The Arc of Spokane has been working with the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office in an effort to better serve and assist people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

In August, the Arc’s Disability Response Team held a training session for local law enforcement representatives titled “Pathways to Justice” that focused on how to recognize and interact with persons with such disabilities.

Since then, an eight-member Disability Response Team has met monthly to discuss ways that law enforcement can better help people with intellectual and developmental disabilities when they encounter them.

Spokane was selected as one of five Arc locations around the country to begin the education and training for law enforcement, says Brian Holloway, director of advocacy and family support for The Arc of Spokane. The organization’s offices are located at 320 E. Second, and it operates a thrift store at 808 N. Ruby.

“The criminal justice system is not set up for people with developmental disabilities,” Holloway asserts.

The Arc of Spokane, part of a network of 730 Arc chapters across the U.S., advocates for and serves people with such disabilities. 

It estimates on its website that about 7,000 people in Spokane County have an intellectual or developmental disability, defined as a lifelong condition that affects a person’s ability to reason, communicate, or function independently.

Autism, and Down syndrome are the most commonly known forms of developmental disability, but there are hundreds of different diagnoses, The Arc says on its website. At its building on Second Avenue, which it bought from Inland Power & Light Co. a few years ago, it provides family support, crisis intervention services, employment support, and social and recreational opportunities for those such disabilities.

The Arc of Spokane says on its website that its 12 major programs serve 3,500 people annually. The organization says it employs more than 240 people, making it the largest chapter in the state, and has an annual budget of $7.5 million.

Children with any type of disability are 3 1/2 times more likely to be abused compared with children without disabilities, The Arc says on its website.

Darci Ladwig is a co-chair of the disability response team. She gave birth to her daughter only 25 weeks into her pregnancy.

Her daughter is now a 13-year-old middle-school student, and Ladwig says she realizes that her daughter’s intellectual and developmental disabilities increase her chances of being a crime victim.

“There are only about 50 words that she can string together,” Ladwig says.

Ladwig says it’s important for initial responders to the take time to listen to victims—or suspects—and give them time to try to understand and process the situation that may be taking place around them.

“Bringing together law enforcement, victim advocates, and people with I/DD is a great opportunity to develop the best training possible for our first responders,” Holloway said in an August press release announcing the Pathways to Justice training.

The Arc, based in Washington, D.C., says research shows that people with intellectual and developmental disabilities are four to 10 times more likely to become both crime victims and suspects than those without such disabilities.

“While those with intellectual disabilities comprise 2 to 3 percent of the general population, they represent 4 to 10 percent of the prison population, with an even greater number of those in juvenile facilities and in jails,” it says on its website.

When encountering law enforcement, people with such disabilities may face unique issues that include a lack of understanding of police commands, pretending to understand, and trying to please authorities during interrogation. A person appearing to be noncompliant might not actually understand or might take longer to process what is happening, Holloway says.

Holloway credits Spokane County Sheriff Ozzie Knezovich for reaching out to The Arc of Spokane about how to train his deputies to work with people with disabilities. Knezovich is also a member of the previously mentioned Disability Response Team.

“He came to us recognizing that people with intellectual and developmental disabilities are unique. He has been really instrumental in getting the conversation up and running,” Holloway says of Knezovich.

Other members of the response team, which meets once a month, include co-chairs Stephanie Boyle and Ladwig of The Arc of Spokane; Sheriff’s Sgt. Martin Tucker; Rosey Thurman, of TeamChild; Ligeia Julia, of Lutheran Community Services;  John Lemus, a self-advocate at The Arc; and Sarah Glaser-Burns, a Spokane resident and parent.

“It is important for law enforcement to be connected with the I/DD community in order to establish a relationship of trust,” Knezovich said in a June press release that announced The Arc of Spokane’s partnership with the sheriff’s office.

“Studies show that persons with I/DD have a very high chance to be victims of crime and they need to have the utmost confidence and trust that law enforcement is here to help them and protect them,” Knezovich said in the press release. 

The formation of the disability response team was partly a response to the death of Otto Zehm, a Spokane man with I/DD who died on March 20, 2006, during an altercation with Spokane city police officers at a convenience store.

As part of a $1.67 million settlement reached between the city of Spokane and the estate of Otto Zehm, funding was established for specialized training for all Spokane police officers who are more than a year away from retirement.

Ladwig says she wants to help create a safer community for people like her daughter.

“She’s helped me to see that everybody has value,” Ladwig says. “By being patient and listening to her, she has helped me to slow down and understand what’s really important in life. I’ve got a degree in apparel merchandising from WSU. Now I’m a social worker because of her. I love that girl.”