Police Taser, Pepper Spray Mentally Disabled Deaf Man

Sounds like another Gates story.

Cops never think of deaf people, we're pretty much out of sight and out of mind with cops.

Yiz
 
The story doesn't tell us anything about what made the police knocking on the bathroom door. What was he doing in there? What store is it? How long had he been in there? Is he severely mentally disabled? If so, who was with him? I am not going to comment this before we know the full story.
 
Not enough information..however, the act of spraying pepper spray under the bathroom door seems excessive. Wait and see for more info..
 
Points to consider. Dont let a 37 years old man with a mental age of 10 be roaming around without supevision of a care giver. The store and other individuals have a right to use the facilities too!! Forceful removal of the individual was necessary because of his mental illness. He was fighting the police and force was necessary. Police have a tough job, just ask the policeman who arrested "Professor" Gates in New Jersey
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Plenty of people who are mentally disabled are free to walk around on their own. They are able to handle a whole lot of things on their own without a caregiver. Please, some people are just so ignorant.

Deaf man tased, pepper sprayed by Mobile officers for staying in bathroom too long - Breaking News from the Press-Register - al.com
 
Banjo,

I provided that same link.

I used to work voluntarily with mentally disabled children years ago, and faced difficult challenges on working with mentally disabled children. I mean, I have had been punched in the stomach, and been bit by other, but it didn't bother me. They're awesome.

Some deaf and mentally disabled adults are not independent, unstable and have no social skills. They are not aware that they're strong enough to harm a family member. I know it's difficult to care for mentally disabled adult than care for mentally disabled child.

The magistrate did the right thing by refusing the charges.
 
Barbaro said:
Some deaf and mentally disabled adults are not independent, unstable and have no social skills. They are not aware that they're strong enough to harm a family member. I know it's difficult to care for mentally disabled adult than care for mentally disabled child.

The magistrate did the right thing by refusing the charges.
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I was referring to a comment left by a moron on that website you provided. The man was obviously used to walking around on his own. It's just unfortunate that this happened.

Yes, people who are not independent and stable tend to have people with them, especially these who live in group homes. However, this man appeared to be capable of doing simple tasks on his own. He wrote a 6-page story on what happened.

Sure, his English isn't great but I understood what he was saying.
 
I read those awful comments. It appears some do not understand that mentally disabled adults can function well. It is disgusted the police and witnesses laughed at him for who he is, and the way the police dropped him off at home and left him without telling his family like that.

Yeah, his English isn't that great, but I believe that he can function well on his own.
 
Barbaro said:
I found this best link. It has four pages, including deaf and mentally disabled man, Antonio Love's 6-page note based on the incident.

Deaf man tased, pepper sprayed by Mobile officers for staying in bathroom too long - Breaking News from the Press-Register - al.com
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thank you for sharing that link. I just finished reading his paper and my thought was - "wow..... :eek3: "

Even though his English was bad but it was clear enough for me to construct a vivid reenactment of his experience in my head. His story was quite colorful and detailed to the point... far better than any other witness's shaky & biased story. I'm glad he's OK but I see no fault or wrongdoing on police's part. They operated on what they knew and they did not know they were dealing with a mentally-disabled deaf man.

Spraying mace under the door is a typical police tactic to force someone out of the room/car/enclosed space and/or to distract him. The police knocked and knocked - no response. The police tried to force the door open - Antonio pushed it back. The police briefly saw that Antonio is using umbrella as "weapon". To safely defuse the situation - the cop used mace under the door.

You have to understand from cop's perspective - it probably looks like a crazed drug addict under influence shooting up some drug in the bathroom. or maybe it's a man who wants to commit suicide. or maybe it's a crazy man harming/raping unconscious kid/woman. Who knows. Obviously - if the cops KNEW it was a mentally-disabled deaf man - the cop would probably write a note and slide it under the door - "this is police. are you ok? please open the door" or get a medical personnel on it.
 
Jiro said:
You have to understand from cop's perspective - it probably looks like a crazed drug addict under influence shooting up some drug in the bathroom. or maybe it's a man who wants to commit suicide. or maybe it's a crazy man harming/raping unconscious kid/woman. Who knows. Obviously - if the cops KNEW it was a mentally-disabled deaf man - the cop would probably write a note and slide it under the door - "this is police. are you ok? please open the door" or get a medical personnel on it.
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You do have to understand it from another person's perspective who has the stomach problems, needing to sit on the toilet to help ease his pain. There's something banging on the other side of the door and you are of diminished mental capacity. How would you feel and the door slams open on you when you're embarrassed & first reaction is to shut the door with the umbrella so you don't soil yourself.

Next thing you know you are sprayed with mace because the police views you as a hazard and tazes you without checking if you are ok?

Couldn't the police have gone to the stall next door and stand on the toilet to check on him and see if he was okay? Something we all did back in elementary days but this is something that could have been done to prevent all this.

I wouldn't want the police to mace or taze me as I do prop the white cane 45 degrees against the bathroom door to alert me if someone opens the door. I could have easily grabbed the white cane and slammed the door shut & propped the cane up again. Anyone could've misunderstood the white cane as a weapon.

This is where second-thinking is needed and sensitivity training is important to have instead of knee-jerk actions.
 
Sometimes cops just act on impulse and aggravate the situation even more when it could have been handle in a more reasonable way.
 
Mrs Bucket said:
You do have to understand it from another person's perspective who has the stomach problems, needing to sit on the toilet to help ease his pain. There's something banging on the other side of the door and you are of diminished mental capacity. How would you feel and the door slams open on you when you're embarrassed & first reaction is to shut the door with the umbrella so you don't soil yourself.

Next thing you know you are sprayed with mace because the police views you as a hazard and tazes you without checking if you are ok?

Couldn't the police have gone to the stall next door and stand on the toilet to check on him and see if he was okay? Something we all did back in elementary days but this is something that could have been done to prevent all this.

I wouldn't want the police to mace or taze me as I do prop the white cane 45 degrees against the bathroom door to alert me if someone opens the door. I could have easily grabbed the white cane and slammed the door shut & propped the cane up again. Anyone could've misunderstood the white cane as a weapon.

This is where second-thinking is needed and sensitivity training is important to have instead of knee-jerk actions.
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I think this is one-bathroom, fully-enclosed room because in the paper - it said that he went to sink to get water for his face after getting maced thru the crack. and yup I did look from Antonio's perspective. That's why I was :eek3: after reading his paper. It was a very colorful and scary detail of his frightening experience.
 
Jiro said:
thank you for sharing that link. I just finished reading his paper and my thought was - "wow..... :eek3: "

Even though his English was bad but it was clear enough for me to construct a vivid reenactment of his experience in my head. His story was quite colorful and detailed to the point... far better than any other witness's shaky & biased story. I'm glad he's OK but I see no fault or wrongdoing on police's part. They operated on what they knew and they did not know they were dealing with a mentally-disabled deaf man.

Spraying mace under the door is a typical police tactic to force someone out of the room/car/enclosed space and/or to distract him. The police knocked and knocked - no response. The police tried to force the door open - Antonio pushed it back. The police briefly saw that Antonio is using umbrella as "weapon". To safely defuse the situation - the cop used mace under the door.

You have to understand from cop's perspective - it probably looks like a crazed drug addict under influence shooting up some drug in the bathroom. or maybe it's a man who wants to commit suicide. or maybe it's a crazy man harming/raping unconscious kid/woman. Who knows. Obviously - if the cops KNEW it was a mentally-disabled deaf man - the cop would probably write a note and slide it under the door - "this is police. are you ok? please open the door" or get a medical personnel on it.
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I do understand from cop's perspective, but I disagree with the way the police treated him like crap, laughed at him, and ditched him after the police had discovered his card that indicates he's deaf.

there is a part of me is that I feel that a friend, family member, caregiver, or whoever should be going with a mentally disabled adult. Yes, they do want to feel independent sometimes. Some mentally disabled adults are unpredictable and may appear to do well, but that is not always case.

A long while ago, I knew this mentally disabled deaf adult from a community college can function well, and can take a bus by himself. He carried his cards around his neck in case. He even registered for his class, but too bad, he sometimes wandered out during the class. Normally, he came to me in the middle of the class, which was a bad time, and kept talking to me nonstop. He loved to talk. I had several interpreters trying to tell him that they are trying to work, but he got upset and snapped at them. Some interpreters felt very uneasy with his behavior. You never know when he is going to throw a punch or not. I managed to ease his behaviors by talking to him like a child. I told him to visit me during the breaks, because he wanted to show me his drawings.
 
It's not a crime to stay in a public bathroom. I think that what the police did was unreasonable. The police still arrested him and tried to get a warrant. Sounds like a good case for a lawsuit to me. Poor guy!
 
Barbaro said:
I do understand from cop's perspective, but I disagree with the way the police treated him like crap, laughed at him, and ditched him after the police had discovered his card that indicates he's deaf.

there is a part of me is that I feel that a friend, family member, caregiver, or whoever should be going with a mentally disabled adult. Yes, they do want to feel independent sometimes. Some mentally disabled adults are unpredictable and may appear to do well, but that is not always case.

A long while ago, I knew this mentally disabled deaf adult from a community college can function well, and can take a bus by himself. He carried his cards around his neck in case. He even registered for his class, but too bad, he sometimes wandered out during the class. Normally, he came to me in the middle of the class, which was a bad time, and kept talking to me nonstop. He loved to talk. I had several interpreters trying to tell him that they are trying to work, but he got upset and snapped at them. Some interpreters felt very uneasy with his behavior. You never know when he is going to throw a punch or not. I managed to ease his behaviors by talking to him like a child. I told him to visit me during the breaks, because he wanted to show me his drawings.
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I read that part where he said that officer was laughing at him. and at the last part - officer got angry at him too. That made me :( too

that's where sensitivity training comes in
 
sallylou said:
It's not a crime to stay in a public bathroom. I think that what the police did was unreasonable. The police still arrested him and tried to get a warrant. Sounds like a good case for a lawsuit to me. Poor guy!
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it is not a public bathroom. "Public" means the property belongs to government. Shopping mall is not even a public area either.

so if the owner wants you to leave, you have to leave. if you don't want to leave, the police has authority to remove you if requested by owner. if you refuse to comply, the police has authority to arrest you.
 
Banjo said:
I was referring to a comment left by a moron on that website you provided. The man was obviously used to walking around on his own. It's just unfortunate that this happened.

Yes, people who are not independent and stable tend to have people with them, especially these who live in group homes. However, this man appeared to be capable of doing simple tasks on his own. He wrote a 6-page story on what happened.

Sure, his English isn't great but I understood what he was saying.
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I agree. I understood his writing pretty well. He was well-detailed with everything that went on around him.

From what he explained, he was acting out of fear that someone was after him. So, I don't blame him for how he acted in the bathroom.
 
Ok, since you bring that up, I'll give you my lawyerly opinion. I'm licensed in two states so I can't comment on other jurisdictions. Usual disclaimer: This is not legal advice. Consult an attorney in your jurisdiction.

It's true that the bathroom was neither owned nor operated by the government. The business offered the bathroom for use by the general public.

A business/store opens it premises to the general public and any person who comes on the premises is an invitee. The store has a duty to the invitee on the store's premises, and the standard of cares is higher than the standard of care required for a visitor. For instance, the business has a duty to warn and a duty to render aid if the invitee becomes injured/sick.

So, this disabled person/invitee was in the restroom on the premises of a business. The business has a duty to render aid to an ill invitee. Instead, they call the cops and have the guy gassed and arrested. Not to mention, it's bad public relations.
 
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