A 15-year-old California boy who appeared to be dealing with a mental health crisis was killed when deputies from the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department responded to a call from his parents on Saturday.
The parents of Ryan Gainer, a Black teen with autism, called the Apple Valley division of the sheriff’s department and asked authorities to “take him in” after an altercation in the home, according to the Los Angeles Times. Instead, the teen was shot after charging a deputy “armed with an approximate five-foot-long garden tool, with a sharp bladed end,” according to a news release from the sheriff’s department.
The incident began when Gainer’s parents told him he couldn’t use his video game console or computer until after he finished his chores. When he became upset and started hitting his sister and breaking glass at the Apple Valley home, his parents called the sheriff’s office, the L.A. Times said.
The sheriff’s department said that Gainer, “without provocation,” confronted and chased the first deputy while wielding the tool.
“The deputy retreated and Gainer chased the deputy in an attempt to assault him with the bladed end of the tool. A lethal force encounter occurred, and Gainer was struck by gunfire,” according to the news release.
Gainer died after being taken to a hospital, the news release said.
According to bodycam video released by NBC News, one of the deputies first saw Gainer running toward him at the door while holding the tool, and the deputy yelled at Gainer, “Hey, get back.”
“Get back or you’re gonna get shot!” the deputy is heard shouting as he tries to back away.
Gainer was shot three times by at least one of the deputies involved, according to the Los Angeles Times.
Law enforcement officers disproportionately kill Black people compared with people of other ethnicities, according to The Washington Post. The fatal shooting of Gainer also indicates the increased vulnerability of people at the intersection of Blackness and autism in confrontations with law enforcement.
“The autistic community has seen far too many cases of law enforcement profiling, targeting, and using excessive, sometimes deadly force on Black autistic people,” Zoe Gross, the advocacy director at the Autistic Self Advocacy Network, told the L.A. Times. “Because of the prevalence of police violence and the amount of unmet need in our communities, we must fund and implement alternatives to policing.”
The death of Ryan Gainer has also renewed discussions about finding better alternatives for law enforcement officers who respond to mental health crises, according to the Times.
“Our social safety net for those experiencing mental illness needs to be strengthened. Our deputies handle seemingly insurmountable calls daily. Most of these calls do not end in violence,” Sheriff Shannon Dicus said in a statement to multiple news outlets.
“However, this one ended in tragedy for Ryan, his family, and for the deputies who responded. Rapidly evolving, violent encounters are some of the most difficult, requiring split second decisions. While these decisions are lawful, they are awful in terms of our humanity. I feel for both Ryan’s family and my deputies who will struggle with this for their entire lives,” Dicus said.
San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department and Gainer’s family attorney did not immediately respond to HuffPost’s requests for comment.