Handcuffing Deafies....

rockin'robin

rockin'robin

Well-Known Member
Joined
Apr 22, 2007
Messages
24,425
Reaction score
551
Was chatting with my friend the other day on the VP....he mentioned that under ADA law, when a deafie is arrested, they are required to be handcuffed in the front, not the back.....But, still the police handcuff them in the back.

What about oral deafies? HOH, etc.? the same "ADA law" stands? I've never heard of any deafie filing suit if they are handcuffed "from the back", which means they can't sign.
 
TXgolfer said:
Well I usually prefer..... Nevermind
Click to expand...

I catch ur drift....but I was serious when asking this question. Being more informed is the key to better treatments of the deaf, especially here where I live and the treatment of deafies is moreso a "hall of shame" regarding the JSO (Jacksonville Police Dept.). So many lawsuits...grievances in Tampa, and the police dept. being asked to take basic sign language classes, which they never did. I've yet to meet a policeman that knows sign language here.
 
Oh yeah, you would think that would be part of their training. Of course there are a few occassions (car chases ect) where they are going to slap on the cuffs right off the bat. Even then they should change the position once the situation is stable.
 
All the folk I talked to who were handcuffed say the same thing: they ask for the cuffs to be loosened and not a single one of them had that done. They were simply told that the less they moved, the less discomfort they would feel.
 
Beowulf said:
All the folk I talked to who were handcuffed say the same thing: they ask for the cuffs to be loosened and not a single one of them had that done. They were simply told that the less they moved, the less discomfort they would feel.
Click to expand...

While what you just said is probably true, I think what applies here is the fact deafies could communicate (after he/she is calm) much better being handcuffed at the front.
 
rockin'robin said:
I catch ur drift....but I was serious when asking this question. Being more informed is the key to better treatments of the deaf, especially here where I live and the treatment of deafies is moreso a "hall of shame" regarding the JSO (Jacksonville Police Dept.). So many lawsuits...grievances in Tampa, and the police dept. being asked to take basic sign language classes, which they never did. I've yet to meet a policeman that knows sign language here.
Click to expand...

Beowulf said:
All the folk I talked to who were handcuffed say the same thing: they ask for the cuffs to be loosened and not a single one of them had that done. They were simply told that the less they moved, the less discomfort they would feel.
Click to expand...

in my experience ... i met cops who signed. I was arrested once, and it was a good experience. The cop said he couldnt arrest me in front so he handcuffed me very loosely and had two handcuffs linked to eachother so i could write...
 
Beowulf said:
All the folk I talked to who were handcuffed say the same thing: they ask for the cuffs to be loosened and not a single one of them had that done. They were simply told that the less they moved, the less discomfort they would feel.
Click to expand...

Yes, a good friend who was arrested awhile back, she told me the same thing!...Said her wrists were blue when they finally did take the cuffs off....she even cried about it. And yes, she was handcuffed in the back and had a prior shoulder injury, which made it very painful.

Exactly what is the point of extremely tight handcuffs if you have not committed a felony? And the police can loosen the cuffs, but they won't. They verbally told her to "Shut up." And she was in her 50's!

It seems to be there is a lack of compassion when arresting older people, even pregnant women.
 
Tousi said:
While what you just said is probably true, I think what applies here is the fact deafies could communicate (after he/she is calm) much better being handcuffed at the front.
Click to expand...

Yeah, but har-de-har. Fat chance of that happening.
 
being oral-only deaf growing up, I do not want to be cuff on the back because I still gesture when I can't express myself as well I want to be. I have terrible sentence structures especially when it comes to complex subjects or tell a story of what happened. people often ask me to rephrase or give examples what I mean. Gesturing helps.

Now about someone who is late deafened, I don't know, they may have learned to adapt differently since becoming deaf.
 
Beowulf said:
Yeah, but har-de-har. Fat chance of that happening.
Click to expand...

Although, I haven't personally seen that happen, I have heard of it happening. Ongoing education of those agencies is about all I can say on that....
 
For CA highway patrol, they have to offer a pen and paper to communicate with. As for any requirement for them to handcuff in front or back, I have no idea.

It wouldn't help for me to write, but certainly to have the officer write what he was saying or to ask questions, it definitely would help. Most officers do a good job of speaking clearly though.

Since I'm deaf on the left side, it certainly doesn't help when an officer pulled me over on a very dark night and flashed his light (one of those big, powerful mag lites) right in my eyes, triggering some sort of anxiety attack and a 2-month suspension on my license. I ended up going to the ER to get more drugged up on a certain medication. Of course, the officer didn't know I was deaf in the left ear and had been through a lot of stress at that point in my life. I rely a bit on lip-reading, so it was very difficult to understand completely what the officer wanted. It'd be nice to have a special license plate or sticker that indicates to the officer to approach on the right side of my vehicle.
 
craigm26 said:
For CA highway patrol, they have to offer a pen and paper to communicate with. As for any requirement for them to handcuff in front or back, I have no idea.

It wouldn't help for me to write, but certainly to have the officer write what he was saying or to ask questions, it definitely would help. Most officers do a good job of speaking clearly though.

Since I'm deaf on the left side, it certainly doesn't help when an officer pulled me over on a very dark night and flashed his light (one of those big, powerful mag lites) right in my eyes, triggering some sort of anxiety attack and a 2-month suspension on my license. I ended up going to the ER to get more drugged up on a certain medication. Of course, the officer didn't know I was deaf in the left ear and had been through a lot of stress at that point in my life. I rely a bit on lip-reading, so it was very difficult to understand completely what the officer wanted. It'd be nice to have a special license plate or sticker that indicates to the officer to approach on the right side of my vehicle.
Click to expand...

Sorry about your travails...as for the identifying sticker you mention, I'd want that on the driving license itself and not on the car unless it is on the visor.
 
Tousi said:
Sorry about your travails...as for the identifying sticker you mention, I'd want that on the driving license itself and not on the car unless it is on the visor.
Click to expand...

I believe some states have those for drivers licenses.
 
I read that any thing a deaf or HOH say to the cops can't be used against them unless the deaf or HOH person had someone there to interpreter for them.
 
rockin'robin said:
Was chatting with my friend the other day on the VP....he mentioned that under ADA law, when a deafie is arrested, they are required to be handcuffed in the front, not the back.....But, still the police handcuff them in the back.

What about oral deafies? HOH, etc.? the same "ADA law" stands? I've never heard of any deafie filing suit if they are handcuffed "from the back", which means they can't sign.
Click to expand...

nope. they are not required.... not if deafies are hostile/dangerous.
 
whatdidyousay! said:
I read that any thing a deaf or HOH say to the cops can't be used against them unless the deaf or HOH person had someone there to interpreter for them.
Click to expand...

Hmmm, that's a fine line there so I'm not so sure.....
 
Never having ever had handcuff's used on me, I can't say. I never really thought about it. My brothers both have had them, but they are hearing and the younger deserved to have them too tight. He had a very volatile temper and had handcuffs and leg cuffs (plastic straps at ankles).
 
Cops were not trained not to arrest people that handicap in Boston in the
60's . I knew guy that had bad hip and limped when he walked he was arrested for protesting for people rights and the cops were getting ready to throw guy into the police wagon and a one of his friend said he has a bad hip ,the cops did not give a shit and threw the poor in on the floor right on his bad hip! The cops handcuffed an old lady recently and a little girl was
handcuffed not long ago! Somecops do not care who they hurt.
 
Back
Top