Autistic man dies in police struggle
Des Plaines officers used stun gun twice
By Liam Ford, Chicago Tribune staff reporter.
Published November 22, 2005
An autistic man who died after Des Plaines police shocked him twice with a
stun gun over the weekend was not known to be violent, the director of the
agency that ran the man's group home said Monday.
Police fired a Taser at Hansel Cunningham, 30, after they arrived at the
home Sunday afternoon after receiving a distress call from a caregiver who
reported that Cunningham had severely bitten him on his hands and arms while
he attempted to restrain the resident, officials said.
Unable to restrain Cunningham, police also used pepper spray to try to
subdue him, and paramedics injected him with a sedative, officials said. A
cause of death was not determined by an autopsy Monday.
Cunningham experienced breathing problems after officers tackled and
handcuffed him, said Des Plaines Police Chief Jim Prandini.
"He fought through it all," said Prandini, who said Cunningham stripped off
his clothing after running into the back yard of the group home in the 800
block of South Golf Cul de Sac. "He continued to fight. We had to forcibly
put him in handcuffs. It took three officers to get him subdued."
Describing the incident as a tragedy, Prandini said, "I have every
confidence that we used the appropriate use of force to get this under
control."
Pamela Watson, executive director of Rimland Services NFP in Evanston, said
Cunningham had lived at the Rimland Services for Autistic Citizens residence
in Des Plaines for more than five years.
"We're outraged," Watson said. "It seems as though the Des Plaines police
are describing him as a violent individual, and we've never known him to be
that way."
After getting the distress call, police arrived at the group home about 3:40
p.m. When they confronted Cunningham and tried to arrest him inside the
house, he ran to the fenced-in back yard of the single-story brick ranch
house, Prandini said.
Unable to subdue Cunningham with two shots from a stun gun, police squirted
pepper spray in his eyes, the chief said. As a last resort, three officers
tackled and handcuffed him, Prandini said.
After he was shocked the first time with the stun gun, Cunningham pulled out
the electric barbs and was shot a second time, according to the Cook County
medical examiner's office. Cunningham was 6 feet tall and weighed about 175
pounds.
After he had been stunned twice, paramedics injected a sedative, said a
spokeswoman for the medical examiner.
Paramedics with the Des Plaines Fire Department couldn't revive Cunningham
after he experienced breathing problems, and he was pronounced dead at 4:40
p.m. Sunday in Northwest Community Hospital in Arlington Heights, officials
said.
Two patrol officers, one with 13 years' experience, the other with 11, and a
police sergeant who has been with the department for 21 years were involved
in the incident, police said.
Cunningham was one of several adult men who live in the group home. All the
residents hold weekday jobs or are in vocational training and return to the
home in the evening.
Cunningham's family, who live on Chicago's South Side, declined to be
interviewed, but Watson said they were upset when she spoke to them after
Cunningham's death.
"We're just deeply, deeply saddened by this, and the family, when I saw them
[Sunday] ... they were just outraged," Watson said.
Don Moss, a disability rights advocate who works with Rimland, said there
are some questions about whether police--and the staff member who called
police--overreacted.
Rimland is asking that authorities investigate the incident thoroughly, he
said.
"Our basic concern is, was unnecessary force used by the Des Plaines
police?" Moss said.
In addition to Des Plaines police, the State Police Public Integrity Task
Force, which includes investigators from the Cook County state's attorney's
office, and the state Department of Human Services are investigating,
officials said Monday.
The state's Community Integrated Living Arrangement program provides funding
for group homes for people with developmental disabilities, including severe
mental retardation or autism.
Rimland, a 34-year-old private agency, has small group homes for people with
developmental disabilities in Des Plaines, Highland Park, Maywood and Mt.
Prospect. It has received more than $10 million in state money in the last
five years, records show.
"They are a good provider. They are known for handling persons with autism,"
said Tom Green, a spokesman for the Department of Human Services.
One resident of the Cunningham family's neighborhood said he was sorry to
hear about the death.
"He was special, let's say that," said Louis Gans, 66. "He would interact
with other kids, but not that much. He'd just ride his bike up and down the
street. He never bothered anyone, and the ones who knew he was special never
bothered him."
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Source: Chicago Tribune
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/northwest/chi-0511220284nov22,1,763473.story?ctrack=1&cset=true
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