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At the very least the cop could have called an interpreter, put them on speakerphone, and conducted the conversation that way. I'm surprised law enforcement do
by mikece 8y ago
At the very least the cop could have called an interpreter, put them on speakerphone, and conducted the conversation that way. I'm surprised law enforcement doesn't have these services, especially for Spanish.
Does raise the question: if a law enforcement office pulls over someone with whom they are unable to communicate, what is the protocol?
- newacct500 8y agoTypically they will attempt to communicate with body language; i.e. administer a beating until their interlocutor gets the point.
- vermontdevil 8y agoCan confirm. It has happened to deaf people at times.
- mcguire 8y ago"Typically"?
- ubernostrum 8y agoIt was perhaps a bit sensationally presented, but the other commenter hits on an unfortunate truth: too often, inability to communicate is treated as noncompliance, and the standard response to perceived noncompliance is violence. For example, in Oklahoma City last year, police shot and killed a deaf man, despite being told he was deaf, because he wasn't able to hear what they were yelling to him: https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/09/21/552527929/oklahoma-city-police-fatally-shoot-deaf-man-despite-yells-of-he-cant-hear-you https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/09/21/552527929...
- oftenwrong 8y agoOr this other case where an old Indian man was slammed on the ground, leaving him partially paralyzed. https://youtu.be/JsAXgABK5BU https://youtu.be/JsAXgABK5BU
- allthenews 8y ago>because he wasn't able to hear what they were yelling to him He was advancing toward them with a metal pipe, while their weapons were drawn. I don't think there was much that needed to be communicated in such a scenario. Most likely suicide by cop.
- orf 8y agoAre the police so poorly trained and terrified that they are unable to subdue a deaf man carrying a pipe without lethal force? Why is walking towards a cop with a melee weapon grounds for a death sentence?
- a_t48 8y agoDeaf doesn't mean weak.
- andrewflnr 8y agoIt's not a matter of being poorly trained. A "melee weapon" at 15 feet is a credible lethal threat, full stop. You don't mess around with that. Probably the guy had no intention of using it as a weapon, but cops do deal with people prepared to attack them, and had only subtle clues that this case might be different. Given that they already had guns drawn, a clear signal, the deafness is almost irrelevant. Either the guy was coming after them, or just not tracking the situation. Only in hindsight is it clear that it was the latter.
- the8472 8y ago
- hyperpape 8y agoAnother example was pepper spraying a man who just had a stroke: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/crime/va-resigns-taser-pepper-spray-stroke-victim-article-1.2232948 http://www.nydailynews.com/news/crime/va-resigns-taser-peppe...
- joshgel 8y agoI'm a physician and use these services often. They are inconvenient. Using Google translate is much quicker. But obviously if the translation needs to be correct, you have to rely on a real person. (not that via phone people get 100% accurate translations, but you can be more confident that the intended time comes across more closely at least)