“He’s just like any kid when they throw a tantrum”

So says Wanda Mitchell of her 21-year-old autistic son Raymond Lee Mitchell, who died on Wednesday, July 19th, after sheriff’s deputies attempted to subdue him in his house. According to an article in today’s PE.com (Southern CA), Mitchell’s family says that “Mitchell did not provoke officers when they showed up at the house on Wednesday and that the officers used excessive force.” But, according to Riverside County Bob Doyle,

“They opened the closet and the kid was on them…He was 240 pounds. They went right into a fight and there was no time for chit chat.”

Wanda Mitchell had called 911 and told the dispatcher that her son Raymond was autistic and that she needed authorities to “pick up her son,” as he was tantrumming. Ms. Mitchell is quoted as noting that

“Raymond was a wonderful person, a big baby. I said to him, ‘Raymond, you think you’re a little boy, but you’re a big man.’”

Go here to read Sheriff: Deadly fight provoked.