Festival honors disabled Frederick County man who died in custody.
ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) – A film festival in Annapolis this weekend is honoring a disabled Maryland man who died from asphyxiation in 2013 when three sheriff’s deputies tried to forcibly remove him from a movie theater.
The Baltimore Sun reports the Ethan Saylor Memorial Film Festival features works created by or about people with Down syndrome. It runs through Sunday.
Saylor, who had Down syndrome, was handcuffed after he watched “Zero Dark Thirty” and tried to stay for a second viewing without purchasing another ticket. The death was ruled a homicide, but the deputies weren’t charged.
Saylor’s mother, Patti Saylor, says she misses him terribly and still struggles with his death. He would have turned 30 this year.
Among the films shown was a documentary about Saylor’s death and his family’s efforts to push for reforms in police interactions with disabled people.
By: AP