An unfortunate confrontation in Stafford County 14 years ago sparks idea for annual event that returns this Saturday to Spotsylvania.
Saturday, the Spotsylvania County Sheriff’s Department and EMS will gather at Chancellor High School for a day of low-key family fun with children who have autism, as well as other disabled individuals.
The idea is a simple one. Give the kids and their families a day of fun – no money exchanges hands, as everything is free – and give the police and rescue workers a chance to better understand what it means to engage with people who have autism.
The event is the brainchild of Spotsylvania resident Jaimie Ashton who, along with Sheriff Roger Harris, launched this event 12 years ago.
Though Ashton celebrates all the event does for family each year, and the positive impact it’s had on how officers and medical personnel interact with autistic people throughout the year, a part of her will be with Neli Latson.
It was his story, after all, that inspired the event.
No Crime but Being Autistic
Fourteen years ago, Latson was living in Stafford County. As an autistic 18-year-old, Latson enjoyed long walks and spending time at his local library, which he was sitting in front of that fateful morning when someone reported him as a “suspicious” person possibly with a gun.
The Washington Post, referencing a lawsuit the family filed, describes what happened next:
The family does not deny that a Stafford County deputy got hurt May 24, 2010. But the lawsuit describes Latson, who had committed no crime, trying to walk away, the deputy grabbing him several times and the teenager responding “with a fight-or-flight response, which is a common response for individuals with [autism spectrum disorder] who are faced with these types of situations.”
The result was Latson placed in custody, where he stayed – often in solitary confinement – until Gov. Terry McAuliffe later pardoned him.
Latson survived, but has not thrived. A young man who once had a path to living independently now faces a more-challenging future.
His mother, Lisa Alexander, told the Post:
“He’s not able to live in society. He’s not able to get a job and have a girlfriend. He hasn’t had an opportunity to learn how to drive, to get a license. . . . These are rites of passage, natural progressions you get to experience as a human being. All of those things were stripped away from him.”
Doing Better
Latson’s experience led Ashton to approach Harris the first year he ran for office and encouraged him to work with her to start this event, if he won.
“I was determined as a mother of boys that this was not going to happen in our community,” she said. So I “came up with idea to create a carnival without the rides and to create an environment where kids of all disabilities and especially the autism community can interact with sheriffs’ deputies and EMS.”
Harris won, and it’s been going on every year since, with the exception of a hiatus for COVID.
This Saturday continues that tradition from 12 pm – 4 pm in the parking lot at Chancellor High School. Fire trucks will be there, along with opportunities for games and positive interactions with law enforcement and EMS personnel.
But without a doubt, the star of the show is Pegasus, the UVA Health system’s life-flight helicopter.
“Everyone flocks to it,” says Ashton.
Unfinished Business
The event over the years has proved successful, and helped both those suffering with autism and the emergency workers who interact with them to understand one another better.
That’s all to the good. But there are two goals that Ashton still wants to realize.
First, she wants to see other communities pick up on the idea and do the same. And second, she wants Latson’s mother to know about the event Neli’s horrific experience inspired.
“That,” she said, “will bring it all full circle.”
