Summary: Early this year a man named Robert Ethan Saylor, a man with Down Syndrome, was at the movies watching Zero Dark Thirty, he enjoyed the movie so much that he wanted to stay and watch it again, but he didn't pay the second time so of course police officers could not let him stay watch, right? Well, police came to address the situation and according to them Saylor got very belligerent, so much so that police decided that it was necessary to use brute force on the man with Down Syndrome, despite pleads and warnings from his nurse. This force ended with Robert Ethan Saylor lying on the ground as an officers knee pressed into his neck causing him to die of asphyxiation. David Perry, the author of this article, suggests that even though the accused officers were acquitted, justice has yet to be served for Robert Ethan Saylor.
Analysis: In the article, David Perry says "We are all only temporarily able-bodied. Accidents, illness, and age wait for us all. What happened to Ethan Saylor could happen to you." This quote really resonated with me because of how true it is. Disability rights effect everyone in the long run, so shouldn't everyone care about the wrongful death of Robert Ethan Saylor? If I should end up impaired one day, I would hope that people could understand if I wasn't able to completely comprehend everything that was going on around me. I believe that Disability Rights are going to be the next big American movement, as they should be, thanks to Saylor and other cases like his. Once Disability Rights are properly addressed then we, as a nation, can work to make sure that the wrongful death or mistreatment of people with mental and physical disabilities won't ever happen again.
Source: http://www.cnn.com/2013/08/29/opinion/perry-down-syndrome-death/index.html?hpt=us_mid
I cannot believe that authorities could do such a thing. But Saylor did not know better, they should have just removed him from the theater and explained to him he needed to pay in order to watch the movie again instead of using brute force that resulted in his demise. That gives authorities no reason to hurt some one innocent just for using their freedom of speech.
ReplyDeleteThis is why I'm kinda scared of cops, man. I can't believe this! Even if the guy hadn't had down syndrome, how could they justify harming him at all? And the fact his nurse tried to plead and reason with them...this is just chilling.
ReplyDeleteDisappointed in those cops to say the least. People who protect our country should know better than that. I can only hope that Saylor gets justice.
ReplyDeleteThis is interesting and incredibly upsetting, considering the fact that police officers are supposed to people with which you can trust your lives. I think this is a great way to portray the reason why many people may have some negative feelings towards police officers.
ReplyDeleteI think that even if Saylor was not disabled, the cops went too far. No one deserves to be killed over something as little as seeing a movie a second time, especially those who can not even fully comprehend what is going on. We, the public, should do everything in our power to make sure the cops involved never work another day and also make sure that Saylor gets the justice he deserves. -Ilana Lemack
ReplyDeleteI wrote my current event on the same article. I find it interesting that most everyone has a near same opinion on this issue (as it is difficult to find something for people to agree on. I agree that police should not have used such brutal tactics. However, (just for the sake of presenting another view) should people not only focus on the prosecution of the police, but also their education? I was discussing this situation with my mom, and she was telling me how police are trained to deal with mentally ill people but not those with mental retardations. In many ways, the police were unaware of what would be a productive way of handling this issue. This does not justify the situation in any way or the fact that they disregarded the nurse
ReplyDeleteWow. This article really hit home for me. I read an article about an autistic man who was robbed and beaten to death by a couple of teenage boys a couple months ago. I agree with you when you say Disability Rights will be the next big thing because more and more violent news reports dealing with disabled people are being reported and they deserve just as much justice as everyone else.
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