The lives of people with disabilities matter, too. Op-Ed by DRC attorneys.

Sacramento Bee
Media Coverage

The lives of people with disabilities matter, too. Op-Ed by DRC attorneys.

"Last summer in Citrus Heights, James Bradford Nelson, a man with mental illness who had been acting erratically, had his skin seared on the hot pavement until he passed out as police held him to the ground.

A year earlier in Burbank, a police officer pulled over Tawnya Nevarez and her teenage son, who has autism and was not wearing a seat belt. The officer ignored her pleas about how to respond to her son’s agitation and confusion and instead pepper-sprayed and Tasered him, causing a seizure.

People with disabilities encounter law enforcement at a disproportionately high rate, sometimes with tragic results. They face higher rates of arrest, incarceration and use of force. A new Cornell University study has found that these disparities are even more glaring when disability, race and gender are considered together."