Police Murder Down Syndrome Man Over Movie Ticket and Get Away With It

[TheOldSchool]

God some of the responses in this thread sicken me.

Everyone involved in the situation made incredibly terrible decisions. If I had done anything that the police or aide did in my line of work I'd have to find a new profession.

 

[S.J.]

If he had a heart condition, a tazer could have killed him.

According to the autopsy report, Saylor fought with police and they fell.

Saylor wasn't choked...it was positional asphyxia.

The autopsy report says one deputy then touched Saylor to remove him from the theater. When he resisted, the others joined in. "In their effort, three deputies and Mr. Saylor all fell into a heap" in a side aisle of the auditorium, the report says.

The deputies then handcuffed Saylor, using three sets to accommodate his girth, while he was face down on the floor, according to the autopsy report. He became unresponsive and the deputies rolled him over. They couldn't find a pulse, so they removed the handcuffs and started chest compressions.

Read more: Robert Ethan Saylor: Autopsy shows Saylor had heart condition | WJLA.com
Follow us: @ABC7News on Twitter | WJLATV on Facebook
​

​

It was an accident.

I'm sure it WAS an accident, but an accident that a different attitude would have prevented. They had to have seen that the guy was mentally disabled. They should have asked the manager to let him stay for another movie, for starters. Then they could have offered to buy the guy another ticket. They had other options but they chose the worst one. If those cops can't differentiate between a mentally disabled man and a common criminal, they shouldn't be on the streets.

The police couldn't leave him there out of control, not responding to his caretaker and violent...even if he had a ticket.

What other options did they have?

Let me put this another way...

Let's say this is a 10 year old having a temper tantrum instead.

Would you expect police to close the movie theater and wait for the kids mom to show up to get him under control?

The 10 year old may not understand, he may not like to be touched, and he may not be able to be controlled be his 18 year old guardian...

But you still aren't going to close the theater to wait for his mom.

And you're not going to expect that removing him is going to result in his death.

So he will be removed by the police, if their presence is requested.

How is this any different?

It's different because he wasn't a 10 year old brat, he was a mentally disabled adult. Yes, close the fucking theater, would that be so terrible? They didn't even have to close it, just tell the people to go wait in the lobby until the situation is resolved. Shit happens. Sometimes I'm driving and traffic stops because there's an accident. I don't like being inconvenienced but shit, somebody could have gotten hurt, I can wait a few minutes.

 

[S.J.]

God some of the responses in this thread sicken me.

Everyone involved in the situation made incredibly terrible decisions. If I had done anything that the police or aide did in my line of work I'd have to find a new profession.

And if I had been the manager of that theater I would have kept my mouth shut about the guy not buying another ticket after taking one look at him. What kind of a prick was he, anyway? I hope the asshole is happy for not letting the mentally disabled guy get away with watching the movie twice (even though he didn't know he was doing anything wrong!). Yeah, that'll teach him.

 

[Esmeralda]

Ethan Saylor, a man with Down Syndrome, was just 26 years old when he was attacked and murdered by police officers at a movie theater. He’d gone to see Zero Dark Thirty with his health aide. When the film was over, Saylor decided he wanted to stay and see the movie again. His aide had left the theater to get the car. Police moved in on Saylor because he didn’t have a ticket for the second showing of the film and the aide had, by then, returned to the lobby. She warned them not to touch Saylor saying that due to his condition he would become easily upset. They didn’t listen and instead attacked Saylor, throwing him to the ground and piling on top of him, crushing his larynx as he tried to cry out for help. He managed to squeeze out the words “help, ouch!” and “Mommy!” while, according to eyewitnesses, three policemen were piling on top of him. His death has been ruled a homicide.

Police Murder Down Syndrome Man Over Movie Ticket and Get Away With It | Las Vegas Guardian Express

Why did the health aid leave him unattended and why did the officers need to be so brutal?

If this is true, why isn’t in the mainstream national media? Something like this, police officers brutally killing a handicapped man, that would usually make national news.

Having read the 3 news articles (posted in this thread), it seems like a lot of mistakes were made, mostly due to the police not being familiar with how to deal with someone with this man's handicaps. Also, the theatre should have known that a handicapped person who is accompanied by an aid only needs one theatre ticket and that since they had bought 2 tickets, he did not have to buy a 2nd one to see the show again.

1. The aid should have known they didn't need to buy a second ticket for the aid. The aid should never have left the man unattended. However, the aid called his mother and the mother seems to have suggested that the aid do so, to let him cool down.
2. The police should have had training in how to deal with someone with these types of handicaps.
3. If the young man had a problem that could cause 'sudden death,' as has been stated in one if the articles, he should have been wearing a medical alert bracelet.
4. The movie theatre should have known that both he and the aid didn't need to buy a second ticket and since they had, he didn't need another one for the second showing.

Everyone made huge mistakes here. I think the matter should be thoroughly investigated and improvements should be made all around. I don't think the officers are murderers. I think the jury was right, and it is probably because they had more information. We shouldn't have knee jerk reactions to headlines; when you do that it clearly indicates how susceptible you are to propaganda

 

[C_Clayton_Jones]

Police Murder Down Syndrome Man Over Movie Ticket and Get Away With It

Based on the evidence and testimony as reviewed by the Grand Jury, this is incorrect and unfounded.

 

[Kooshdakhaa]

I've watched cops "take someone down" as they did in this case, and they were extremely violent. In the event I witnessed, it was a drunk woman. They were trying to arrest her and she was mouthing off at them and wouldn't get in the squad car, holding on to the sides of the door with her hands, etc. All of a sudden, they slammed her to the ground, face first, handcuffed her and then bent her legs up behind her and cuffed them to her hands. She was not only drunk, but overweight. I heard her say, "Oh, my God!!" after they slammed her to the ground, and then she was silent. I suspect she was experiencing some difficulty breathing, etc. One of the cop continued to keep his knee pressed down against her back, even though she was totally subdued.

This was right in front of my house and I yelled out to the cops, what are you gonna do, kill her??? And got out my cell phone and started videoing them. They looked at me like they were trying to figure out some excuse to slam ME to the ground as well. Fucking Gestapo.

 

[Kooshdakhaa]

There was also an incident at a bar in my town, where bouncers took a guy down like this. They had him down on the ground face first and then he stopped moving. Because he was dead. The fuckers had killed him.

It is quite possible to cut off a person's breathing when you slam them to the ground face first and pile on them, or put pressure on their back, or bend their body. It's called "positional asphyxia" and it can kill someone quite quickly. I think the cops know this. I think they like killing people.

Power corrupts.

 

[Missourian]

Ethan Saylor, a man with Down Syndrome, was just 26 years old when he was attacked and murdered by police officers at a movie theater. He’d gone to see Zero Dark Thirty with his health aide. When the film was over, Saylor decided he wanted to stay and see the movie again. His aide had left the theater to get the car. Police moved in on Saylor because he didn’t have a ticket for the second showing of the film and the aide had, by then, returned to the lobby. She warned them not to touch Saylor saying that due to his condition he would become easily upset. They didn’t listen and instead attacked Saylor, throwing him to the ground and piling on top of him, crushing his larynx as he tried to cry out for help. He managed to squeeze out the words “help, ouch!” and “Mommy!” while, according to eyewitnesses, three policemen were piling on top of him. His death has been ruled a homicide.

Police Murder Down Syndrome Man Over Movie Ticket and Get Away With It | Las Vegas Guardian Express

Why did the health aid leave him unattended and why did the officers need to be so brutal?

If this is true, why isn’t in the mainstream national media? Something like this, police officers brutally killing a handicapped man, that would usually make national news.

Having read the 3 news articles (posted in this thread), it seems like a lot of mistakes were made, mostly due to the police not being familiar with how to deal with someone with this man's handicaps. Also, the theatre should have known that a handicapped person who is accompanied by an aid only needs one theatre ticket and that since they had bought 2 tickets, he did not have to buy a 2nd one to see the show again.

1. The aid should have known they didn't need to buy a second ticket for the aid. The aid should never have left the man unattended. However, the aid called his mother and the mother seems to have suggested that the aid do so, to let him cool down.
2. The police should have had training in how to deal with someone with these types of handicaps.
3. If the young man had a problem that could cause 'sudden death,' as has been stated in one if the articles, he should have been wearing a medical alert bracelet.
4. The movie theatre should have known that both he and the aid didn't need to buy a second ticket and since they had, he didn't need another one for the second showing.

Everyone made huge mistakes here. I think the matter should be thoroughly investigated and improvements should be made all around. I don't think the officers are murderers. I think the jury was right, and it is probably because they had more information. We shouldn't have knee jerk reactions to headlines; when you do that it clearly indicates how susceptible you are to propaganda

I agree with most of this...

I think the extra ticket may be a red herring though.

It was time to go home, and the caregiver was trying to get him in the car to go home, and that was what set him off...punching the shop window and refusing to leave with his caregiver...

She was only 18...this is WAY too much responsibility for someone with so little experience IMO.

Had the caregiver been more experienced , I think this situation may have been avoided.

I think the police handled this situation in the same manner they would have handled any similar situation.

I find it difficult to fault them for that.

That is how they are trained...if a and b then c...for everyone, equally.

 

[Esmeralda]

Police Murder Down Syndrome Man Over Movie Ticket and Get Away With It | Las Vegas Guardian Express

Why did the health aid leave him unattended and why did the officers need to be so brutal?

If this is true, why isn’t in the mainstream national media? Something like this, police officers brutally killing a handicapped man, that would usually make national news.

Having read the 3 news articles (posted in this thread), it seems like a lot of mistakes were made, mostly due to the police not being familiar with how to deal with someone with this man's handicaps. Also, the theatre should have known that a handicapped person who is accompanied by an aid only needs one theatre ticket and that since they had bought 2 tickets, he did not have to buy a 2nd one to see the show again.

1. The aid should have known they didn't need to buy a second ticket for the aid. The aid should never have left the man unattended. However, the aid called his mother and the mother seems to have suggested that the aid do so, to let him cool down.
2. The police should have had training in how to deal with someone with these types of handicaps.
3. If the young man had a problem that could cause 'sudden death,' as has been stated in one if the articles, he should have been wearing a medical alert bracelet.
4. The movie theatre should have known that both he and the aid didn't need to buy a second ticket and since they had, he didn't need another one for the second showing.

Everyone made huge mistakes here. I think the matter should be thoroughly investigated and improvements should be made all around. I don't think the officers are murderers. I think the jury was right, and it is probably because they had more information. We shouldn't have knee jerk reactions to headlines; when you do that it clearly indicates how susceptible you are to propaganda

I agree with most of this...

I think the extra ticket may be a red herring though.

It was time to go home, and the caregiver was trying to get him in the car to go home, and that was what set him off...punching the shop window and refusing to leave with his caregiver...

She was only 18...this is WAY too much responsibility for someone with so little experience IMO.

Had the caregiver been more experienced , I think this situation may have been avoided.

I think the police handled this situation in the same manner they would have handled any similar situation.

I find it difficult to fault them for that.

That is how they are trained...if a and b then c...for everyone, equally.

I don't think the ticket is a red herring. Had the theatre been informed that they don't have to make the care giver buy a ticket, they would not have pursued this issue: they would not have called the police and the entire thing would have been avoided. Whoever is responsble needs to make sure theatres and theatre employees are informed about the right of such people to enter the theatre with a caregiver who does not need to buy a ticket.

But, the caregiver should also have known about that issue. These caregivers are not paid much, probably minimum wage. It is difficult to get an more mature, experienced person to do that job. It's really something the State should be supplementing, so that people can have more experienced and better trained caregivers. Handicapped people, people in nursing homes, etc., their caregivers are usually the most inexperienced, poorly trained and poorly paid people in our society.

I do think it is monumentally important for the police to be better trained in putting someone who is resisting under arrest. We hear about these stories too often. They especially need to be trained in dealing with mentally and physcially handicapped people.

And most importantly of all, if this guy had been wearing a medical alert bracelet about his potential for sudden death, that would have probably prevented his death!

 

[Missourian]

If this is true, why isn’t in the mainstream national media? Something like this, police officers brutally killing a handicapped man, that would usually make national news.

Having read the 3 news articles (posted in this thread), it seems like a lot of mistakes were made, mostly due to the police not being familiar with how to deal with someone with this man's handicaps. Also, the theatre should have known that a handicapped person who is accompanied by an aid only needs one theatre ticket and that since they had bought 2 tickets, he did not have to buy a 2nd one to see the show again.

1. The aid should have known they didn't need to buy a second ticket for the aid. The aid should never have left the man unattended. However, the aid called his mother and the mother seems to have suggested that the aid do so, to let him cool down.
2. The police should have had training in how to deal with someone with these types of handicaps.
3. If the young man had a problem that could cause 'sudden death,' as has been stated in one if the articles, he should have been wearing a medical alert bracelet.
4. The movie theatre should have known that both he and the aid didn't need to buy a second ticket and since they had, he didn't need another one for the second showing.

Everyone made huge mistakes here. I think the matter should be thoroughly investigated and improvements should be made all around. I don't think the officers are murderers. I think the jury was right, and it is probably because they had more information. We shouldn't have knee jerk reactions to headlines; when you do that it clearly indicates how susceptible you are to propaganda

I agree with most of this...

I think the extra ticket may be a red herring though.

It was time to go home, and the caregiver was trying to get him in the car to go home, and that was what set him off...punching the shop window and refusing to leave with his caregiver...

She was only 18...this is WAY too much responsibility for someone with so little experience IMO.

Had the caregiver been more experienced , I think this situation may have been avoided.

I think the police handled this situation in the same manner they would have handled any similar situation.

I find it difficult to fault them for that.

That is how they are trained...if a and b then c...for everyone, equally.

I don't think the ticket is a red herring. Had the theatre been informed that they don't have to make the care giver buy a ticket, they would not have pursued this issue: they would not have called the police and there entire thing would have been avoided. Whoever is responsble needs to make sure theatres and theatre employees are informed about the right of such people to enter the theatre with a caregiver who does not need to buy a ticket.

But, the caregiver should also have known about that issue. These caregivers are not paid much, probably minimum wage. It is difficult to get an more mature, experienced person to do that job. It's really something the State should be supplementing, so that people can have more experienced and better trained caregivers. Handicapped people, people in nursing homes, etc., their caregivers are usually the most inexperienced, poorly trained and poorly paid people in our society.

I do think it is monumentally important for the police to be better trained in putting someone who is resisting under arrest. We hear about these stories too often. They especially need to be trained in dealing with mentally and physcially handicapped people.

And most importantly of all, if this guy had been wearing a medical alert bracelet about his potential for sudden death, that would have probably prevented his death!

Ah, good point...I didn't think about that.

Good post all around. If I hadn't rep that delicious looking salted cod dish, I would rep this comment...but alas, you'll have to wait until later.

Doesn't the state pay medicaid and SSI to cover these expenses?

 

[S.J.]

And most importantly of all, if this guy had been wearing a medical alert bracelet about his potential for sudden death, that would have probably prevented his death!

Somehow I don't think those thugs would have taken the time to read the bracelet, do you?

 

[Esmeralda]

I agree with most of this...

I think the extra ticket may be a red herring though.

It was time to go home, and the caregiver was trying to get him in the car to go home, and that was what set him off...punching the shop window and refusing to leave with his caregiver...

She was only 18...this is WAY too much responsibility for someone with so little experience IMO.

Had the caregiver been more experienced , I think this situation may have been avoided.

I think the police handled this situation in the same manner they would have handled any similar situation.

I find it difficult to fault them for that.

That is how they are trained...if a and b then c...for everyone, equally.

I don't think the ticket is a red herring. Had the theatre been informed that they don't have to make the care giver buy a ticket, they would not have pursued this issue: they would not have called the police and there entire thing would have been avoided. Whoever is responsble needs to make sure theatres and theatre employees are informed about the right of such people to enter the theatre with a caregiver who does not need to buy a ticket.

But, the caregiver should also have known about that issue. These caregivers are not paid much, probably minimum wage. It is difficult to get an more mature, experienced person to do that job. It's really something the State should be supplementing, so that people can have more experienced and better trained caregivers. Handicapped people, people in nursing homes, etc., their caregivers are usually the most inexperienced, poorly trained and poorly paid people in our society.

I do think it is monumentally important for the police to be better trained in putting someone who is resisting under arrest. We hear about these stories too often. They especially need to be trained in dealing with mentally and physcially handicapped people.

And most importantly of all, if this guy had been wearing a medical alert bracelet about his potential for sudden death, that would have probably prevented his death!

Ah, good point...I didn't think about that.

Good post all around. If I hadn't rep that delicious looking salted cod dish, I would rep this comment...but alas, you'll have to wait until later.

Doesn't the state pay medicaid and SSI to cover these expenses?

Depending on the income of the family, the handicapped person can get financial aid from the State for caregiver expensive, but the salaries of these people is still minimum wage. In the early 90s, I worked for a company that placed temporary health care providers--nurses, nurse's aids, and caregivers. They were paid somewhat above a regular salary because they were on-call and temporary, but the regular salary for care givers and for nursing assistants in nursing homes is pretty much minimum wage. These people have to be certified, but their training is fairly minimal and at that salary, most are young and inexperienced. When I said the State should be supplementing it, I meant they should be paying more for the salaries of these people. But they won't. This is something that is low on the priority list of most people.

 

[bianco]

Sounds like an unfortunate accident to me.

At face value, it sounds like 'police brutality' to me.

 

[Esmeralda]

Sounds like an unfortunate accident to me.

At face value, it sounds like 'police brutality' to me.

Wouldn't it be better to look at the details rather than just 'at face value'?

 

[Esmeralda]

And most importantly of all, if this guy had been wearing a medical alert bracelet about his potential for sudden death, that would have probably prevented his death!

Somehow I don't think those thugs would have taken the time to read the bracelet, do you?

It is their job to do so and if they don't, then they would be responsible for the death of this individual.

 

[bianco]

Sounds like an unfortunate accident to me.

At face value, it sounds like 'police brutality' to me.

Wouldn't it be better to look at the details rather than just 'at face value'?

At face value...going by the story at the start of this thread, and not in possession of a coroner's report.


Police moved in on Saylor because he didn’t have a ticket for the second showing of the film and the aide had, by then, returned to the lobby. She warned them not to touch Saylor saying that due to his condition he would become easily upset. They didn’t listen and instead attacked Saylor, throwing him to the ground and piling on top of him, crushing his larynx as he tried to cry out for help.

 

[Michelle420]

My agenda??? That's bullshit. Don't turn this into a pissing contest, 3 cops killed a retarded man. They could have tazed him, and/or they could have had everyone leave the theater until the mother got there. Disagree with me if you want but please leave the personal digs out of it.

If he had a heart condition, a tazer could have killed him.

According to the autopsy report, Saylor fought with police and they fell.

Saylor wasn't choked...it was positional asphyxia.

The autopsy report says one deputy then touched Saylor to remove him from the theater. When he resisted, the others joined in. "In their effort, three deputies and Mr. Saylor all fell into a heap" in a side aisle of the auditorium, the report says.

The deputies then handcuffed Saylor, using three sets to accommodate his girth, while he was face down on the floor, according to the autopsy report. He became unresponsive and the deputies rolled him over. They couldn't find a pulse, so they removed the handcuffs and started chest compressions.

Read more: Robert Ethan Saylor: Autopsy shows Saylor had heart condition | WJLA.com
Follow us: @ABC7News on Twitter | WJLATV on Facebook
​

​

It was an accident.

I'm sure it WAS an accident, but an accident that a different attitude would have prevented. They had to have seen that the guy was mentally disabled. They should have asked the manager to let him stay for another movie, for starters. Then they could have offered to buy the guy another ticket. They had other options but they chose the worst one. If those cops can't differentiate between a mentally disabled man and a common criminal, they shouldn't be on the streets.

Absolutely agree and they could have asked the mother to come in and talk to him.

It was not worth someone losing their life over it.

 

[Michelle420]

In my opinion the whole thing was completely mishandled. I do think the police were negligent.

 

[Katzndogz]

Do not call the police and expect them to do nothing. They are not counelors. They will not reason with the guy, they will do what needs to be done as quickly as possible.

There was a time when one cop standing 6'3" and weighing in at 225 would have grabbed this guy and put him in the car so fast, he wouldn't know whether he was touched or not. When you have police officers that are small and physically unimposing they need half a dozen to do what one used to do.

 

[JoeBlam]

WTF? Whatever happened to common sense?

Ethan Saylor?s death deservedly under investigation again - Washington Post

They're full of HGH these days....look at em....bulked up, covered in acne....roid rage.