How a vacation bumper sticker has Raleigh police building trust with autism community
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Raleigh Police held ‘Pancakes with the Police’ on Friday during Autism Awareness Month.
- RPD distributed dozens of ‘Occupant with Autism’ stickers inspired by one seen in Florida
- Over half of RPD officers have received autism training; others will be trained this fall
When Logan Passey’s young son hit his head and passed out about a year ago, Passey felt the fear any parent does when their child is hurt and immediately called 911.
But he faced another anxiety — how would his son Bo, who is autistic and was nonspeaking at the time, know how to interact with first responders when they arrived? And would local authorities know how to treat his son?
“It became imperative for me to realize that as my son gets older, and as the autism community becomes more integrated with our daily lives, that when my son works with the police or meets a firefighter, he knows police are good and first responders are good,” Passey said.
That aim paved the way for an event with the Raleigh Police Department on Friday in which officers dug into pancakes and eggs alongside autistic community members and families in an effort to build connections and understanding between the two groups during Autism Awareness Month.
RPD officers sat with local residents who have autism, chatting and laughing with children and playing games like Jenga over breakfast. Passey said Bo fully embraced the event, hugging and laughing with the officers.
“I’ve never seen him open up like that and give police officers high-fives and share food and laugh,” Passey said.
That proximity is the first step toward bridging the gap between authorities and the autistic community, Passey said. He plans to continue working with the city to raise awareness, even after Autism Awareness Month ends.
“Because if you pull someone over, if you stop someone in the street, if you go to a home, those first couple seconds are going to be so important,” he said. “So how do you defuse the situation?”
According to the CDC, roughly 1 in 31 children (3.2%) in the U.S. has autism.
‘Occupant with Autism’ stickers
Friday’s event is just the beginning of RPD’s partnership with the local autistic community, said Chief Rico Boyce.
On a vacation in Florida earlier this year, Boyce said he noticed bumper stickers on cars reading “Occupant with Autism” over a logo of the local sheriff’s department. He brought the idea back to Raleigh and distributed dozens of similar stickers to families at the event, which he said would alert an officer who may pull a car over for a traffic stop that a passenger has autism and to interact accordingly.
“That idea grew into meaningful conversations and enhanced training for our officers so they are better prepared to interact with members of the autism community here in Raleigh,” Boyce said at the event.
As Mayor Janet Cowell spoke with members of the autism community over pancakes, she said the event begged the question of how similar training might apply to other “forward-facing” departments in Raleigh that regularly interact with the public. The next step in the city’s work with autism will be “deepening” the conversations that were started on Friday, she said.
“It’s so important to have an understanding of all of the challenges that a resident really could have, and treating people with dignity, respect and understanding while having the right training,” she said.
Over half of RPD officers have received autism awareness training, and the other half will receive it in the fall, according to Maj. Eric Goodwin. The training has helped officers recognize cues from an individual that may suggest they have autism, like realizing some may be nonverbal, and teaching officers alternate ways to communicate with those individuals, he said.
The training this fall will also open space to friends or family members of people with autism so they can learn more about RPD’s approach to those interactions.
“The big takeaway is if you have a minute, take a minute and read those cues,” he said of the training. “Then understand what you’re truly dealing with to get that positive public safety outcome which everybody wants so that we’re properly serving the members of the community and they’re receiving the service that they need.”
Goodwin said Friday’s event allowed RPD officers, community members with autism and partnering organizations to connect and communicate to share new ideas on how to advance the partnership going forward.
“We’re trading business cards and contact information, sharing stories — their stories, our stories — and that shows relationships really grow,” he said.
This story was originally published April 10, 2026 at 4:34 PM with the headline "How a vacation bumper sticker has Raleigh police building trust with autism community."
