What happened next that evening in May 2021 is the basis for a lawsuit by the mother alleging that Burlington police used excessive force and discriminated against her unarmed son, who is Black and has behavioral and intellectual disabilities.

After he failed to hand over the last of the stolen e-cigarettes, two officers physically forced him to do so, then Cathy Austrian’s son was handcuffed and pinned to the ground as he screamed and struggled, according to a civil lawsuit filed Tuesday and police body-camera video shared with The Associated Press by the American Civil Liberties Union of Vermont.

The teen eventually was injected with a ketamine, a sedative, then taken to a hospital, according to the lawsuit and video.

  • @Socsa
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    4 months ago

    Yeah this is some abusive, privileged bullshit and I really hope this idiot learned a lesson. I also hope her child reminds her of this shit anytime she starts mounting her high horse in the future.

    • @[email protected]
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      4 months ago

      Yes, the elderly woman that adopted an at-needs child of color is the one being abusive and privileged.

      The abusive, privileged bullshit is your comment.

        • @[email protected]
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          4 months ago

          She mistakenly thought that calling the cops to talk to her child about not stealing would help him understand why it’s wrong and what the stakes are. She’s an old white woman. She didn’t realize that cops wouldn’t treat her large, black child as subhuman.

          She was stupid and ignorant, but the cops are the monsters here. Don’t get it twisted with your own relationships with your parents. This isn’t that.

          • @[email protected]
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            -54 months ago

            Insanely weird to project your parental issues on a lady calling the cops on her adopted black child, but being old is not an excuse for not being aware of the century long issue of cops treating black people poorly.

            • @[email protected]
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              164 months ago

              there was a time where media portrayed that as a reasonable thing to do, the police would come and talk to their kid. I’ve heard stories about it happening. Hell when i kid we got caught being destructive and the cops who caught us took us on tour of where we could end up. We got brought in the truck straight to the cells. It is a foolish thought but a person who holds some idyllic model in their heads sometimes are blinded by it.

              • @[email protected]
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                114 months ago

                She has a black lives matter sign in front of her house.

                She isnt senile, and she is aware of a movement dedicated to dealing with police aggression.

                Her age isnt an excuse. She clearly should have known better. Its insane to excuse her behavior.

              • @[email protected]
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                64 months ago

                When I was in cubs as a child, they took us to a police station and the cops talked to us about various things, we got our fingerprints taken (for us to keep, not their system) and we got to check out the jail cells.

                Cops have definitely been used for educational purposes in the past. I don’t remember much of it specifically, but i remember it being a great experience.

              • @[email protected]
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                04 months ago

                ???

                There was no “no u” here.

                Are you whiny about the fact that they projected their parental issues onto anyone who correctly judged the idiot for calling the cops? Thats their projection, that they said.

                Correctly noting the idiot should have known better about the older-than-her issue of cops beating black folk for the sin of being black has nothing to do with anyones parents.

                Telling someone not to project their problems isnt a “no u,” but its cute your best retort was to brag about how poorly you read.

                • @[email protected]
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                  04 months ago

                  Cops brutalize a child. All your energy is being spent complaining about mommy. How IS your mom doing these days anyway? 🤣

                  • @[email protected]
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                    24 months ago

                    All my energy? Are you bed ridden? It does not take energy to point out you shouldnt call the cops on black children for not real problems.

                    And… Bud? Do you think that mild criticism of a single person means Im not criticizing the cops? Whats this limp dick whataboutism shit youre trying to pull?

                    Do you need help? The brain fog seems to really be dragging you down.