OMAHA, Neb. (KMTV) — The local nonprofit, Autism Action Partnership hosted a free event for law enforcement from across the Omaha metropolitan area.
At the event, law enforcement started the day with an introductory course on autism. This was to learn about identifying characteristics of people on the autism spectrum.
It was followed by a lunch with members of the autism community and then an afternoon session where they got to interact with one another.
Twenty-one-year-old, Emma Christian, has autism and was excited about the opportunity to interact with her local police.
"Seeing the police officers who make so much sacrifices and what they do for our community is really nice," she said.
The event brought together teens and adults in the autism community to get to know law enforcement in a way that encouraged building trust.
"You know, for the police, for the community, for the individuals with disabilities: I think that when you know better, you do better and I believe that this is going to keep breaking barriers and it's going to keep the momentum going," said Kristina Daley, a mother who has a 20-year-old son with autism.
Daley's son is 6'5" and 280 lbs., which makes her worry that law enforcement may be intimidated by her son and not know that he is neurodivergent.
"I thought today would be a perfect time for him to learn how to calm down in those situations and how to interact with people in a situation that can be scary or overwhelming for him," she said.
The event can help make interactions more comfortable on both sides, as Sergeant Jason Heft with Omaha Police Department put it.
"It provides a great positive experience where we can engage and kind of learn from each other," he said.
"Just having the knowledge and the training of the, you know, some of the characteristics and qualities and ways that they can recognize it," said Wendy Andersen, the education and outreach manager for Autism Action Partnership.
Overall, the event helped provide a mutual understanding between both communities.
As Christian put it, "It makes me feel more comfortable, it's like — not all cops are bad."
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