HAMSTEAD, Md. — Loud sirens, bright lights and an officer headed for your vehicle.
Erica Wheeler of Westminster will never forget being stopped by police and she was just a passenger.
WATCH: Training prepares developmentally disabled drivers
“I had to do my deep breathing cause I was nervous,” Wheeler recounted, “If she asked me a question, you can’t see my disability. It’s pretty much hidden."
Pathfinders for Autism routinely teams up with law enforcers to help both prepare for such encounters.
Sean McGee accompanied his autistic, 19-year-old son, Thomas, to the training event.
“Well, a lot of bad things happen to police and they’re very hyper vigilant of their own safety, and I want him to understand the safety behind the traffic stop,” McGee told us.
Roll down the window.
Keep both hands on the wheel.
Don’t reach for anything until instructed to do so.
They are important instructions since traffic stops can be one of the most dangerous tasks for officers.
“We really don’t know who is in the vehicle, how many people are in the vehicle, what kind of people are in the vehicle, where they’re from, what charges they have,” explained Ofc. Melissa Pallares of the Westminster Police Department.
Pathfinders distributes reminder steps for drivers to keep on their visors, along with disclosure cards so they can present them during the stop.
“We always encourage individuals to disclose their diagnosis, because that way it helps limit an officer might be misinterpreting behaviors or characteristics,” said Shelly McLaughlin, Pathfinders for Autism’s program director.
It’s an effort to prepare drivers in hopes from keeping a minor infraction from becoming a major confrontation.
“I guess if it were real I’d be like, ‘Oh gosh. Now, I’ve got to pull over,'” Thomas McGee told us, “I’d just be like irritated and all that, cause I can tell I did something wrong and I’m not happy about it.”
