Johnston Police Use Taser to Subdue Autistic Juvenile During Alleged Attack

Were police justified in using a taser to subdue a teen with autism last week?

According to a KCCI News report, a Johnston family is upset after officers used the taser gun on a 15-year-old autistic boy at the Wynnsong Theaters in Johnston Friday night.

Officials with the said the use was justified because the teen presented a threat to public safety.

The boy is currently in juvenile detention facing numerous charges after the incident, the TV station reported.

According to KCCI, the incident took place before 10 a.m. Friday at the theaters after officers responded to a call of two teenagers fighting.

Police department officials told KCCI that when Officer Cale McClain walked inside he was attacked by the teen. McClain's Taser was knocked away from him, and his hand was broken during the altercation, Lt. Lynn Aswegan told the station.

"One of the youth's friends walks up to the officer (and) tells (him) the youth is 15 years old and is autistic," Aswegan said. "They told him 15 times to stop resisting. They told him nine times to calm down."

KCCI reported the juvenile continued to fight as four officers tried and failed to gain control of the teen. Officer then used the taser gun to end the incident.

The teen's mother spoke to KCCI telling the TV station she "couldn't believe it."

She and her husband rushed to the theater only to find her son handcuffed, rocking back and forth on the curb. The mother said she thinks the police could have handled the situation differently.

"Maybe first get on the phone to me and talk to me, so I could explain what they needed to do to calm down the situation, so the situation had not have gotten as escalated as it did," the woman told reporters at KCCI.

Aswegan told KCCI said the individual, whether he was autistic or not, was a threat to himself and the public and needed to be calmed down.

The boy's father was also arrested after the incident after allegedly threatening to use a taser gun against officers.