Saturday, May 29, 2010

Georgia Bureau of Investigation to review police Tasering of teen with Asperger's

From WSAV-TV in Georgia:

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation will now conduct an investigation into the case of 18-year old Clifford Grevemberg, the autistic young man, tased by Tybee Police May 28.
Tybee Chief James Price says, "Due to the high level of interest in the recent case of an autistic man being tased by a TIPD officer, I have requested that an agent of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation perform a thorough and objective investigation of the incident, using whatever means are available or discoverable by this agent."

Grevemberg, who has Asperger's Syndrome, was sitting outside a restaurant. At the time, Chief Price said in a news release, "We are sincerely apologetic for the injuries suffered by Mr. Grevemberg. We are also sorry that he was left unattended.

The Chief said, at the time, officers had no way of knowing that Grevemberg was autistic and that he showed characteristics of an intoxicated person.

The family says Grevemberg does not use alcohol. He was charged with disorderly conduct. At this point, those charges remain.

In his release today, Chief Price says the investigation begins today, Thursday, with interviews of the two officers directly involved, a review of the incident reports and a review of the Department's Use of Force Policy with an emphasis on the Taser policy.