be made.
Mitchell wrote that her younger sister 'didn't understand this and became very upset, crying in the shop'.
She added that the situation 'escalated' and 'the police were called'.
'Incidents like this shouldn't happen,' she wrote at the time.
'We need more compassion, better training for staff and authorities, and systems in place to protect those who can't advocate for themselves.'
The young woman's mother made a complaint to the Police Ombudsman, which centred on whether the officers complied with their training in respect of autism.
Her mother also questioned the effectiveness of the training they had received.
The Policing Ombudsman
said that its investigation 'identified no misconduct by the police officers involved'.
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However, Nikki Davis, Director of Investigations with the Police Ombudsman's Office, said the incident was 'undoubtedly distressing' for the young woman and called for 'enhanced training'.
The Ombudsman said the young woman 'entered through half-closed shutters, the shop's tills were no longer operational and she was unable to buy a DVD'.
The non-verbal young woman was asked to leave, and from there the situation escalated and the police were called, said the Ombudsman.
It said that body worn video shows that the first two police officers 'made it clear that she needed to leave as the shop was closed, and that their preference was for her parents to remove her'.
It said that the young woman's father 'then tried to move her physically' and that officers 'became physically involved only after the young woman's father continued to experience difficulties managing on his own'.
However, it added that 'when reviewed in its entirety, the body worn video, together with CCTV footage, showed that the police officers who responded to the incident understood that the best approach was for her parents to encourage her to leave the shop'.
'When those efforts were unsuccessful, and their own attempts to escort the young woman from the shop also failed, the officers, along with her father, physically removed her.'
The incident lasted for around 18 minutes from officers entering the store and the Ombudsman said that 'their action was a last resort'.
The Ombudsman stated that while no breach of the PSNI code of ethics had been made, the incident 'exposed a gap in current PSNI training'.
As a result, it recommended that PSNI officers should receive 'enhanced training which equips them to engage with, and respond to, any autistic person, but especially a person who speaks few or no words and may communicate in other ways'.
The PSNI Assistant Chief Constable Ryan Henderson welcomed the Ombudsman's report and said the incident presented a 'very difficult and complex set of circumstances for everyone involved'.
Henderson said that while there is training for front line officers in dealing with vulnerable members of the public, 'there is no specific input for front line officers on strategies for dealing with those they encounter who may be non-verbal'.
He said the PSNI will now 'consider how best to incorporate this element into future training'.
'Our officers are routinely called to challenging situations and as in this case we will always seek a patient approach when dealing with people with complex needs,' he added.
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