A charity has known as on a police watchdog to “look intently” at an incident the place officers dragged an autistic girl out of a store.
The Nationwide Autistic Society (NAS) made the decision after the officers compelled 19-year-old Katie Mitchell out of a store in Lisburn, Northern Eire.
Katie Mitchell being dragged out of the store in Lisburn
The store, known as CeX, is a part of a series that buys and sells video video games and digital units.
Teen needed a £2 DVD
Katie, who can’t communicate, needed to purchase a £2 Thomas the Tank Engine DVD.
Regardless that there have been nonetheless prospects within the store, it had closed its tills for the day. Katie couldn’t purchase the DVD.
The incident sparked outrage on-line final month after Katie’s sister Eileen Mitchell posted a video on Fb of the police dragging Katie from the store.
Mitchell mentioned her mom pleaded with the store’s workers to take £2 for the DVD and put it into the until the next day.
‘Horrific’
Tim Nicholls is assistant coverage director for the NAS.
He known as the incident “horrific”.
Nicholls urged the ombudsman to “look intently” at how “a lot misery may have been averted”.
Mitchell maintains one member of workers requested Katie’s mom if she had a “lead” to take away her from the store.
She added that her mom informed the workers member: “She’s not a canine. She’s autistic.”
Name to police backfires
Katie’s mom then known as the police. She tried to clarify the state of affairs to the officers.
However the 5 officers “forcibly eliminated” Katie, mentioned Mitchell.
In the meantime, the Police ombudsman is now contemplating whether or not to research the officers.
The ombudsman’s workplace mentioned it was reviewing police documentation, CCTV, and body-worn video and attempting to acquire additional info from the household.
Police view
Superintendent Kelly Moore, Lisburn and Castlereagh district commander, maintains that Katie was faraway from the store by a “member of the family (Katie’s father), assisted by police”.
The commander additionally mentioned one in all her officers was injured through the incident.
However in her Fb publish, Mitchell wrote that her father “fearing she is perhaps injured, tried to intervene when one officer started twisting her arms”.
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Revealed: 6 January 2025
