Rajan

‘Autistic people very much receive atrocious treatment at the hands of police. We are profiled massively.’

Rajan is a hospitality worker in his 20s who identifies as non-binary. He is autistic and has attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). A couple of years ago, a police officer arrested him while he was out shopping.

‘And I was carrying a pouch of Xanax … I panicked and yeah, so withheld it,’ Rajan told the Royal Commission. ‘He like tackled me, pinned me to the ground … then threw me in the back of the paddy wagon.’

Rajan feels police ‘prey’ on and ‘exploit’ people with disability.

‘I was not under the influence of anything and that was the grounds for the stop and search.’

He said police lied to him about his rights before charging him with drug trafficking.

‘The evidence was taken wrongfully … I was under duress.’

Legal Aid promised to provide ‘the same support and resources as a paid lawyer’.

‘That was absolutely a lie. The system is set up to see neurodivergent people thrown under the bus. The first meeting with the Legal Aid barrister, he basically said, yeah, you're guaranteed to go to prison.’

The barrister didn’t turn up to the initial hearing.

‘Like the whole thing was just a joke. The lack of proper communication made the situation so much worse,’ Rajan said.

‘The law firm, I don't think they had any intention to help me. Their intention was to let me be chewed up by the system. There's one system for the rich and one system for the poor. Most people with disabilities are more inclined to be poor.’

At court, the police officer acknowledged Rajan’s disability but still felt the charge ‘was justified’.

‘He admitted that he didn't have an awareness or understanding of autism or ADHD or the symptoms, but that he could tell I was in a compromised mental state.’ 

‘[The officer] claimed he didn’t have his police camera on because it hadn’t been charged,’ Rajan said. ‘Obviously the system favours the police and lets them get away with an awful lot, especially when it comes to autistic people.’

Rajan didn’t go to prison.

‘But I still have a criminal record,’ he said.

He blames ‘disability discrimination by the court system’, which is not ‘inclusive or considerate of peoples’ needs’.

‘It is essentially designed to punish you and to make your life hard.’

Recently, Rajan forgot his transport card. He got off the train and let an officer know.

‘I got all my belongings searched and, like, pat down and everything. Obviously for my ADHD I take dexamphetamine … He believed, like, that I was under the influence of substances … 100 per cent, the police officers profile and make assumptions. That basically gives them free reign to do what they like without any respect for our rights because we don’t present normally.’

Rajan plans to do ‘a lot more disability advocacy’, particularly in the hospitality industry.

‘RSA [responsible service of alcohol] laws are just a free licence to discriminate. I don't know a single disabled person who hasn't faced some sort of discrimination … refused entry into a venue because they assume you're drunk.’

He also wants to open a bar that is ‘run by and for autistic people’.

‘To create opportunities for young autistic people … To get those skills and that training from someone that has gone through the hardship of being discriminated against, like, left, right and centre.’