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EMERGENCY SERVICES Ashland police still dealing with controversial arrest Video goes viral of officers subduing a man claiming to be autistic Comment By Julie Akins for the Tidings DailyTidings.com By Julie Akins for the Tidings Posted Jul. 28, 2016 at 9:27 AM By Julie Akins for the Tidings Posted Jul. 28, 2016 at 9:27 AM » Social News A video gone viral of a man claiming to be autistic while being arrested by five police officers on the Ashland plaza in May continues to dog the Ashland Police Department. The video has 195,000 views since its release on July 12 and has been shared on Facebook nearly 3,000 times. At the recent July 19 Ashland City Council meeting, Medford attorney Bill Mansfield told the council he watched the video of the arrest on May 19 and found it to be “a very ugly situation.” Mansfield, a former Medford City Council member, told the council that while the man, identified as 31-year-old Charles Albert Colenaty, was acting out it did not appear to justify an arrest or the response of so many officers. “I submit that it’s poor public policy to go around arresting people that are mentally ill," Mansfield said. "It’s time for police to re-examine this entire issue.” Ashland Police Chief Tighe O’Meara was asked by Mayor John Stromberg to speak to Mansfield’s claims. The chief told the council and the public that every police officer with APD receives 40 hours of crisis intervention training. However, when it comes to specialized training in dealing with people with autism, which is a growing population, no training was available for the chief to offer to his police officers. O’Meara said he began looking for training for his department more than two years ago. “I began to work with two autistic men so we can recognize it and not attribute it to criminal behavior,” The chief told councilors. He could not find curricula anywhere so he asked the Rogue Valley Council of Governments, Disability Services, to assist him in creating one. The training lasted 2½ hours roughly a month ago. The father of one of the autistic men the chief referred to spoke with the Tidings on the condition of anonymity. The man, David, said his 27-year-old son was highly traumatized after being detained by APD 2½ years ago. “My son had just finished a four-hour exam and wasn’t able to communicate clearly,” he said. The father said it happened on January 16, 2014. “He had a T-shirt and shorts on. It was 27 degrees.” The father said his son was stopped by an officer who did a field sobriety test, which the officer said the man failed. “How can a highly decorated officer believe my son was stoned out of his mind but didn’t have a drop of anything in his system? It didn’t come to mind that my son might have a developmental issue.” More than two hours later his son was released. “Unfortunately my son got very sick as a result of the trauma.” He says after the incident, he approached O’Meara to tell his son’s story and ask that the chief do something to prevent a similar misunderstanding in the future. “We have a receptive police chief who listened to my story, was very moved by it and said something needs to be done,” he said. The incident in May involving Colenaty on the plaza occurred prior to that training. O’Meara said, however, after reviewing video from an officer's body camera, he had no issues with how the officers responded. “I think even with this training, that the officers responded appropriately,” O'Meara said. The chief said the arrest was investigated — as are all incidents in which officers use force — and determined to be justified. Colenaty will appear in court on the charges of interfering with a peace officer and resisting arrest. He faces the same charges for a March 31 incident in which officers say in court documents that he “resisted by pulling his arms from us, locking them in front of him and refusing an order to put them back.” In the May incident Colenaty was heard on the recording, released by a group calling themselves Human Rights Oregon, saying numerous times that he was not resisting. “I am not resisting. I’m autistic and my muscles are locking.” he yelled as officers piled on him to restrain him in handcuffs. O’Meara said Colenaty filed no complaints against the police nor did anyone else. He said he was unaware anyone thought there was a problem until the tape emerged on social media. “I was blind-sided.” Email Ashland freelance writer Julie Akins at [email protected] and follow her on Twitter at twitter.com/ @julieakins. By Julie Akins for the Tidings DailyTidings.com By Julie Akins for the Tidings Posted Jul. 28, 2016 at 9:27 AM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Southern Oregon Directory Featured Businesses Loading... 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