Edwin Arrigo

Name: Edwin Arrigo (also called Edwin Armigo or Erwin Arnigo).
Died: May 23, 2021.
Age at death: 18.
Cause of death: Police shooting.
Location: Valenzuela City, Phillippines.

Details:
Edwin was known in his village as a helpful child who would do anything for anyone without asking for anything in return.

Edwin lived near an illegal cock-fighting ring. He was shot by police, but the story the police tell, and the story his family tells, are different.

The police say he was at the cock-fight, and they shot him because he tried to grab one of their guns. But Edwin’s family says that he was nowhere near the illegal cock-fight, and the police dragged him there so that they could justify having shot him during their break-up of the cock-fighting ring. The family says they have witnesses who can corroborate their story, and who say they saw the police grab Edwin in a bear hug, shoot him at close range, and drag him away.

The police officers involved have been fired. An investigation is underway.

References:
No ‘agawan ng baril:’ Witness claims death of teen in Valenzuela ‘accidental’
NBI to probe death of man with autism killed in Valenzuela police raid
Four Police Officers Relieved After Filipino Teen Shot Dead During Raid
CHR to probe death of ‘autistic’ teenager in police operation in Valenzuela City

Ayushi Majethia

Name: Ayushi Majethia.
Died: March 27, 2021.
Age at death: 27.
Cause of death: Accidental/Negligence (Dehydration/pneumonia after going missing).
Location: Chembur, Maharashtra, India.

Details:
Ayushi, who had intellectual disability as well as autism, went to a nearby temple with her mother. They became separated, and Ayushi got lost. The family went to police, asking for help. They showed the police her mental health certificate. Her brother explained that Ayushi was a vulnerable disabled person and they needed to start searching for her right away, because she could easily be hurt on her own.

But the police did not file a First Information Report until Ayushi had been missing for 17 days. Some people saw her on the trains, and one of Ayushi’s friends who saw her also called the police; but nothing was done.

It wasn’t until May 3 that Ayushi’s family were informed that she was dead. Her body had been found two days after she went missing; she had died of dehydration and pneumonia, and her body had been cremated a day later because all the mortuaries were full of COVID victims. Her family had to identify her from pictures.

Had the police acted when they asked for help, Ayushi’s family believes she would be alive today.

References:
Mumbai: Family claims police delay led to missing autistic woman’s death

Jameson Shapiro

Name: Jameson Shapiro.
Died: November 26, 2020.
Age at death: 18 months.
Cause of death: Homicide (Shot).
Location: Kawartha Lakes, Ontario, Canada.

Details:
Jameson and his brother, both autistic, were in their mother’s custody when their father abducted Jameson. Jameson’s father hit a police roadblock and got into a shootout with police. When it was over, Jameson’s father was dying, and Jameson was found dead, also shot by police.

References:
Baby killed in Kawartha Lakes incident was shot by OPP officer, SIU says
Opinion | Why is almost everything about his shooting death a secret?
Jameson Fund, organized by Bryan Ross
‘I can’t go any quicker,’ Special Investigations Unit director says

Iyad Halak

Name: Iyad Halak.
Died: May 30, 2020.
Age at death: 32.
Cause of death: Police shooting (Unarmed).
Location: Jerusalem, Israel.

Details:
Iyad was a student at a special education institute. He was walking to school when police yelled at him to stop. Not understanding, or perhaps surprised and confused, Iyad ran and was pursued by the police until he ran into a dead-end alley. He died from one or more of the seven shots discharged at him.

Police claim they saw Iyad holding a weapon, but he was unarmed. The shooter has been charged with second-degree murder.

References:
Police officer indicted for death of special needs student Iyad al-Halak
Israeli Cop Who Killed Autistic Palestinian Man Is Charged
Prosecution leans toward 2nd degree murder for officer who killed Halak
No Justice No Speech: Autism A Deadly Hazard When Dealing With Police
Israeli minister says sorry for police shooting of unarmed Palestinian
Gantz expresses sorrow over police killing of East Jerusalem man with autism
Police officer under house arrest after killing of special needs East J’lem man
Israeli forces kill unarmed autistic Palestinian man
Killing of unarmed, autistic Palestinian in Jerusalem sparks outrage
Teacher says she shouted, ”he’s disabled!’ before cops gunned down Palestinian

K. D.

Name: K. D.
Died: April 23, 2020.
Age at death: 30.
Cause of death: Medical neglect.
Location: Forest Hills, Queens, New York City, New York, USA.

Details:
K. D. was a Filipino-American inmate at Rikers Island, having violated his probation for possession of child porn. Before he was imprisoned, he lived with his mother, father, and younger sister. He had autism, depression, and an anxiety disorder, as well as asthma, gout, and sleep apnea. In prison, he had to go into protective custody because, due to his charges, he was in danger of violence from other inmates. He was placed in a medical unit so that he could have access to his CPAP machine, a non-invasive ventilator that keeps sleep apnea patients breathing during the night.

K.D. began having symptoms of COVID and tested positive, but the 39-bed medical dorm he was housed in for the first six days after his diagnosis, and which was more than half full, was not a COVID ward. From this we can conclude that staff did not particularly care whether their prisoners spread COVID to one another.

Despite the fact that K.D. had asthma and sleep apnea staff took away his CPAP machine and would not give him nebulizer treatments. Their rationale was that these could spread COVID. (See above: They also put infected patients in the same ward with non-infected patients, making it doubtful that their main motivation was to slow the spread of COVID.)

K.D. had trouble getting the simplest of medical treatments, reporting to his mother that he couldn’t even get Tylenol for his fever. They also did not tell K.D. that he had COVID for two days after he was diagnosed. Only when he went into respiratory distress was he taken to Bellevue Hospital.

At Bellevue, K.D. was finally allowed his nebulizer treatments and CPAP, but his health declined steadily. He was able to talk to his mother on the phone, who began advocating for him to be granted compassionate release. But by the time a formal hearing was convened, K.D. was already on a ventilator and could not be moved. About two weeks later, he died from COVID at the age of 30.

References:
How the City Failed Three Men Who Died of COVID-19 in Jail: Watchdog
Draft COVID PDRB report_to agencies_Redacted