Autistic boy fatally shot by Police

15 years old Stephon Watts' father called the police Wednesday after arguing with his son, who didn't want to go to school, having been instructed by social workers that Watts should be handled by authorities when agitated.

Diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome when he was 9, Watts had had 10 previous interactions with police in the last two years, including at least one where police discharged Tasers to subdue him.

Police eventually found Watts armed with a knife in the basement of his parents' home. When one officer sustained a defensive wound to his left forearm, two other officers on the scene fired their weapons. Steven Watts, Stephon's father, says as a result, his son was shot once in the leg, and then again in the head.

Stephon's mother, Danelene Powell-Watts said she might pursue a lawsuit against the police force.

"They murdered my son...decided to kill him. They didn't have to shoot him in the head, they could have [T]ased him. They could have hit him in his arm or his leg. They didn't have to kill a 15-year-old with autism."

Police have defended the actions of the Calumet City officers on the scene.

"[Stephon Watts] is well-known to this department as someone who will grab a knife and likes to fight with his fists and a knife, and unfortunately today when he slashed the officer's arm, the officer felt his life was in jeopardy and he had nothing else to do but defend himself," Calumet City Police Chief Edward Gilmore.

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