A 17-year-old is fighting for his life in critical condition after police shot him nine times outside of his home in Idaho. A neighbor said that
police seemed like a "firing squad" as they opened fire on the child, who has autism and cerebral palsy, within 12 seconds of arriving on the scene.
This is despicable. Sign the petition to demand justice for Victor Perez.Victor Perez, the 17-year-old victim of this abhorrent violence at the hands of police, was described by his family as nonverbal, barely able to walk, and having the cognitive ability of a 5-year-old. And yet, when police were called to the scene, they were shooting at him within 12 seconds -- not even close to enough time to assess the situation, understand the circumstances, and begin to deescalate.
Half of people killed by police in the United States have some form of a disability, such as Victor's cerebral palsy, which affects his ability to walk, move, and maintain balance and posture.
You see, the police were called by a neighbor who probably didn't know Victor -- they saw him from across the street and read his body language as intoxication. Victor was also holding a knife, but we do not know why or how his family would normally handle a situation like this. According to Victor's aunt,
he was not threatening them with the knife, just refusing to give it back to them.
According to a
video taken by the neighbor who called 911, Victor was on the ground surrounded by what appears to be family and neighbors. They are calmly attempting to engage Victor and get him to let go of the knife. Victor is behind a chainlink fence in his own yard when four police officers arrive, running towards him on the other side of the fence with
guns drawn. Victor reacts to the police by standing up. Police react to his standing by shooting him over, and over, and over again. A woman, likely a member of Victor's family, was standing right behind him, seemingly in the line of fire as well.
The neighbor whose son took this video and originally called 911 expressed shock and anguish. He noted that if they never imagined this is what would happen. They thought the police would help Victor and his family, not violently attack him.
Victor is now in critical condition. He has already had to have his leg amputated. According to his family, his doctors are not sure he will wake up from the coma is his currently in.
These officers are clearly unfit to serve and protect their community if they thought a child with autism and cerebral palsy holding a knife should be shot nearly a dozen times. They showed no signs of deescalating and explored zero nonlethal methods of getting the situation under control.
This violent brutality from police is all too common in the United States, where particularly disabled people and people of color are targeted. We cannot allow these officers to continue to serve as police and threaten the communities they are supposed to be protecting.
Sign the petition demanding all officers involved in the brutal attack on Victor Perez be fired and charged with attempted manslaughter!