Unarmed deaf driver shot by police
In North Carolina, where state troopers are trained in dealing with the hearing impaired, investigators are still trying to unravel how a traffic stop turned fatal for a deaf driver with a history of minor offences.
The family of Daniel Kevin Harris said he was unarmed and suggested the sequence of events was a tragic misunderstanding – the type the state’s training manual warns troopers to avoid.
Authorities haven’t said why Trooper Jermaine Saunders fired, and a review of public records shows a few traffic charges against Harris from other states, including damaging his employer’s vehicle with his own car after he was fired last year, according to a Denver police report.
Thursday’s incident started when Harris did not pull over as Saunders turned on his blue lights on Interstate 485 near Charlotte about 6.15pm (local time) and ended after Harris drove down several streets to his home.
North Carolina’s Basic Law Enforcement Training manual has a section that deals with interacting with deaf drivers. ‘‘Keep your eyes on the person’s hands,’’ it reads. ‘‘Deaf people have been stopped by an officer and then shot and killed because the deaf person made a quick move for a pen and pad in his or her coat pocket or glove compartment. These unfortunate incidents can be prevented by mutual awareness which overcomes the lack of communication.’’
The victim’s family said Harris likely didn’t understand the officer’s commands.
The Highway Patrol yesterday urged people not to jump to conclusions.
‘‘Let us all refrain from making assumptions or drawing conclusions prior to the internal and independent reviews’’ by the patrol, the State Bureau of Investigation and the district attorney, secretary Frank Perry of the state Department of Public Safety said. The agency oversees the Highway Patrol.
Harris’s family said they wanted to make sure the incident was investigated thoroughly and also wanted the state to make changes so officers would immediately know they were dealing with a hearing-impaired driver.
Authorities have released little information about the investigation, including any possible body camera or dashboard camera footage or whether a gun was found near Harris. Saunders has been placed on administrative leave.
A spokeswoman for the SBI didn’t respond to questions, including whether authorities have interviewed Saunders yet.
Harris’ family is raising money for his funeral and will put any extra money toward educating police officers on interacting with hard-of-hearing people and calling for a computerised system to alert officers they are dealing with a deaf driver, according to the family’s posting on Youcaring.com.
‘‘You don’t see deafness the way that you see the difference in race. We need to change the system,’’ Harris’ brother Sam said to reporters using sign language and an interpreter after the Monday night vigil.
Sam Harris is deaf, as are other family members. They signed with each other as an Associated Press reporter knocked on their door yesterday. Sam Harris didn’t want to talk, but wrote a note leaving an email address for an interpreter, who said no interviews could be conducted that day.
A review by The Associated Press shows Harris had been charged with traffic offences and other misdemeanours in three states.
The National Association of the Deaf works with law enforcement agencies to improve existing training manuals but doesn’t have one of its own, chief executive Howard Rosenblum said.
The NAD supports intensive training for law enforcement officers on dealing with people who are deaf or hard-of-hearing and says some officers should be trained to communicate in American Sign Language.
The North Carolina training manual includes clues to alert troopers that they may be dealing with a deaf person, such as they seem alert but don’t respond to noise or sounds. It also advises troopers on types of communication that deaf people may use.
While the NAD doesn’t keep statistics on violent encounters between deaf people and law enforcement, Rosenblum said there are ‘‘too many’’ such incidents.
‘‘Too often, officers make verbal orders for individuals to comply and act aggressively when those individuals do not comply,’’ Rosenblum wrote. ‘‘Deaf individuals often are unable to understand the verbal commands of law enforcement officers, and this has led to many physical altercations between law enforcement officers and deaf individuals over the years, with some resulting in death.’’
Harris was white, and authorities haven’t revealed Saunders’ race.