Aftereffect

WNYC

4.8 (421)
DAILY NEWS
SEMIWEEKLY SERIES

A SWAT team, an autistic man, an American tragedy.

EPISODE 1

Episode 1: "Let me get this on camera"

Just before 5pm on Monday July 18th, 2016, a 26-year old autistic man named Arnaldo Rios Soto walked out of his North Miami home. He had a silver toy truck in his hand. Hours later, his life would be changed forever. A passing motorist mistook Arnaldo's toy for a gun and called 911. Police and SWAT arrived and the confrontation was captured in a cell phone video. The encounter left Arnaldo's behavioral aide - a black man named Charles Kinsey - severely wounded, and it left Arnaldo in need of round-the-clock care. As a result, three police officers lost their jobs, including the now-former North Miami chief of police, Gary Eugene. In his words: "We blew it." Thank you to Sara Luterman of NOS Magazine and reporter Eric Garcia for pointing us to Arnaldo's story. They've written about his journey as well.

36 min
EPISODE 2

Episode 2: "Suck It Up, Buttercup"

The shooting left Arnaldo severely traumatized, unable to remain in the group home where Charles Kinsey had taken care of him. Shortly after, Arnaldo was involuntarily committed to a hospital psych ward, where a typical stay of just a few days stretched into well over a month as the state of Florida struggled to find a new home for him. Eventually, Arnaldo finds himself in a new facility with a well-documented track record of abuse and neglect. It's Halloween when we first meet Arnaldo face to face. Ironically, after everything he's endured, the staff have dressed him in a police costume.

35 min
EPISODE 3

Episode 3: “He was definitely a handful”

Since the beginning, Arnaldo's mother struggled to find adequate care for her autistic son. Her memories are often painful: the doctors who wouldn't diagnose him; the staff who punched him, drugged him, tied his hands behind his back in a classroom chair. These early experiences shaped Arnaldo. In this episode, we talk with a number of people who've cared for him. They recount a sweet, affectionate young man who was also capable of violent outbursts and fits of rage. Hidden beneath Arnaldo's story is a disability-services system starved of funding; facilities trying to squeeze every dollar out of their residents; and staff members willing to restrain their clients by any means necessary.

45 min
EPISODE 4

Episode 4: “I Baker Act you. You Baker Acted me.”

The day of the shooting wasn't Arnaldo's first encounter with the police. In fact, they'd loomed large in his life for years before that. Even as he bounced from one group home to another, the people that consistently showed up for him, often in the worst way, were the cops. (Aneri Pattani)

28 min
EPISODE 5

Episode 5: “I need to believe”

A year and a half after the shooting, there are signs of trouble at Arnaldo's new home, Carlton Palms. The staff isn't keeping an eye on him. There are unexplained injuries. His mother isn't allowed to see his room and he's being restrained in a full-body mat for getting out of bed at night. And yet, his family continues to hold out hope that this is the right place for him.

35 min
EPISODE 6

Episode 6: “When they don’t behave”

A cup of hot water thrown on a developmentally-disabled resident. Another kicked in the ribs. A tooth knocked out by a staff member. Carlton Palms is known for abuse and even death. So why is the state of Florida so reluctant to close it?

33 min
EPISODE 7

Episode 7: “The man behind an empire”

For decades, Carlton Palms' elusive founder, Ken Mazik, has wielded his power and influence to sway members of Congress and state legislatures into bending the rules in his favor -- from scuttling laws that would limit the use of physical restraints, to securing permission from the state of Florida to amass a fortune in Medicaid funding. As one of his former employees told us, "Ken Mazik made millions of dollars tying up little kids."

28 min
EPISODE 8

Episode 8: “They call him Cheese”

One day in February, a group of staff packed up Arnaldo's belongings, moved him out of Carlton Palms and into a three-bedroom house in a suburban neighborhood. On its face, it's the type of setting disability advocates strive toward. Arnaldo has his own bedroom, more autonomy, a staff that looks after him. At the moment, Arnaldo is the only resident. He'll eventually share the house with two other men, but just days before the first is slated to join Arnaldo, he dies - under suspicious circumstances in the care of Carlton Palms.

33 min
SEASON 1 TRAILER

Aftereffect: A SWAT team, an autistic man, an American tragedy.

In summer 2016, a police shooting upended the life of Arnaldo Rios Soto, a 26-year old, non-speaking, autistic man. Aftereffect tells Arnaldo's story -- a hidden world of psych wards, physical abuse and chemical restraints -- and asks the question: What made Arnaldo's life go so wrong? Aftereffect by Only Human is produced by WNYC Studios, a listener-supported producer of leading podcasts including Freakonomics, Death, Sex & Money, and On the Media.

4 min
BONUS

Listen to This: 'The Stakes'

On The Stakes podcast, host Kai Wright and team bring you more stories about inequality, health and justice... and more. In this episode: implicit bias in medicine brings life or death consequences for black moms and their children. A black woman in America is three to four times more likely to die than a white woman during pregnancy, childbirth, and in the year after the baby's born. As more and more black women share their near death experiences while giving birth, including world tennis champion Serena Williams, we see this reality affecting black woman regardless of education or wealth. So what are black women supposed to do with this information as they think about pregnancy? And can we really eliminate implicit bias? WNYC’s health coverage and The Stakes is supported in part by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Jane and Gerald Katcher and the Katcher Family Foundation, and the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.

24 min

TRAILER

Aftereffect: A SWAT team, an autistic man, an American tragedy.

In summer 2016, a police shooting upended the life of Arnaldo Rios Soto, a 26-year old, non-speaking, autistic man. Aftereffect tells Arnaldo's story -- a hidden world of psych wards, physical abuse and chemical restraints -- and asks the question: What made Arnaldo's life go so wrong? Aftereffect by Only Human is produced by WNYC Studios, a listener-supported producer of leading podcasts including Freakonomics, Death, Sex & Money, and On the Media.

S1

•

4 min

Audrey Quinn

Host

4.8

out of 5

421 Ratings

Deeply Moving

03/23/2022

Girlbrain101

Such a sad story about how our most vulnerable fall through societal cracks. Excellent and sensitive reporting.
Ignorant

04/20/2023

313jo

Poorly produced, researched and reported.
Spot On

06/23/2020

wlomaco

As a parent of a woman with autism in her late 20’s, this podcast was both necessary and difficult to listen to. Audrey Quinn was a great narrator and was spot on in so many respects, including capturing the tendency of “experts” to be condescending and dismissive towards families. I also appreciate Audrey shining a light on the experience of individuals who are more challenged, who do not communicate with words, and who have significant behaviors. As parents, our worst fears include having police misunderstand and overreact to a situation, the fear is real. Arnaldo and his toy truck sitting in that cul de sac could have been my daughter. An epilogue would be great.
A good overview

06/19/2019

Angoraknitter

As a parent of a new adult on the spectrum who has just entered into a group home I appreciate the thorough review of the history and factors surrounding this horrible news story. These events are stuff of a special needs parent’s nightmares. We work our whole lives trying to ensure our loved ones will be safe, cared for, and loved. However, there are legitimate challenges that sometimes make a out of home placement essential. My son wants to live an independent life like everyone else. He doesn’t necessarily want to live at home with mom and dad forever. We want him to thrive and grow. I’m learning as we go here. If there are lessons to be learned from incidents I hope we can grow wiser from them and do better. Now if someone could go find out what happened at the Costco in Corona that resulted in the shooting death of a reportedly non-verbal man with ID, that would be a great follow up to this series.