Cop Shoots and Kills Unarmed Deaf Man as He Tries to Communicate Using Sign Language

[ThestigGT999]

Charlotte, NC — A community and family is mourning the loss of Daniel Kevin Harris, whose life was taken this week by a State Trooper who apparently fears sign language. Harris, who is deaf, was gunned down in front of his house.

According to police, trooper Jermaine Saunders attempted to pull Harris over around 6:14 p.m. on Thursday. For an unknown reason, Harris did not stop and, instead, drove to his home.

During the pursuit, both cars became damaged and eventually came to a stop near Harris’ home.

“I was here in my driveway and I saw the highway patrol car come through and it was smoking really bad,” said neighbor Mark Barringer. “About 10 seconds later, I heard one gunshot.”

According to WCNC, Barringer says when he went to take a closer look, he saw Harris in the middle of the street. He died just a few feet from his front door. Several neighbors have put flowers near where Harris took his final breaths.

“It was surreal, you just don’t expect to see something like that,” said Barringer. “When the gunshot went off, it was scary.”

According to police, detectives say Saunders and Harris got into “an encounter” before the officer killed him. However, according to neighbors, as soon as Harris got out of his vehicle, Saunders fired.

“While on Seven Oaks Drive, the driver exited his vehicle and an encounter took place between the driver and the trooper causing a shot to be fired,” according to a statement from the State Highway Patrol.

Detectives say Harris was trying to communicate with the trooper using sign language before he was killed.

Harris died on the scene. He was 28-years-old.

“They should’ve deescalated and been trained to realize that this is an entirely different situation, you’re pulling someone over who is deaf, they are handicapped,” said Barringer. “To me, what happened is totally unacceptable.”

Neighbor Ryan Russell said he’d see the man out in the neighborhood speaking in sign language with his family. “It seemed like a very peaceful family,” Russell told WBTV. “These things are always heartbreaking.”
Audria Bridges, special agent in charge of the SBI office that covers the Charlotte region, said Saunders has been placed on administrative leave and an investigation is underway.

“The SBI is in the process of obtaining all available dash cam or body camera video present on the scene from the State Highway Patrol as well as Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department, as CMPD responded to the scene immediately after the shooting,” Bridges said.

According to the Charlotte Observer, public records show an interpreter provided sign language for Harris at a court hearing in Florida in 2010. At the hearing, he was found not guilty of misdemeanor larceny and had a charge of misdemeanor resisting property recovery dismissed, records show.

Harris was found guilty of resisting an officer in 2010 when he lived in Connecticut, according to public records. However, this resisting charge was likely due to the fact that Harris could not hear the officer’s commands.

In the land of the free, a deaf man suspected of driving too fast can be killed in cold blood. Unfortunately, as we’ve shown time and again, this type of mistreatment and attacks on the deaf by police are all too common.

 

[ThestigGT999]

From What I read he went home so some one can translate for him

He often posts and runs. Did it a lot in the Ukraine thread and some of the isis threads.

nope

 

[ThestigGT999]

And yet you've still given no comment on the matter...

I thought I did regarding why he went home to be specific this incident is so similar to previous events that happened regarding police and guns, regarding him going home he went there so that some can translate for him as people I have read refer to.

So either ...

he phoned home told them he was being pursued by the police and said thank you for the offer of translation even though he couldn't hear what the other person said because well he can't hear

or ...

he texted home to tell them he was being pursued by the police whilst driving away from the police who were actively trying to stop him.

Because unless those things very very unlikely things happened how on earth can we know that?

or he just went home on his on accord hoping someone will help him

 

[ThestigGT999]

well we won't know either way thanks to incompetent cops

 

[ThestigGT999]

It's nothing to do with the cops it do with that fact what you said was obviously a made up lie.

how can you it was made lie if the person in question can't answer for his actions

also read the comment section

http://thefreethoughtproject.com/cop-shoots-kills-unarmed-deaf-mute-man/

 

[ThestigGT999]

I think you need to re-read my posts - then rethink the logic here and see how it is impossible for people to state what they said and therefore it can only be made up conjecture.

Taking random comments from unknown people on a 'funny' site on the internet as fact ... hmm.

The irony is your link then suggests he had form for evading cops which would only then prejudice the police's view of him even more.

when did i say it was a fact, I just put it out there as a possibility