Toronto man with autism 'traumatized' after police tackle him over toy gun

Mother says son with autism tackled by police The mother of a man with autism told CTV News Toronto that a team of police officers tackled her son to the ground over a toy gun.

A Toronto family is demanding an apology from police after a man with autism was tackled by several officers because someone reported seeing him holding a plastic toy gun in a car.

Zakiyeh Rezaee told CTV Toronto’s Tracy Tong in an exclusive interview that several officers barged into the home where she lives with her 20-year-old son on Saturday night and jumped on top of him.

“I keep saying, please leave him alone, he has special needs, leave him alone,’” Rezaee recalled.

The man’s support worker, Roya Amiri, said she thinks the family should have received support from police. She also said officers need more training on dealing with people with special needs.

The Toronto Police Service said that if the family wishes to file a complaint, they can do so with the Office of the Independent Police Review Director.

With a report from CTV Toronto’s Tracy Tong