Trans man With Asperger’s Shot Dead by Police in Arizona
This article has been editted to better reflect the identity of the deceased.
A trans man with Asperger’s who posted a touching viral video with his service dog last summer has been shot dead by police.
Kayden Clarke was killed by Mesa, Arizona, officers on Thursday after they arrived at his apartment for a suicide call around 11 a.m., his mother Stacia confirmed to the Daily News.
Police told local media that the 24-year-old came at them with a knife and they fired in self-defense.
Clarke had garnered international attention last year for posting a courageous video where he sobs as his loving dog Samson provided comfort during a meltdown and used his paws to stop him from hitting himself.
“This is what having Asperger’s like,” he wrote alongside the clip, and told the Huffington Post, “When I have a meltdown, I often have self-injurious behavior and I often self-harm.”
The video has been made private, though up until three days before his death he posted videos of the canine comforting him during outbreaks of anxiety.
“I talked to him last night and the night before and he seemed fine,” his mother, who now is taking care of the Rottweiler, told the News.
She added that people who knew him were questioning whether police shooting the young trans man in the stomach was necessary.
“Before the police arrived he wasn’t posing a threat to the community at all,” Stacia said.
“And the police came into his own place. They shot and killed a 24-year-old autistic, mentally ill individual whom they had been familiar with and aware of his special needs.”
Mesa police investigate officer-involved shooting
KNXV — Pheonix, AZ
Detective Esteban Flores told AZ Family that police had responded to a suicide call at the same residence two years ago.
Clarke lived in a “mother-in-law” apartment next to an older couple’s house.
The Mesa Police Department said that two people in their 70s were at the home on Thursday.
Flores told the Daily News in a statement Thursday night that “This morning officers from the Mesa Police Department were involved in an officer involved shooting with a 24-year-old trans man who was threatening suicide with a knife” and did not elaborate on the circumstances of the incident.
Clarke’s openness about the struggles he faced as a person with Asperger’s, and his close relationship to Samson, warmed the hearts of more than 2 million people who viewed his video last summer.
His mother said that Clarke was a caring young man who would have given someone he’d just met the shirt off his back.
She added that after the holidays her son had — despite a limited income from his job at Target — bought two Christmas trees and ornaments on sale to give to low income families for this upcoming December.
Officers involved in the shooting, none of whom were hurt, have been placed on administrative leave, according to ABC 15.
They were not wearing body cameras.
(CW:misgendering): Original article here http://goo.gl/mhPGEK
Kayden stated explicitly his chosen name and preference for male pronouns on his Facebook page.