SearchOn behalf of The Arc of California we extend our deepest sympathy and condolences to the friends and family of Kenneth French. Kenneth was fatally shot, and both his parents were wounded in a shooting at the Costco in Corona. It has been reported that Kenneth was a young man with an intellectual or developmental disability who was non-verbal and likely had a co-occurring mental health issue. A family spokesperson said that Kenneth did not have a history of violent or aggressive behavior and that to most who knew him he was considered a “gentle giant”. The individual who shot Kenneth and his parents was identified as an off-duty officer and while there are many details of the shooting still yet to come, many in the community are wondering how a family shopping trip could end in such tragedy.
I do not intend to speculate on any details as there is still so much that is unknown while the investigation is on-going. However, I too am wondering what went so horribly wrong that day as to result in the death of an unarmed man who had limited, if any, verbal communication and one or more disabilities. What went so horribly wrong that he was fatally shot, and his parents critically wounded? For those of us who work with or have loved ones with IDD we most likely know someone just like Kenneth and we have experienced the fear of what could happen if there were to be an incident in the community. For those of us that have ever been in that situation, the panic sets in, our heart starts to race and we quickly try to explain “he has a disability” and do everything in our power to intervene and then hope and pray the person understands the situation and gives us space. It can truly be terrifying!
It is all too often that we hear of interactions with law enforcement that have not ended well for people with IDD, especially for individuals that may not have verbal communication, are deaf or have complex behaviors. For many, the death of Kenneth French has evoked the question of law enforcement training given that his death was at the hands of an off-duty officer. We don’t know specifically what, if any, training he had related to interacting with people with IDD or mental illness, but we do know that there is a serious gap in training overall for police officers as it relates to our community and interacting with people with IDD, complex behaviors or mental illness. As advocates, we at The Arc of California have dedicated and will continue to dedicate significant times and resources advocating for law enforcement policies and training that reflect safer practices and de-escalation techniques that part way from a “command and control” approach and emphasize the use of crisis intervention techniques to ensure the safety of people with IDD, mental illness or other disabilities that place them at-risk of serious harm or death from a law enforcement interaction gone bad.
Once again, we offer our heartfelt sympathy and condolences to the French Family, their friends and the community that is grieving and trying to process this tragedy.
Sincerely,
The Arc of California
Teresa Anderson, Policy Director, The Arc & UCP Collaboration