Valencia Police Criticised For Evicting An Autistic Man From A Bus

VALENCIA Police Criticised For Evicting A 36-Year-Old Autistic Man From A Bus in the city

TEA, the group in Valencia, Spain, that campaigns for the rights of people with autism spectrum disorders (ASD), has reported that a 36-year-old man who suffers from autism was ejected from an EMT bus in Valencia and interrogated by Local Police officers after another passenger had complained to the driver about the noises the man was making

The young man, called Eduardo, as a result of his autism, makes repetitive involuntary movements and sounds, and on March 14 he was travelling on the No93 line EMT bus, in the vicinity of Avenida del Cid, when another passenger complained to the driver about Eduardo, with the driver, according to TEA, going to Eduardo and telling him to be quiet, or else he would be expelled from the bus.

Minutes later, at a stop, two Local Police officers who had presumably been called by the driver, boarded the bus and escorted Eduardo off into the street, where they allegedly searched and interrogated him, before leaving him there on the street, in what was an area unknown to him.

TEA pointed out that Eduardo suffers from autism, and has a 67 per cent intellectual disability, and his family said it is incredible that “neither the officers nor the driver, noticed the disorder and disability” of the young man.

Eduardo finally found his way home, according to the family in a statement, “in a state of shock”, which they claim has led to “serious disorders, especially in his sleep and behavior”, and that they have been forced to increase the dosage of his medication, adding, “Since that day, he doesn’t dare to leave home alone”.

TEA says they regret what happened to Eduardo and want to remind “that the security forces are obliged to know, and use, specific protocols to treat people diagnosed with ASD” and they also trust that the EMT and the Local Police initiate an investigation to clarify the facts of what happened that day, as reported by Spanish daily laopiniondemalaga.es.

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