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Kansas.com | 12/07/2007 | ID'ing calls from deaf to be studied
Wichita police agreed Thursday to explore the possibility of flagging 911 calls from deaf people so officers will know when they're dealing with someone who can't understand their verbal commands.
Officials from four groups representing the deaf met with police at City Hall to explore ways of preventing a repeat of an incident last month, when police used a Taser on a man because he didn't obey their demands to show his hands. They did not know at the time that he was hearing-impaired.
"We all have something we can learn from it, as an organization and a community," Police Chief Norman Williams said.
Both sides agreed at the meeting that the 911 system might offer the best hope for improving communication between police and the deaf and hard of hearing.
"I think that flagging 911 is something we can do," Shane Dundas, vice president of the Kansas Association of the Deaf, said through an interpreter.
Deputy Police Chief Robert Lee began the meeting by explaining how officers were sent to a home in the 2600 block of North Estelle on Nov. 20 after receiving a call of a shooting.
After no one answered their knocks on the door, officers forced their way inside and found a 39-year-old man standing in a hallway wearing a towel, Lee said.
There was nothing on the door to indicate there was a deaf person in the home, Lee said.
Officers later learned that the man couldn't hear, and that the call, which came from a cell phone, was false.
Dundas said he thought it was a bad idea to place stickers on the doors of deaf people.
"If you advertise to the world that you have a deaf person in the household, someone might take advantage of it," he said.
He also said police were not always to blame when they have trouble communicating with someone who is deaf.
"I think it's the responsibility of the deaf community to learn how to communicate with police," he said.
At the close of the meeting, police agreed to see whether technology would allow the 911 system to flag calls from the deaf.
Jennifer Nordyke, president of the Wichita Association of the Deaf, said she was pleased with the decision.
"I think it went very well," she said. "I would love to have that system in place."
Nordyke also said she was happy to see the issue being discussed.
"I hate to say it, but it was probably a good thing that something like this happened to a deaf person," she said. "But I think the Taser thing has been blown out of proportion. I would sure rather be Tased than shot."
Dundas said he was happy to see the issue of communicating with the deaf come to the forefront.
"I think this meeting has been a great start to the process," he said.
Wichita police agreed Thursday to explore the possibility of flagging 911 calls from deaf people so officers will know when they're dealing with someone who can't understand their verbal commands.
Officials from four groups representing the deaf met with police at City Hall to explore ways of preventing a repeat of an incident last month, when police used a Taser on a man because he didn't obey their demands to show his hands. They did not know at the time that he was hearing-impaired.
"We all have something we can learn from it, as an organization and a community," Police Chief Norman Williams said.
Both sides agreed at the meeting that the 911 system might offer the best hope for improving communication between police and the deaf and hard of hearing.
"I think that flagging 911 is something we can do," Shane Dundas, vice president of the Kansas Association of the Deaf, said through an interpreter.
Deputy Police Chief Robert Lee began the meeting by explaining how officers were sent to a home in the 2600 block of North Estelle on Nov. 20 after receiving a call of a shooting.
After no one answered their knocks on the door, officers forced their way inside and found a 39-year-old man standing in a hallway wearing a towel, Lee said.
There was nothing on the door to indicate there was a deaf person in the home, Lee said.
Officers later learned that the man couldn't hear, and that the call, which came from a cell phone, was false.
Dundas said he thought it was a bad idea to place stickers on the doors of deaf people.
"If you advertise to the world that you have a deaf person in the household, someone might take advantage of it," he said.
He also said police were not always to blame when they have trouble communicating with someone who is deaf.
"I think it's the responsibility of the deaf community to learn how to communicate with police," he said.
At the close of the meeting, police agreed to see whether technology would allow the 911 system to flag calls from the deaf.
Jennifer Nordyke, president of the Wichita Association of the Deaf, said she was pleased with the decision.
"I think it went very well," she said. "I would love to have that system in place."
Nordyke also said she was happy to see the issue being discussed.
"I hate to say it, but it was probably a good thing that something like this happened to a deaf person," she said. "But I think the Taser thing has been blown out of proportion. I would sure rather be Tased than shot."
Dundas said he was happy to see the issue of communicating with the deaf come to the forefront.
"I think this meeting has been a great start to the process," he said.