A young boy with autism has been shot numerous times while he was having a mental breakdown.
His mother, Golda Barton, contacted the police for a CIT or crisis intervention team when her 13-year-old son, Linden Cameron, started suffering severe separation anxiety as she was about to go back to work.
She said that the officers told her the CIT would ‘deescalate the situation using the most minimal force possible.’
But only a few minutes after the police arrived at her home in Salt Lake City, she heard multiple gunshots.
“I said, he’s unarmed, he doesn’t have anything, he just gets mad and he starts yelling and screaming. He’s a kid he’s trying to get attention, he doesn’t know how to regulate,” Barton told KUTV.
“He’s a small child. Why didn’t you just tackle him? He’s a baby. He has mental issues.”
The heartbroken mother said that she was told to wait outside the house as officers entered their home. She thought her 13-year-old son was dead as officers did not explain immediately what had happened.
Barton said that she heard one of the officers asking: “He’s just a child, what are you doing?”
Linden suffered injuries to ankles, shoulders, bladder, and intestines.
Salt Lake City Police Department said that they responded to calls of a ‘violent psyche issue’ and that the teen was ‘making threats to some folks with a weapon.’
“While the full details of this incident are yet to be released as an investigation takes place, I will say that I am thankful this young boy is alive and no one else was injured,” said Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall.
“No matter the circumstances, what happened on Friday night is a tragedy and I expect this investigation to be handled swiftly and transparently for the sake of everyone involved.”
What are your thoughts on this? Let us know in the comments section and SHARE this story with your friends and family!
Replaced!