By Melissa L. Jones in Oregon Live.com.

http://www.oregonlive.com/metroeast/oregonian/index.ssf?/xml/story.ssf/html_ standard.xsl?/base/metro_east_news/102034055521965100.xml

A Gresham, Oregon policeman broke the arm of an autistic man who police say resisted arrest Tuesday.

Police responded to a report of a man wandering in traffic on Main Avenue near Gresham High School just before 5 p.m. Tuesday. When Officer David Snider tried to talk to Max Lehman, 43, a resident of a nearby group home, Lehman ran down Northwest 12th Street.

Police said Lehman is autistic and does not talk.

According to neighbors and the police report, Snider tried to stop Lehman by pulling his squad car in front of him on 12th Street.

Lehman, described as about 6 feet tall with a medium build, pulled away from the officer several times as he tried to handcuff him. Snider asked his name, but Lehman only screamed and yelled, the report said.

The officer pinned Lehman to the ground and sprayed him with pepper spray, but Lehman broke free again, the report said. Lehman ran toward his group home, where he was restrained and put into a patrol car with the help of two other officers. Police arrested him on accusations of disorderly conduct.

Gresham Police Chief Bernie Giusto said he will look at the issue of force, but that the department has responded to other complaints of residents from that group home wandering the neighborhood without proper supervision.

"He's not supposed to be out of anybody's sight," Giusto said. "The reason he was supposed to be supervised was because he has no capacity to communicate.

The responsibility lies back on the group home."

Staff workers at the home referred questions to their managing agency, Adult Learning Systems of Oregon.

Julie Crawford, the company's chief executive officer, deferred comment to Multnomah County's Adult and Family Services.

No one at the agency was available for comment Wednesday afternoon.