A 13-year-old boy with autism was shot several times by police officers who responded to his home in Salt Lake City after his mother called for help.
Linden Cameron was recovering in a Utah hospital, his mother said, after suffering injuries to his shoulder, both ankles, his intestines and his bladder.
“I said, ‘He’s unarmed, he doesn’t have anything, he just gets mad and he starts yelling and screaming,’” she said.
“He’s a kid, he’s trying to get attention, he doesn’t know how to regulate.”.
She added: “They’re supposed to come out and be able to de-escalate a situation using the most minimal force possible.”.
Across the US, killings of unarmed civilians by police, especially Americans of color, have raised alarm among community groups and stoked ongoing protests.
As activists call for police resources to be reallocated toward public health initiatives, some cities have shifted emergency response strategies. »