Victor Perez Should Still Be Alive

A broken system, a life cut short, and a call for justice in how we respond to disability and crisis.

Victor Perez should still be here.

He was only 17 years old. Autistic. Non-speaking. Cerebral palsy. A son. A brother. A human being.

And he was gunned down—by the very people we trust to protect and serve.

Victor wasn’t doing anything criminal. He was upset—something that happens all the time in families with autistic kids. He was in his own backyard with his family when a neighbor called 911, claiming he had a knife and was acting erratically.

The situation called for trained, calm, compassionate intervention. Instead, the police showed up—and twelve seconds later, Victor was shot nine times.

Not tased.Not talked down. Not disarmed. Shot. Nine times.

This isn’t about hating the police. It’s about holding them to a standard. It's about expecting them to actually be trained for real-life situations—like how to handle someone who’s disabled, non-verbal, or in crisis.

Because if you can’t tell the difference between a neurodivergent teenager and a deadly threat, you have no business wearing a badge.

The system is broken. And it’s killing people.

This wasn’t just a tragedy. This was infuriating. Avoidable. Wrong.

We need real change:

• Autism-informed emergency protocols

• Non-police crisis intervention teams

• Actual accountability when deadly force is used the wrong way

Victor Perez didn’t have to die. His family shouldn’t have to live with this for the rest of their lives.

And if we keep ignoring it, more families are going to go through the same heartbreak.

Victor should still be alive. And we should be angry enough to demand better.

What do you think needs to change to prevent tragedies like this? Let’s talk about it.