KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A routine traffic stop nearly turned fatal on the Monday before Thanksgiving last year, when a Kansas City police officer pointed a firearm at a young driver and ordered him out of his vehicle at gunpoint. Ten months later, Megan Brown still wells with tears when she thinks of the tragedy that might have befallen her son, Mason Ott.
At the time of the incident, Ott was 21 years old and diagnosed with autism. The encounter unfolded not far from his Northland apartment after a Kansas City police officer attempted to pull him over for alleged speeding.
Today, however, that harrowing afternoon has sparked a profound legislative change. Brown swells with pride when she discusses Missouri’s newly signed “Mason’s Law,” which was enacted in July in her son’s honor. Designed to help protect other drivers with autism, special needs, and various communication-related disabilities, the statute is a reform that Brown and other advocates hope will eventually become a model for the entire nation.
“I mean, I was fearful he could have been shot,” Brown said of the frightening event that ultimately catalyzed the state law. The measure was sponsored in the Missouri Legislature by Republican Representative Chris Brown, who represents Clay County and is no relation to the family. “I just remember all that week thinking—especially with Thanksgiving that week—I remember thinking, ‘I could be without a kid.’”
Clocked at 42 MPH in a 35 MPH Zone
The experience was deeply fraught for Ott, but it has paved the way for a new system. Law enforcement officers will soon be able to use license plates to quickly determine whether a driver has autism or other special needs that may prevent them from responding appropriately to standard police instructions during a traffic stop.
The incident occurred around noon on the Monday before Thanksgiving, according to Brown. She describes her son as generally high-functioning, though he navigates life with autism. A graduate of Staley High School in 2022, Ott actively participated in the school community by serving as an equipment manager for the football team and taking part in the student council.
Following high school, Ott attended the University of Kansas’s Transition to Postsecondary Education (TPE) program. The two-year certificate program is specifically tailored for young adults with intellectual disabilities, providing vital job skills. He left the program having earned as many as 26 credit hours, his mother noted.
Today, Ott lives independently in his own Northland apartment and works at a supermarket located along North Oak Trafficway. He earned his driver’s license when he turned 18 and drives a white 2014 Ford Escape.
According to what police later recounted to Brown, her son was driving alone through the Northland on Maplewoods Parkway, passing beneath the overpass where Missouri Route 152 crosses overhead. A police cruiser was stationed in the area, and an officer later informed Brown that radar had clocked her son traveling 42 miles per hour in a 35 miles per hour zone.
“I was surprised, because Mason—he’s a rule follower,” Brown said. “He’s very diligent.”
Gun Drawn: ‘Stop! Stop! He Has Autism’
When the police officer activated his flashing lights, Ott faced a complex navigational and cognitive challenge. Brown explained that she and her former husband had long instructed their son that if a police car turned on its lights and signaled for him to pull over, he should drive to a safe place before stopping.
A deputy later told Brown that her son did initially pull over to the side of the road, and the police officer pulled in directly behind him. Reflecting on the sequence of events afterward, Brown recognized the literal interpretation her son applied to their previous guidance. Her son takes instructions very literally.
“We never said, ‘You need to stay there,’” she noted.
As the officer remained in his cruiser behind him, Ott pulled back onto the road and drove away from the officer at a steady 35 miles per hour. Using his blinker, he headed toward his apartment complex located about one and a half miles away.
“There was, like, no high-speed, nothing,” Brown said.
Ott pulled his vehicle into the parking lot of his apartment near the complex’s front office. As police body-camera footage later captured, the officer exited his vehicle immediately and drew his service weapon.
“He has his gun drawn, going toward the car, ‘Get out with your hands up!’” Brown said. “Mason freezes, like he just freezes and doesn’t do anything. So then the employees of the apartment complex run out. They’re like, ‘Stop! Stop! He has autism.’ The police officer responded, ‘Get back, get back,’ not knowing what was going on. Finally, it somehow got de-escalated.”
Ultimately, the police officer, Ott, and the apartment complex employees went inside the complex’s office, where they placed a phone call to Brown.
‘I Just Started Bawling’
At the time of the incident, Brown was at work in Lawrence. She received an initial phone call informing her that her son had been pulled over, though the severity of the situation was not immediately clear. She quickly called her former husband, Ott’s father, who lived closer to the scene. Shortly after, Ott’s father called her back to deliver the terrifying news that the officer had drawn his gun on their son.
“I fell,” Brown said. “There were some stairs there, and I just fell. I was burying my head in this towel and I just started bawling.”
In the days, weeks, and months that followed, Brown sought answers and requested the police body-camera footage of the encounter, which she eventually received. She also began speaking with friends, including fellow parents of children with autism, about the severe risks faced by individuals who might struggle to comply with police instructions during traffic stops.
‘We Have to Do Something’
One of those parents was Lauren Ray of Kansas City, whose 17-year-old son, Sam, also has autism. While Sam does not yet drive, he may do so in the future.
“She wanted to share with me Mason’s story,” Ray said, “because she was worried that Sam would have reacted the same way, which I truly believe he would have. I mean, you always have that fear, as a parent, of how your child will react, whether they’re typical or atypical. But this situation never even crossed my mind. That’s why when Megan shared it, I was like, ‘We have to do something.’”
Ray took immediate action, contacting her state representative, Chris Brown, whom she had known for years.
“Chris knows I have a son with autism, so he knew it was near and dear to me,” Ray said. “And he knew of Mason.”
Before becoming a state representative, Brown had worked as a history teacher at Oak Park High School, where Ray had been one of his students.
Ray shared the details of Ott’s encounter with the lawmaker. Although local police had offered Megan Brown advice on what to do if such a situation ever happened again—such as turning on flashing hazard lights to signal an intention to comply—that guidance felt insufficient for addressing the root communication barrier.
During her research, Megan Brown discovered that Texas offers “autism awareness” specialty license plates. Furthermore, drivers who are hearing-impaired or have communication disabilities can register their vehicles in a way that alerts law enforcement to their condition when officers run a license plate through computer databases.
A New System
With the Missouri Legislature adjourned for its December recess, Representative Brown promised to bring the issue forward when lawmakers reconvened in January. He kept that promise.
In March, both Megan Brown and Ray testified before lawmakers in support of a comprehensive system. The initiative would allow not only drivers with autism, but any individual with special needs or a qualifying disability, to register their vehicle with the Missouri Department of Revenue.
Under the provisions of the newly enacted law, an applicant must provide certification from a physician confirming that the “applicant or the applicant’s child, parent or spouse has a physical or mental health condition that is likely to impair the ability to effectively communicate with law enforcement.”
The physician must also certify that the individual’s communication impairment is expected to last for at least five years. While the operational system is not yet active, state officials expect it to be fully implemented by early 2027.
Once operational, police officers using their in-car computers or the Missouri Unified Law Enforcement (MULE) system will be able to run a license plate and receive advance notice if the registered driver has a communication disability.
“I also have a niece and nephew who are not driving yet but are hearing-impaired and have cochlear implants,” Ray said. “So when I testified, I brought up those examples as well, because should their batteries go out or become broken, or they lose their cochlear implants—if a police officer was pulling them over, they’re not going to hear. I mean, it’s all aspects. If there’s a medical diagnosis—from a mental disability to a physical disability, or even PTSD—if you have a medical diagnosis that would hinder how you would respond in an emergency situation, it’s just—it’s a win-win for law enforcement and for the individual.”
‘We Can Do Better’
Representative Brown shares a similar perspective on the organic nature of the legislation’s passage.
“I’ve been in the Missouri House now for six years,” said Brown, who ran for reelection in November. “One of the cool things about this bill is it was absent lobbyists. It was absent big business. It was literally two moms—one of the moms had an unfortunate situation with law enforcement. It was so organic. They called me up and said, ‘Hey, we can do better.’ And I was like, ‘You know what? You’re right.’”
“The hope is that it’s going to help law enforcement do their job better,” he added. “It’s going to help them have a better understanding of possibly who is in that car or vehicle. And it’s obviously going to help protect people who are behind the wheel.”
Mason Ott, who received no traffic citations following the incident, offered a simple assessment of the new legislation: “It will be really helpful.”
Megan Brown expressed profound relief that her son remains safe. Until the state’s new database system is fully functional, Ott displays a bumper sticker on his car that reads, “Autistic driver. Please be patient.” The sticker gives his mother mixed feelings; while it helps raise awareness among fellow motorists, she also harbors concerns that it could make her son vulnerable to bad actors seeking to take advantage of him.
For now, her primary focus is spreading awareness about the law, which she views as a vital safeguard for many families across the state.
“I never expected it to be named after him,” Brown said. “When Chris Brown said, ‘We’re going to name it “Mason’s Law,”’ I just started crying. I just thought it was amazing.”
