Police ombudsman recommends training after autistic woman removed from shop

Police officers should get improved training on how to deal with autistic people following an incident involving a woman in Lisburn, a Police Ombudsman investigation has recommended.

Footage of the incident, posted on social media last year, showed Katie Mitchell, 19, being removed from a shop by four officers and her father.

She is non-verbal and has learning difficulties.

The ombudsman found while there was no misconduct by officers who responded, there should be enhanced training to “improve how they respond to members of the public who are autistic and may have individual communication needs”.

At the time, Katie’s family said she had been left traumatised and that police had shown no “understanding” or “empathy”.

Her sister, Dr Eileen Mitchell, said her sister tried to buy a DVD that cost £2 in the store in Lisburn, but tills had closed for the day.

The family said Katie’s mother called the police in an effort to de-escalate the situation but later lodged a complaint with the ombudsman which focused on the officers’ training.

Director of investigations Nikki Davis said the incident was “undoubtedly distressing” and emphasised the need for enhanced training.

The incident developed after the young women entered the CeX shop through half-closed shutters.

The tills were closed, and when she was unable to buy a DVD, she and her mother were asked to leave.

The police were called after the situation escalated.

The investigation reviewed police body-worn video footage, and it showed when they arrived “their preference was for her parents to remove her”.

Her father “tried to move her physically”, but was unable to do so.

Officers became involved “only after the young woman’s father continued to experience difficulties managing on his own”.

One officer was hurt.

Mrs Davis said footage of Katie being taken out of the shop was the subject of “significant public commentary”.

After a review of the footage and audio, including body-cams and CCTV, Mrs Davis said officers who attended understood the “best approach” was for her parents to encourage her to leave.

“The police officers recognised from the outset that there was no simple solution and their action was a last resort in an incident which lasted for around 18 minutes from police entering the shop to leaving,” it added.

The ombudsman report added while there were no breaches of the PSNI’s code of ethics, it did expose a gap in current training, leading directly to the recommendation that officers receive enhanced training.

It continued: “[This] equips them to engage with, and respond to, any autistic person, but especially a person who speaks few or no words and may communicate in other ways.”

Katie’s sister, Dr Eileen Mitchell, said she was not “overly surprised” by the report’s outcome, but was still disappointed it did not highlight the “emotional and psychological impact” it has had on her sister.

“Katie is non-verbal, she’s autistic and she just did not understand what was going on at the time, and I just think that the police’s response to it was just completely disproportionate.”

Dr Mitchell expressed her worry about how the enhanced training would be implemented and monitored.

“Is it going to be the case that it doesn’t have to be mandatory, or that an officer will sit down in front of a computer and look at a few videos?”

She said she did not want it to be a “tick box exercise”.

She said that since the incident Katie was “really frightened” when she saw police officers.

“We have a great respect for the police force, it’s an extremely difficult job that they do,” she said.

“But now when we go out in public with Katie, if she sees a police officer she’ll start crying because she’ll not know if something’s going to happen.”

She said the family no longer goes shopping in Lisburn anymore and have had to “change and adapt”.

The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI)’s Assistant Chief Constable, Ryan Henderson, said he welcomes the report’s findings.

“This was a very difficult and complex set of circumstances for everyone involved and we welcome the confirmation from The Ombudsman’s report that no officer should face any misconduct as a result of this investigation,” he added.

ACC Henderson also said the report recognises the efforts the officers made to support the young woman’s parents to “diffuse the distressing situation they found”.

He added while training exists for front line officers in dealing with vulnerable individuals and mental health, “there is no specific input for front line officers on strategies for dealing with those they encounter who may be non-verbal”.

“In keeping with the recommendation we will now consider how best to incorporate this element into future training.”