Communication Breakdown Lands Deaf Driver In Jail

Miss-Delectable

Miss-Delectable

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http://www.thebostonchannel.com/news/4623587/detail.html

MALDEN, Mass. -- A failure to communicate landed a deaf motorist behind bars in Malden after a traffic stop by a Massachusetts State Police trooper.

NewsCenter 5's Sonya Pfeiffer reported that Damian Brown said he saw the police lights behind him on Interstate 93. When he pulled over, he said the officer banged so loudly on his car door that he felt it.

"I was arrested for simply a communication breakdown," he said through an interpreter. "The minute he got me out of the car, he immediately cuffed me. He doesn't read me (my Miranda rights). He doesn't explain why I had been arrested in the first place."

Brown spent several hours in a jail cell before being released on his own recognizance.

John Pirone, an advocate for the deaf, said he is not surprised by the story and said it happens too often.

"I think that there needs to be greater education. It is my great hope that would be the case. It is 2005 and the world we live in with all the advanced technology, it would seem to me that this would not be that difficult to accomplish," Pirone said through an interpreter.

State police would not comment on the ongoing investigation.

In addition to speeding, Brown is charged with refusing to produce identification or a registration.

Brown will be arraigned next Thursday.
 
Ok Nancy,,,Explan those actions. I told you these cops have no respect for the handicapped. Just like that deputy had no respeact for me. Like i said sheriff mascara deputies are on a states suvalance."" Theyre Being Watched closely"" So when they mess up on a volation im gonna laugh at the deputy hard and he better keep his cool and not grab me my the collar like dirty harry does on his suspects.
 
ravensteve1961 said:
Ok Nancy,,,Explan those actions. I told you these cops have no respect for the handicapped. Just like that deputy had no respeact for me. Like i said sheriff mascara deputies are on a states suvalance."" Theyre Being Watched closely"" So when they mess up on a volation im gonna laugh at the deputy hard and he better keep his cool and not grab me my the collar like dirty harry does on his suspects.
Click to expand...

Eh? Who's Nancy? There's no Nancy in this thread just yet -- :P

As for the wrongful arrest of the deaf motorist - I'm sure there's more to it than what the article disclosed. Maybe not...who knows.
 
Troopers

We have a business partner who is also a Washington State Patrolman. I have taught him how to deal with a deaf person when one is pulled over. He uses the sign for Liscense immediately when he realizes the person is deaf. So far it has worked wonderfully and he has passed the info along to the other troopers.
 
There is most likely more to the situation than the media has reported.

In any case, when you make contact with the police, it is YOUR responsibility to do everything in your power to make the officer aware that you're deaf/hard of hearing. No exceptions!

Don't make them guess, tell them right away. Most of them don't know ASL so you may have to write it out -- it is in your best interest to do so.
 
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