wattWhen Ryan Gainer was diagnosed with autism as a toddler, he couldn’t speak and his family learned sign language to communicate with him. But after the Southern California boy learned to talk around age four, he became a “ball of energy” that never stopped talking, his sister Rachel said.
He loved saying “hello” to neighbors and strangers, and as a young teen he was known as a student who greeted everyone with a “good morning” and a smile.
Ryan’s family spoke about his early life and bright appearance two weeks after his life ended at age 15, when sheriff’s deputies were called to his home and shot him during a period of mental health issues he. The tragedy sparked outrage and heightened concerns about how U.S. law enforcement uses force against people with disabilities.
“He was a funny, talented, goofy kid — just a beautiful soul. He saw the good in everyone,” Rachel, 34, said from her home in Apple Valley, a remote A desert town two hours east of Los Angeles. “We want accountability.”
Ryan was killed on March 9 when police received a 911 call from a family member who said Ryan broke things in the home and “beat” his sister, but she was not injured. Body camera footage shows two San Bernardino police officers shooting Ryan within about five seconds of seeing him.this video Someone at the home was captured saying Ryan had a “stick” before he showed up at the door. He walked toward a deputy, who immediately threatened to shoot him and fired as he fled from Ryan.
The department said Ryan was holding a 5-foot-long garden plant It had a “sharp” tool on the end, and a press release called the encounter an “attempted murder of a peace officer.” Ryan appeared to hold the tool above his head, but the video did not clearly capture the moment of the shooting, nor did it show him attacking or trying to attack the officer.
At a news conference Thursday outside Ryan’s home, standing near the spot in the front yard where he was shot, attorneys for the family announced they would file a claim against San Bernardino County, the first step in a lawsuit. One attorney held up a hula hoe similar to the one Ryan held — a wooden stick with a metal end used for weeding. He encouraged reporters to touch on it — and pointed out that, in fact, the ending was not as sharp as the department claimed.
‘He overcame a lot’
Ryan joined the Gaynor family as an adopted son in 2010, when he was 2 years old, his two sisters said in interviews. He faced many health challenges, including Crohn’s disease, epilepsy, a ruptured ear and an early autism diagnosis. The family didn’t know much about autism at the time, but they made every effort to educate themselves and support his development, and in 2011, his adoption was finalized.
“He was strong and no matter what he was going through, he was always happy,” said his father, Norman Gaynor. Ryan has been very smart since he was a child. He was good at multiplication in kindergarten and won a reading award in middle school. He can memorize license plates and addresses with ease and has an incredible sense of direction and geography.
“When I was in college, he helped me with math,” said his sister, Rebecca Gainer, 27. Rachel, a pilot and National Guard member, said she flies with Ryan and he can point out every highway below them while she has to consult a map.
As he got older, Ryan sometimes faced problems with teasing and bullying, “but he stood his ground,” Rachel said. “I’m proud of him.”
His father said Ryan wanted to move from special education to regular classes, and despite the challenges, he was “thriving” in regular classes. “He just wanted to be treated the same as everyone else. … All those things, he overcame.”
Rachel added that sometimes he would come home from school hungry, explaining that he skipped lunch to help another student with math or other homework. He ran cross country and enjoyed competing with his two sisters. He also aspires to become a mechanical engineer and recently taught robotics to other young people as part of a local program.
The family lived at home in Apple Valley, and Ryan would serve as Rebecca’s “alarm clock,” she said, waking her up on time every day to go to work. “He was the missing piece of us,” she said, noting that the three siblings share the same initials and call themselves “RDG.”
Ryan’s sisters said it hit him hard when their mother, Sharon, suffered a stroke in September and was partially paralyzed. “I watched him grow up because he really took care of her,” Rachel said. Rebecca recalled that he recorded the timing of her mother’s seizures and helped her monitor her blood pressure. Rachel said Ryan also lost his close aunt and his cat during that time, which became a “domino effect” on his mental health, leading to his attack earlier this month.
‘An avoidable tragedy’
The case casts new light on how police treat people with autism and developmental disabilities, particularly black Americans who have been killed by police.
In 2016, a Florida police officer shot an autistic man who was sitting on the street driving a toy truck, injuring his caregiver. Elijah McClain, who was tackled and killed by Colorado police and paramedics in 2019, was not charged with a crime, but he said: “I’m an introvert… I’m just different.” That One year, Pennsylvania police killed Osaze Osagie, a 29-year-old autistic man whose parents sought help from the police. In 2021, Los Angeles police officers shot and killed Isaias Cervantes, who was autistic and hearing-impaired, leaving him paralyzed.
“It’s heartbreaking. We can’t rest,” said Morénike Giwa, founder of Texas-based Advocacy Without Borders, a nonprofit dedicated to disability justice. Onaiwu said. She is autistic and has two autistic teenagers, and she fears for their safety. She told the children not to call the police and not let them drive in hopes of reducing potential police interactions. . “I ‘talk’ to them a lot and I hate it – I feel like it takes away from their ability to be children.”
When police encounter black children in crisis like Ryan, “they see dangerous, unruly people, thugs,” Giwa Onaiwu said. “The adultification of black children is very real. They are seen as huge, scary, and out of control.”
San Bernardino Police Chief Shannon Dix was quick to criticize last week when he said Ryan was “tall” and “in good health” and “a teenager who could be dangerous.”
Audrey Christiansen, a pediatrician at Boston Medical Center who has studied police autism training, said some officers are ill-equipped to respond to mental health crises: “Families are asking for help…and when the police get there, they don’t know What to do.” Do it. Officials said they were overwhelmed. “
Teens with autism, even if they are able to communicate verbally, may have difficulty communicating with officers during high-stress moments and may need physical space and time to respond, she said. In some cases, teenagers may be particularly sensitive to physical contact. The presence of many police officers or the sound of sirens may further escalate the conflict. Christiansen stressed that each person’s situation and needs are unique and that officials should work with providers and relatives.
Dickus said officers had been to Ryan’s home five previous times and had taken him for medical treatment without the use of force. He declined to say whether the officer who shot him knew that.
Hadiya Kennedy, a former Los Angeles Police Department officer who worked as a therapist for children with autism, said officers should be aware of prior incidents and develop plans based on that history. Kennedy, who serves on the board of the Forever For the People Foundation, a nonprofit that supports families affected by police violence, called Ryan’s killing an “avoidable tragedy” in a statement: “The officers involved failed this family.”
Dicus told reporters that officers followed “training protocols” and he did not see time to use stun guns, pepper spray or other tactics: “Officers do not need to be hit in the head with something… Deadly force is completely appropriate.” He declined an interview request.
At a news conference Thursday, family attorney DeWitt Lacy said the Sheriff’s Department also viewed the family as “criminals” after the homicide – grabbing the mother and holding her Drag her out of the wheelchair and force her to come to the hospital. station, without informing her that her son was dead. Ryan’s aunt told reporters that police threatened to arrest family members who arrived at the scene.
His mother tried to speak at the press conference but was too distraught to speak. Before the news cameras arrived, his sisters said they couldn’t understand Ryan not being able to celebrate his 16th birthday later this year. He had always longed to learn to drive so he could help his mother. “He said, ‘I’ll drive her anywhere, wherever she wants to go,'” Rebecca said.
Friends remember ‘the sweetest soul’
Ryan’s high school classmates in Apple Valley said he was known for his kindness and infectious smile.
“He would talk to everyone, ask them how their day was, make sure they were OK. He drew people in,” said Maddi Bauer, 17, who spent the first day of her junior year in college Befriended Ryan when he couldn’t find a seat on the bus: “I just remember seeing this big, bright, warm, safe smile. [when] Ryan offered me a seat next to him. When I accepted this position I had no idea the impact he would have on my life. “
The two became close—they would film TikTok trends, tell other people jokes on the bus, or play Nintendo games.When she struggled to excel in the game he loved, “He insisted I could do anything [and] Always encouraging me,” she said. “He never judged me. Instead, he taught me not to care about what other people think.” She said he enjoyed making memes and jamming to his favorite song, “United States” of What”.
Maddie said Ryan sometimes talked about feeling sad, but she couldn’t understand how he could be considered violent: “He was the one who cheered people up and put a smile on everyone’s face.” She transferred from Apple Valley High School After that, they kept in touch. One of his last messages was: “I just wanted to make sure everything was okay and that you were doing great.”
“Ryan had the sweetest soul. He made such a huge impact,” added Leila Hanoum, a 15-year-old Apple Valley student who first met him in middle school. He would sneak up to scare her and make her laugh. Leila said students were in shock, classes were quiet and people were trying to talk about the tragedy. She regretted losing contact with Ryan last month: “I wish I could have had a longer conversation with him. We all miss Ryan.”
As video of Ryan’s death has gone viral, his classmates and family have been sharing old footage of his life, including him jumping up in bed and clapping as a child, or his TikTok challenges as a teenager.In a recent video, Ryan smiling He conveyed a positive message to the audience:
“Make sure you have a great day, be a spark, and make sure you spread kindness.”
