>> this is "nightline." tonight, two families at the intersection of autism, race, policing. how misunderstandings could have tragic consequences. one mother fights to clear her son's name after he caused a life-threatening crash beer >> you can't fault some lever having a medical episode. >> left wondering how he died at the hands of police. >> did you ever envision that you would lose your son this w way? >> plus, taking action. one officer's personal crusade and how she's building a bridge from her department to the people with autism in her community. >> and they know you come out

they can't know you from behind the car. >> "nightline" will be right back. with skyrizi, most people who achieved 90% clearer skin at 4 months... had lasting clearance through 1 year. serious allergic reactions and an increased risk of infections, or a lower ability to fight them, may occur. tell your doctor if you have an infection or symptoms, had a vaccine or plan to. ♪nothing is everything♪ talk to your dermatologist about skyrizi. learn how abbvie could help you save.

>> good evening, thank you for joining us. april is autism and acceptance month. new concerns arise.

autism can create communication and behavior challenges from those americans on the spectrum. at the families you are about to meet essay challenges lead to tragic outcomes when they are autistic sons and counter law moment when there's more questis than ever about racial bias in policing. here is abc deborah roberts. >> he loves to compose his own music. he's self-taught. he is the shining star. >> reporter: for 25-year-old matthew, the piano isn't just a passion. it's a safe place. music is a way to help them process the world around him. the mom says her son was always a little different. at one point did you discover that he was dealing with autism? >> it was in sixth grade when i found out.

yeah, there was quirkiness, yeah, he wanted to be away on mike by setimes he was so high-functioning that he continuously had that ability to read and understand. speech of subtle autistic traits are at the families year-long fight to clear matthew's name. after he caused a life-threatening multivehicle car crash in 2019. a tragedy made worst by what laverne cray, claims with the police departments misinterpretation of matthew's behavior as criminal. she says that night in 2019 still upsets her son. >> matthew was going to join us but this became too much for him to talk about. >> yeah, it was a lot for him to handle. >> autism is a neurological condition and in some way it impacts their cognitive

abilities and individuals may be nonverbal or if they are verbal, they may be prone to repeat themselves often time individuals with autism have sensory processing issues and they may not be able to withstand bright lights or loud sounds. >> laverne's grateful her son is alive. the risks and deadly outcomes between law enforcement and black americans while documented. studies estimate blocks or two or three times like lease to be killed than whites. having autism can escalate the situation. >> so that may be seen as a form of noncompliance when in actuality it's the person with autism not understanding underwowhat'sbeing chatted up by law-enforcement agents. >> 20 of youth without

autism have been stopped and questioned by police and 5% have been arrested by age 21. >> reporter: you're a bad young and have you talked about him having an encounter with police. >> we had the talk where if you're pulled over and what they do come up put your hands on the steering wheel. first identify as being autistic or just complying and then saying can i call my mom or can i call my dad. >> reporter: january 2019, matthew was driving in a parking lot when he struck another moving vehicle. fleeing the scene. they said he drove 60 miles per hour into oncoming traffic hitting two other cars with passengers inside and then stated he was trying to kill himself. >> matthew exhibits what repetitive speech of may be something he hurried or something that was said to him. a man was yelling at him like are you trying to kill yourself so matthew repeats that kill

myself, i was trying to kill myself. so they took that narrative to prosecute him, to charge him. >> reporter: they don't dispute that matthew is at fault, but argue his actions were not intentional or criminal as police reported. laverne says her s suffering a medical state. >> he had a focal seizure and blacked out because all he saw was lights. >> reporter: some people would ask why was he driving if he had these medical issues? >> we didn't understand the severity of seizures and how it could affect someone. if they'd taken him to the hospital immediately, they would have known he was going through a medical episode. >> reporter: matthew was not taken to the hospital that night. instead, officers took him into custody for attempted murder. the driver and one of the vehicles matthew hit now 76-year-old george was so badly

injured and he will never walk, talk, or feed himself again. he requires 24-hour care and a nursing home. >> he did some serious damage to people that day. >> my heart goes out to them. matthew wishes he could take that night back. >> reporter: august 2019, matthew pleaded guilty to three felony accounts and sentenced to ten years in prison. laverne says the sentence was unfair and took two social media to tell matthew story. the posts going viral. >> i truly believe that the petitions and the posts, everything was brought up because he's a black autistic young man. wrongfully prosecuted early 2021 after two years behind bars, matthew w released. granted a conditional pardon by then virginia governor. >> i was never going to let him go again. >> reporter: matthew was considered a felon and under supervised probation.

he's not allowed to drive our contact his victims and his families. they are seeking a full exoneration saying the criminal record makes it harder for him to get a job. >> you cannot fault somebody for having a medical episode. just like you cannot fault for somebody for having a heart attack behind the wheel. >> reporter: the families convinced matthew intentionally crashed his car and strongly opposed any change to his status. his wife telling "abc news" matthew should not have been driving that night. you should never drive again. the restrictions must remain in place to protect him and the public. the virginia beach police department standing by their actions saying all the officers have been trained to identify and respond to people with autism. expressing sympathy for all who were impacted by the events of that tragic day. >> matthew did not willfully cause the accident. my son is not a killer.

>> reporter: like laverne, they say that all too well how it feels to have on the test of child be misunderstood by the police. there are 29-year-old son was shot and killed by an officer four years ago. his violent death a stark contrast to the devout religious gentle giant they loved. >> what was he like as a child growing up? >> he was very quiet, gentle. always happy. he never once fought his siblings. >> he was the peacemaker, he was the one folks try to make sure that they don't fight and they get along better. speed to his death so shocking and made headlines in the small town of state college, pennsylvania. >> killed by state college police officers during a mental health check after he had lunged at them with a knife. >> i felt the shock right here. i felt a gun shot my body.

>> reporter: the family said local police knew their son and in addition to autism he has schizophrenia and sometimes needed extra support. >> they had to take him to a hospital whenever it felt like he was having a breakdown. a number knew him quite well. >> reporter: what did the police say about how they knew to deal with them or understood? >> we actually thought they understood because they knew his situation. >> reporter: as a young adult, he had been part of a residential program. living with some of his peers. >> he was in a structured environment. he got along with people, he did not want to deviate from anything. but as soon as he was not in that structured environment, the level of discouragement and anxiety was overwhelming and that's when he got off his medication. and his situation spiraled. >> reporter: early 2019, a big

change. leaving the program and moving into an apartment with a roommate. just months later, sylvester received concerning texts and calls from his son. one message saying that it be trouble with the police and a little bit here than sylvester rushing to his son. >> i wanted to b safe and that he did not encounter somebody. if speech a worried that he might hurt somebody or hurt some of these healthier >> yes. >> reporter: finding the apartment empty, he frantically searched for him for hours eventually calling police for help. but he was not found. at the next morning, sylvester went back to the apartment to find police already there. >> reporter: what were you told? >> i know and something happened happened. there were members of the press they are. eventually, they told me that they confronted him and he had a

knife. and they shot him. >> reporter: police say somebody call them after spotting him and a nearby grocery store that morning. an officer the family says didn't know their son, was sent to the apartment. when they open the door, there was a tense confrontation because he had a knife in his hand. after trying unsuccessfully to subdue him, police responded with gunfire. >> somebody could have called me to say, hey, come here, we need your assistance. but none of that was done. >> reporter: just lots went wrong, man with guns showed up to an autistic child's apartment and gave unclear instructions. >> reporter: did you ever envision that you would lose your son this way? >> not in a million years, not in a million years.

>> reporter: two months later, the district attorney said no charges will be filed saying the shooting was justified. >> their policies were not followed beard >> reporter: they have since filed a lawsuit claiming in part the police did not respond appropriately to someone with a known disability having a crisis. that they used excessive force. in response, state college called the incident and tragic incident for all involved. insisted the police have handled thousands of other mental health related calls including several with a number of the calls resulting in threats of violence and none ended with a negative result and/or the need to deploy deadly force. do you think he was not a black young man they would have taken more caution? >> i made it very clear to him, possibly, that if that had been their son at the other end of their gun, they would have not killed him. when people have mental health issues or autism,

kind of put them on the margins and not realize their importance in this world. and it's only the people that know them and with them that they know they have a place in this world. speech of coming up. >> you can't just collect a check and go home. >> reporter: how one police officer is helping small steps can lead to big change beer >> different things in the packet that can guide the officer along the way.

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>> coming! >> she want some apples. >> apples. >> do you want peanut butter with it or no? >> reporter: james yancey of the third is the baby of the family. love to the core by mom. >> james is a sweet boy. >> one, two, three four. >> loves his numbers, loves math. he's got autistic tendencies and i'm learning a lot about the rest of the autistic world that i don't know. he's teaching me. >> reporter: how much to worry about him as he's integrating into the world? >> i am worried that one day james as a young man could be at the wrong place at the wrong time and maybe display some of these tendencies that somebody doesn't understand, that a officer doesn't understand, that the general public doesn't understand and how do i protect

him? >> report>> reporter: for wendye worries are just personal, there are also professional. for the past 16 years, she's done her best to protect and serve the small tight-knit village of sleepy hollow just north of new york city. >> i grew up in sleepy hollow. i lived here my whole life. >> reporter: even making history as the first black female police officer there. >> on the first hand, you've got to deal with the risk of being a police officer, a black female police officer, yet you've got a black son whom i deal with the risks potentially at the hands of police. how do you balance the concerning your mind? >> i think just as a mom, we do what's best for our children. and that i wake up every day and i put this uniform on and i tried to do what's best for the community. if you don't want to treat someone in a way that you enter your own mom or child.

>> most societal issues are placed on the officer in the street and all of a sudden that he or she has to react immediately and be able to see something and make the pit it. >> reporter: making it all the more important for police officers to understand and recognize autism. we first met officer yancey at his training in 2021 where she was learning to do just that. >> how many times are you going to put a demand on somebody with autism until they lose it right? >> reporter: the small group of officers and first responders learning how to approach and identify those with autism. >> there is no genetic test for autism, our kids have looked typical. >> after the training session, i was not as equipped as i was. the training should be given to police departments as a hold. >> reporter: eight states require law enforcement to receive training specifically related to autism. our police officers open to being trained to see people in a

more compassionate and empathic way? >> in my department, i have found they are. much more now than ever. broadly, i think we have a ways to go. >> officers, if you could try to get together in the courtroom. >> reporter: she's hoping to close the gap at least in her town, creating a program for families to voluntarily share information about autistic loved ones with her department. >> they can register their child, they provide a photo of the child's name, doctor, school, age, but the important piece is what do they like? one other interests? do they have noise sensitivity? do you scare them when you're standing above them? do you need to kneel down? >> reporter: for example, if it's noise sensitivity, we would know and you would put it in here that we have to tell officers to arrive with sirens off. this way he's not triggered or

upset. >> i think the registries a great idea. it you put into a data response to the location, they can make the response as they're coming up and make the decisions as they're coming to the scene. >> reporter: at the program that could help others before it's too late. >> let's rock 'n' roll. >> we can't just serve, collect the check, and go home. you have to sit with the people, talk to the people, and show you truly care. the only way they trust you is if they know you and they can't know you from behind the window of a car. >> byron: our thanks to deborah. we'll be right back with our final thought. ♪ ♪ you just grab and squeeze. dawn platinum's more powerful formula breaks down and removes grease 4 times faster. nice!

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♪ ♪ >> byron: finally tonight, we've been reminded this evening the intersection of race and justice and autism is a at best. it was a late appeal that site every problem has been at the seas of its own solution. if you don't have any problems, you don't have any seas. that's "nightline." thank you for the company, america. good n