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Autism restraint ruling prompts call for police training

Special educational needs (SEN) campaigners are calling for an urgent overhaul of police training, after the Court of Appeal ruled that officers breached the human rights of a young autistic boy when they restrained him.

The boy, who has autism and epilepsy, had been on a "familiarisation visit" to a public swimming baths in West London with his special school, when he broke away from the group and went to stand by the pool staring into the water. After 30 minutes the manager of the premises called the police.
 
The officers attending the scene failed to seek advice on how to handle the situation from the boy's carers, and inadvertently caused him to jump into the pool by touching him. 

After he was pulled out, seven police officers restrained him before he was taken, still soaking wet, to the police van and detained. The restraint and detention lasted about 40 minutes.

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