Disability and Policing: Legally Enmeshed Behavioral Structure in a Society of Non-uniform Behavior

• In Event: Poster Session 1

Abstract

Police encounters hinge on the communicative skills, awareness, and compliance that autistic individuals lack yet minimal research connects the two groups cohesively. This exploration addresses the following: “How does the police state reinforce ableist social scripts and define normativity?”. Employing a DisCrit theoretical lens, I compare presentations of autism in the DSM-5 and personal testimonies with qualitative data from Fourth Amendment case briefs, disorderly conduct laws (e.g. New York Penal Code), and immunity cases. This serves as the foundation of the argument that criminality standards perpetuate otherness. My legal analysis reveals exclusionary wording of unacceptable civilian behavior and subjective police accountability standards which thematically reject neurodiverse existence. Therefore, legal frameworks carry insufficient capability for recognizing difference, which embeds autistic traits as the epitome of deviance. These connections propose that the subjugation of disabled bodies is the inevitable consequence of law enforcement’s secondary role as moral enforcers. The findings crucially contribute to therapeutic jurisprudence and future policy research exploring ways to minimize ableism when outlining suspicion. We must amplify changes as policing shapes fears and empowers civilians to punish disability; ultimately disabled people fight for survival as neurodivergence is then synonymous with threat and they are pushed out of society.

Authors

• Eileen Chen, George Washington University

• Carlos Felipe Bustamante, The George Washington University