The sister of a teenage girl with autism who was removed from a shop in Lisburn before Christmas has said that the public support in response to the video of the incident has been ‘fantastic’.
Katie Mitchell (19), who is non-verbal and has autism, was removed from a CEX store in the city by police on December 22 after entering the shop as it was closing and attempting to buy a DVD.
A video posted online by her sister, Eileen Mitchell, showing police officers removing Katie from the store went viral and was shared more than 13,000 times.
More: Police Ombudsman notified over video showing teenager with autism being removed from Lisburn shop
Speaking to The Irish News, Eileen Mitchell said she had posted the video in the hopes of making ‘even one person aware’.
Hi all, I've decided to share this video. Just b4 Christmas my autistic sister Katie (who doesn't speak and has the mindset of a toddler) went 2 buy a £2 dvd but the till had closed early and started crying in the shop. Police were called& forcibly removed her. #AutismAwareness pic.twitter.com/hOvpG9WLH5
— Eileen Mitchell (@em093NI) December 27, 2024
“The response has been amazing. I did not think it would get the response it did” she said.
“The public has been fantastic. The amount of stories where people have come to me and talked about their own experiences; about the fact that they have had family members who are autistic, or know someone who has autism.
“It’s nice to know we’re not alone.”
Eileen’s sister was removed from the store after her mum called the police in the hopes of calming the situation in the shop.
Ms Mitchell said her mum “pleaded” with staff to take the money for the £2 ‘Thomas the Tank Engine’ DVD and put the sale through the following day as Katie “wouldn’t understand” that tills had closed.
CEX has been contacted for comment.
When police arrived, Eileen says they told her parents they were unable to deal with the sale of the DVD and were there to “keep the peace”, before removing Katie with the assistance of her father.
The PSNI has notified the ombudsman of the incident due to the ‘widespread public concern’ surrounding the video and ‘not because there is any suspected criminality or inappropriate behaviour which would justify disciplinary proceedings’.
Police say they have spoken to the family to discuss their concerns and that they are ‘committed to continuous learning and any feedback will be reviewed and considered’.
“I have tremendous support for the police service,” Ms Mitchell said.
“They do a very, very difficult job under extreme circumstances.
However, she said that ‘unfortunately’, in the case of her sister, she didn’t think the response had been ‘correct’ and has called for more mandatory training to increase awareness among officers on how to respond to future similar events.
Earlier this month, the PSNI partnered with Autism NI to deliver bespoke training sessions for officers and staff. Ms Mitchell said she’d hoped this would have been focused on by the police in response to the incident.
“We’d just like to make sure it never happens to another family again.”
