FRANKLIN, Tenn. (WTVF) — Police officers and other law enforcement officials from around the state will be in Franklin soon to learn how best to interact with people on the autism spectrum.
The two-day immersive program was developed by the University of Tennessee's Law Enforcement Innovation Center and is free for law enforcement personnel to attend, thanks to some state grants.
In addition to law enforcement leaders, people on the autism spectrum will be part of panel discussions and training programs.
"There will also be role-play traffic stops, domestic calls, those situations in a real-life scenario with the guidance of officers in the room to help work through it", said Jeff Hundley, a training specialist with the University of Tennessee’s Law Enforcement Innovation Center.
Hundley helped create the weekend of training.
He said it’s the first of its kind to have a university-backed system for this kind of law enforcement training.
"To humanize autism for law enforcement officers, but in turn, to humanize law enforcement officers for those that are autistic, so that they can realize that's someone that they can trust, so that they can go to that person if they have a problem," Hundley said.
Some of the sessions will focus on de-escalation techniques, understanding sensory sensitivities for people on the spectrum, non-verbal cues and more.
Tanner Smith from the Netflix hit “Love on the Spectrum” will also be joining the initiative.
Franklin Police Department’s Detective Dillon Lipinski is leading a training on how to respond to wandering and missing people with Autism.
Helping people with autism is a cause that he said is close to his heart, and referenced his 13-year-old son, who is on the spectrum.
“Sometimes the mannerisms and the things that they do appear to be non-compliant, it can appear to be intoxicated behavior. They appear to be, you know, resisting. And so I don't want police to look at those situations and think that's what's happening,” said Lipinski.
Some of the funding for the training comes from Tennessee’s Department of Finance and Administration, Disability and Aging, and the Council on Developmental Disabilities.
Organizers said they have room for a few more law enforcement agencies to attend the training.
For more information about attending the training, you can email Jeff Hundley at Jeff.Hundley@tennessee.edu.
Do you have more information about this story? You can email me at robb.coles@newschannel5.com.
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