Miss-Delectable
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Taser use on deaf man defended
To Seattle police, it was a near-perfect use of a Taser -- subduing a man whose behavior might have forced a more violent confrontation, even a shooting, without the less lethal option.
To Bob Ross' friends, his being electrically stunned last month was an excessive use of force brought on, they believe, because he is deaf and did not hear the officer's commands.
"It was one of those things that obviously got out of hand," said Jim Lunz, owner of Seattle Pottery Supply and Ross' boss for the past 29 years.
It was a situation that might have been avoided, Ross' friends say, if police were able to recognize the disabled, learning even a basic sign such as the one asking a person's name.
Ross' guardians at Guardianship Services of Seattle are contacting an advocacy group for the disabled, hoping they will work to prevent another situation like the one experienced by the 56-year-old Ross.
"We just want to make sure that this doesn't happen to anybody else again," said Sacha Davis with Guardianship Services. "This isn't the first time that somebody with a disability was mistaken for somebody who was committing a crime."
The department will examine whether training needs to be enhanced, but the officer's Taser use in this case was entirely appropriate, said assistant Seattle police Chief Clark Kimerer. He oversees the department's "less lethal" program, which includes Tasers, beanbag shotguns and training officers in defusing volatile situations.
"It strikes me that most officers, when confronted with that situation, would probably take similar action," Kimerer said. "The officer was in uniform, the facts about the subject's hearing disability were not known to her. She was reacting to behavior which was very troubling and threatening and needed to be dealt with."
According to police reports, the confrontation began just before 8 a.m. on July 29 at the business on South Hanford Street.
Officer Yvonne Tovar saw a man pushing the front door, apparently trying to get in. She noted in her report that the man "attempted to hide behind a large planter."
Lunz said Ross sometimes sits on the ledge of the planters on either side of the entrance when he arrives early and it could appear he was hiding.
The officer drew her gun and ordered Ross away from the door. He ignored her.
When he did come out from behind the plants, Ross was carrying wooden dowels for use in making pots.
Tovar ordered Ross to drop the sticks, but he did not respond.
She radioed for backup just as Ross "began to raise the sticks and come toward me in a quick pace," according to her report.
Tovar holstered her gun and drew her Taser, firing when Ross continued to approach her.
The two Taser darts, attached to wires that deliver a 50,000-volt shock, struck Ross in the chest and abdomen, but he yanked them out and ran.
Tovar gave chase, loaded a fresh cartridge in her Taser, and fired again, this time hitting him in the chest and thigh. Again, Ross pulled out the darts and continued to run.
The officer loaded another cartridge, fired again and hit Ross in the front.
Just then, Officer Donald Leslie arrived. He also shot his Taser, and this time Ross went down.
But he continued to fight, grabbing handfuls of gravel and throwing them at the officers.
Two more officers arrived and all four were able to restrain Ross, Leslie using gestures to calm the agitated man.
Sarah Takahashi arrived at work that morning and found her friend strapped to a gurney.
"I thought he must have been hit by a car," she said.
After speaking with police she learned they hadn't realized he is deaf.
Ross, she said, "was very gray and nervous."
He was wrapped in a blanket, there was a bandage on his back and his shirt was bloody and stained with dirt.
The police, especially Tovar, seemed upset, she said.
"She said she just felt sick," Takahashi said. "She felt horrible."
Police initially considered arresting Ross for investigation of assault and obstruction, until they realized he was disabled.
Supervisors agreed that the use of force was correct.
"The officers had no way of knowing the suspect was deaf and mute and the suspect apparently was unable to communicate that to the officers," one supervisor wrote in a review. "The suspect could have avoided this confrontation by remaining calm and still."
But Davis and others believe police also could have handled the matter better.
"There was just too much, too much force," she said.
To Seattle police, it was a near-perfect use of a Taser -- subduing a man whose behavior might have forced a more violent confrontation, even a shooting, without the less lethal option.
To Bob Ross' friends, his being electrically stunned last month was an excessive use of force brought on, they believe, because he is deaf and did not hear the officer's commands.
"It was one of those things that obviously got out of hand," said Jim Lunz, owner of Seattle Pottery Supply and Ross' boss for the past 29 years.
It was a situation that might have been avoided, Ross' friends say, if police were able to recognize the disabled, learning even a basic sign such as the one asking a person's name.
Ross' guardians at Guardianship Services of Seattle are contacting an advocacy group for the disabled, hoping they will work to prevent another situation like the one experienced by the 56-year-old Ross.
"We just want to make sure that this doesn't happen to anybody else again," said Sacha Davis with Guardianship Services. "This isn't the first time that somebody with a disability was mistaken for somebody who was committing a crime."
The department will examine whether training needs to be enhanced, but the officer's Taser use in this case was entirely appropriate, said assistant Seattle police Chief Clark Kimerer. He oversees the department's "less lethal" program, which includes Tasers, beanbag shotguns and training officers in defusing volatile situations.
"It strikes me that most officers, when confronted with that situation, would probably take similar action," Kimerer said. "The officer was in uniform, the facts about the subject's hearing disability were not known to her. She was reacting to behavior which was very troubling and threatening and needed to be dealt with."
According to police reports, the confrontation began just before 8 a.m. on July 29 at the business on South Hanford Street.
Officer Yvonne Tovar saw a man pushing the front door, apparently trying to get in. She noted in her report that the man "attempted to hide behind a large planter."
Lunz said Ross sometimes sits on the ledge of the planters on either side of the entrance when he arrives early and it could appear he was hiding.
The officer drew her gun and ordered Ross away from the door. He ignored her.
When he did come out from behind the plants, Ross was carrying wooden dowels for use in making pots.
Tovar ordered Ross to drop the sticks, but he did not respond.
She radioed for backup just as Ross "began to raise the sticks and come toward me in a quick pace," according to her report.
Tovar holstered her gun and drew her Taser, firing when Ross continued to approach her.
The two Taser darts, attached to wires that deliver a 50,000-volt shock, struck Ross in the chest and abdomen, but he yanked them out and ran.
Tovar gave chase, loaded a fresh cartridge in her Taser, and fired again, this time hitting him in the chest and thigh. Again, Ross pulled out the darts and continued to run.
The officer loaded another cartridge, fired again and hit Ross in the front.
Just then, Officer Donald Leslie arrived. He also shot his Taser, and this time Ross went down.
But he continued to fight, grabbing handfuls of gravel and throwing them at the officers.
Two more officers arrived and all four were able to restrain Ross, Leslie using gestures to calm the agitated man.
Sarah Takahashi arrived at work that morning and found her friend strapped to a gurney.
"I thought he must have been hit by a car," she said.
After speaking with police she learned they hadn't realized he is deaf.
Ross, she said, "was very gray and nervous."
He was wrapped in a blanket, there was a bandage on his back and his shirt was bloody and stained with dirt.
The police, especially Tovar, seemed upset, she said.
"She said she just felt sick," Takahashi said. "She felt horrible."
Police initially considered arresting Ross for investigation of assault and obstruction, until they realized he was disabled.
Supervisors agreed that the use of force was correct.
"The officers had no way of knowing the suspect was deaf and mute and the suspect apparently was unable to communicate that to the officers," one supervisor wrote in a review. "The suspect could have avoided this confrontation by remaining calm and still."
But Davis and others believe police also could have handled the matter better.
"There was just too much, too much force," she said.
