Man with autism, Jake Porter, dies during misunderstandings with police in Cary, Illinois, parents say
A local couple who lost their son with autism during a misunderstanding with police is hoping to use their grief to help others.
Jake Porter's parents say they were waiting for him at a nearby restaurant in the northwest suburbs, but they say their 32-year-old son with autism was instead in his car in a parking lot. Through a tragic set of misunderstandings, he was surrounded by police with guns drawn, and he took his own life.
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His mother, Christy Porter, went through pictures of her oldest son Wednesday. They are all she has left of him.
Though his parents describe him as thoughtful, funny and kind, because of his autism, Jake Porter had few friends and lived with his parents. They are still trying to come to grips with his sudden death.
"The world is a lesser place without my son," Christy Porter said. "We will never get over it."
Jake Porter was on his way to meet his parents in a nearby neighborhood, wearing a medical mask, when he turned his car around in the street, apparently scaring two teenage girls who ran home and told their father someone tried to kidnap them, Porter's parents explained.
The father followed Jake Porter, saw he had a gun and called police.
Lake County said the incident happened about 3:30 p.m. on July 30, 2025 in unincorporated Cary. Officers found Jake Porter in his car in a parking lot and surrounded him before he fatally shot himself.
"This was not a traffic stop," his father Michael Porter said. "They gad guns drawn and he just made the wrong decision."
His parents say Jake Porter suffered from anxiety and was seeing a therapist to help learn to better deal with it. Police say they get special training for dealing with those with autism.
"It's always helpful if we know someone we are interacting with may have autism or intellectual disability, where we can adapt and perform our job differently," Lake County Sheriff Deputy Chief Chris Covelli said.
But they didn't know. Jake Porter's parents say they don't blame police. They were acting on the information they had at the time, nor did they know how their son got a gun.
The parents are speaking about it now in hopes of helping others.
"We hope another autistic person sees this and makes a different choice than Jake did," Christy Porter said.
Jake Porter's parents say lawyers tell them they have no legal options. They just want him to be remembered as the gentle man they say he was.
"I cant have him go down in history as a kidnapper," Michael Porter said. "That's just a lie."
