Michigan man sentenced to prison in drowning of autistic son

GRAND HAVEN, Mich. (AP) — A former western Michigan college professor has been sentenced to prison for manslaughter in the death of his autistic teenage son, who drowned after spending an hour in an icy backyard pool with his arms restrained. Timothy Koets, 51, was sentenced Monday to a minimum of two...

Suit: Cops killed autistic teen by sitting on him, chokehold

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Sheriff's deputies in a New Orleans suburb sat on a shackled, obese, severely autistic 16-year-old boy for nine minutes and put a chokehold on him for part of that time until he died, according to a federal lawsuit filed Thursday against the sheriff and seven deputies in the death last...

Dad pleads guilty in autistic son's backyard pool drowning

HUDSONVILLE, Mich. (AP) — The father of a severely autistic 16-year-old Michigan boy who drowned in a family pool has pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter. Prosecutors accused Tim Koets of failing to supervise his son whose hands were bound while he stood in the pool in March 2019. Koets said he had...

ER visits, long waits climb for kids in mental health crisis

When children and teens are overwhelmed with anxiety, depression or thoughts of self-harm, they often wait days in emergency rooms because there aren’t enough psychiatric beds. The problem has only grown worse during the pandemic, reports from parents and professionals suggest. With schools closed,...