"I hope they sue": Netizens outraged as Illinois teen with autism gets tased by police over mistaken identity

On Saturday, November 20, 2023, an innocent 14-year-old Illinois boy with autism named Avarius Thompson was tased by Dolton Police in what was reportedly a case of mistaken identity. An incident report revealed that the cops were on the lookout for four black males (two armed) involved in a stolen car crash when they stumbled across Avarius who allegedly matched a suspect's description.

The kid was then tased and arrested by the officers after a short chase, which left him with a few minor injuries. He was released later that day. The news, along with the body cam footage of the arrest, went viral, prompting heavy online backlash. Netizens encouraged the child's family to sue the police and hold them accountable. One X users commented:

Netizens condemned the police department for tasing a child with autism (Image via X/@TizzyEnt)

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Netizens encourage the parents of the tased teen with autism to sue the department

According to an incident report, Riverdale police were on the lookout for four black males, two of them armed with a handgun and rifles, who had crashed a stolen car. Dolton police, who were called to assist with the pursuit, encountered a 14-year-old black teen named Avarius Thompson. Believing Thomson to be a suspect in the case due to a supposedly matching description, the police confronted him.

As seen on the body cam footage, the kid tried to run and just as he jumped a fence, one officer tased the boy with autism, causing him to fall to the ground in his backyard. The officer yelled for the boy to get his hands up right before hitting him with the taser. When he tried getting back up again, the officer immediately tased him once more while yelling:

"You move, you're going to get some more!"

A confused and hurt Avarius could be heard saying, "It's not me." Another officer on the scene told the one who had tased the child:

"I don't think that's him, bro."

Immediately after the tasing, Avarius' sister could be seen asking why her brother was arrested. His mother, Gwendolyn Toran, went to the hospital where her son was being treated for injuries, including a fractured hip, and cried at the cops for arresting a boy with autism for no reason.

Avarius' parents told ABC 7 that the boy was simply coming back home after buying some snacks from a grocery store. The family's attorney, Calvin Townsend II, alleged a case of mistaken identity as the boy's clothes matched the suspect description and no case was charged against him. He also said that the boy, who had autism was scared as the police ran toward him with a weapon.

Netizens were extremely outraged at the tasing of an innocent autistic teenager. Everyone wanted Avarius Thompson's family to sue the Dolton Police Department and wanted to know what the so-called suspect description was. Parents of autistic kids revealed that this was one of their biggest fears. Here are a few reactions from X personality Tizzy Ent's tweet regarding the incident:

In the ABC 7 interview with Avarius Thomson's family, the 14-year-old's father said while tears streamed down his cheeks:

"You see so many stories of stuff like this happening to kids, and they go to jail and they don't come out. Something happens, they end up dying."

He added:

"That happens every day in this world, and I don't want to see that happen to my son or anybody's kid."

Avarius' mother told the outlet that her son was "just a loveable kid." In a statement to the outlet, the village of Dolton revealed that the "regrettable event" was under a "thorough and transparent investigation with external reviews."