Illinois Police Tased 14-Year Old Autistic Black Boy After Mistaking Him For Suspect

The officer could be heard on the video recording saying to Thompson “Don’t move. Don’t move. You move, you’re going to get some more.”

The family of 14-year-old Avarius Thompson from Dolton, IL, has leveled accusations against local police, alleging that their son was tased after being mistaken for a suspect. According to The Chicago Defender, the incident occurred as law enforcement officers were in pursuit of four Black males, believed to be armed and dangerous, suspected of stealing and crashing a vehicle. In a case of mistaken identity, Thompson was pursued by the police, who yelled at him to raise his hands as he fled, ultimately leading to an officer extending a taser towards the teenager, as captured on body camera footage.

After Thompson jumped a fence, the officer tased him, and then tased him again when he tried to get up. The officer could be heard on the video recording saying to Thompson, “Don’t move. Don’t move. You move, you’re going to get some more.”

According to Calvin Townsend II, the attorney for Thompson’s family, Thompson is autistic, which may have added another level of terror to the teen’s experience. “He’s a 14-year-old kid, and having officers rush toward you with what we know are Tasers but could be perceived as guns is scary,” Townsend said. “Then you add the autistic aspect. Again, it’s very confusing.”

The family said their teen son, Avarius Thompson, was coming home after getting snacks from a grocery store when an officer used a taser on him in his own backyard. He was later hospitalized. pic.twitter.com/iVzYRU88i6
— Christian Martin (@ChristianM_28) January 18, 2024

Officers who were on the scene expressed doubt that they had pursued the right person, at least two could be heard expressing some variation of “We have the wrong guy,” but at that point, Thompson had already been hit with the taser. Later, at the hospital, Gwendolyn Toran, Thompson’s mother can be heard telling one of the officers, “You can’t arrest an autistic kid, man! Y’all tased him. Y’all did that.”

Following his treatment at the hospital, Thompson was arrested and released to his family later on that day. The family also says that Thompson obtained multiple injuries, including a fractured hip. According to Townsend, the family is planning to pursue legal action against the Village of Dolton.

Village officials released a statement on Jan. 17, saying in part, “Our thoughts are with Avarius Thompson and his family. Safety and well-being, especially for our vulnerable community members, are paramount.”

The statement continued, “The Village of Dolton responded to a call for assistance from the Riverdale police department, who was the lead law enforcement agency for this matter, and engaged Avarius Thompson during the encounter. The incident is currently under investigation, and we are committed to a thorough and transparent investigation with external reviews to determine this regrettable event.”

Thompson’s father, Eric Thompson, told ABC 7 that as he watched the video unfold, he could see that his son was confused, saying. “It was frightening. It was very scary,” Eric said. “I could see he was confused. He didn’t know what was going on.” He added that he is relieved that his son is still alive, saying. “You see so many stories of things like this happening to kids, and they go to jail and they do come up. Something happens, and they end up dying,” Eric said. “That happens every day in this world, and I don’t want to see that happen to my son or anybody’s kid.”