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By Jordan Lindsey, Executive Director The Arc of California
The Arc of California mourns the death of Ryan Gainer, a 15 year-old boy with autism who was fatally shot by sheriff’s deputies at his home in Apple Valley, CA on March 9. His death and the tragedy for all involved stresses the immediate need to improve interactions between law enforcement and people with developmental disabilities. We align our opinion on this tragedy with the recent statement from the California Policy Center for Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities.
We have seen far too many tragic outcomes come from these interactions and change must happen now. For this reason, last year The Arc of California sponsored SB 882, a bill authored by Senator Susan Eggman (Stockton), which created the California Advisory Council on Improving Interactions Between People with Developmental Disabilities and Law Enforcement.
The Council, which is located within the California Department of Justice (DOJ), is scheduled to convene its first meeting on April 15. The Arc of California urges the DOJ and council members to work with purpose and conviction so that deaths and tragic outcomes will be avoided in the future.