This is a very troubling story out of Lufkin, Texas.
A Lufkin man convicted of resisting arrest in his own home after police mistook him for a burglar was sentenced Wednesday to 30 days in jail and a $500 fine.
I bring it up because apparently the man has some developmental disability according to his attorney:
“You have to look at it through the eyes of Marco Sauceda,” Deaton said. “He doesn’t think like you and I do. He has a child’s mind. He operates on a lower level thinking than you and I do. Number two, he doesn’t speak this language.”
Besides representing providers of care to the developmentally disabled, I have a developmentally disabled sister. Some of the things I have read about confrontations between police and people like my sister are very problematic due to the former’s apparent lack of understanding about the situation. This story appears to be an example of that.
If the man is developmentally disable, I’d say some retraining is in order. Also, the judge might want to refresh his memory about the 5th Amendment given this:
“I haven’t heard from you and I have no idea why you didn’t speak. That causes me some trouble. I don’t agree with the notion you are a victim in this case,” Flournoy said. “I think your actions put you and the officers in harm’s way. This could have been easily avoided.” (emphasis added)
