GOODYEAR, Ariz. — When Zachary Pomerantz was five years old, he was diagnosed with autism. Now as an 11-year-old, it is his father’s top priority that he can properly communicate his needs and wants.
“He’s very sociable, but he’s intellectually delayed,” Steve Pomerantz said. “With his delays, you have to be extremely cognitive on how to word things so we can get the overall result.”
Understanding the needs of Zachary, or of those residents who might be non-verbal, may be deaf, have an intellectual disability, or are suffering from other conditions such as dementia or Alzheimer's, is also a priority for the Goodyear Police Department, who wants to serve those with disabilities better.
Four years ago, the agency launched the Vulnerable Person Database Registration Program, which allows residents to voluntarily register their loved ones who have a disability in a database, where critical information can be available for officers when they respond to an emergency at the residents’ home.
The registration includes a photo of the vulnerable residents and recommendations on how to approach them if necessary.
“Each diagnosis requires different interaction tools,” Sgt. Sean Tyler, who oversees the program told 12News.
“Responding [with] lights and sirens may not be the best approach [for some]; we might want to take our lights and sirens and turn those off,” he said. “We could, instead of sending five officers, in a case that’s not traumatic, we could say ‘Oh hey, let’s tailor our approach and have one officer start, if we need more, we can send later’. Just because we know the actual situation and not running into something blindly.”
Tyler said 85% of the departments, civilian and sworn employees, have been trained on “autism signs to look for and how to interact with these individuals successfully.”
During every patrol shift, Goodyear Police Sergeants also have a ‘toolbox’ — that’s technically a backpack — to better connect with vulnerable residents when they respond to calls.
The bag includes cars with pictures to identify different emotions a person might be experiencing, a set of headphones for those with auditory sensitivity, snacks and sensory toys.
Currently, about 40 residents are registered in the database, Tyler said.
People must re-enroll to the database every two years, because the department doesn’t “want to keep a tag on a house where somebody may have moved, or vehicle that might have been sold,” Tyler said.
“[This] allows our officers to better respond to the incident that they’re responding to and be better informed,” he added.
It’s something that’s been welcomed news for Pomerantz, who volunteers at Sounds of Autism, a Goodyear nonprofit that helped train the police officers.
“Being on the same page with our officers is always extremely important,” Zachary’s father said. “Especially with the kids with autism, even older adults.”
Goodyear residents can register for the program in person, via email or by mail. All the details can be found here.
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