About a year ago I was pulled over by the D.C. police on my way to Gallaudet for going about 35 m.p.h. in a 25 m.p.h. zone. Here is the reason why I was not pepper-sprayed by the two officers who approached my car and beaten to a bloody pulp:
I used my voice.
As soon as I realized there was a police cruiser behind me (which was almost immediately), I pulled over, shut the engine off, got my wallet out, and held it up so the cops could see that I had just reached for my wallet and not for a gun. I then put my wallet on the dashboard, rolled down the window, and put both my hands on the steering wheel. Once the police were within earshot, I stated loudly and clearly: “Excuse me. I just want you to know that I’m deaf. I can’t hear you at all. Will you please nod your head to show me that you’ve heard me and understood me?” And then I kept repeating myself until I got that head nod.
That’s why I was not dragged through the driver’s side window of my car and slammed into the pavement. It’s why my neck was not knelt on while somebody handcuffed my hands behind my back so tightly the cuffs left white welts in my skin for nearly a day after they were taken off. It’s why I didn’t have my ankles cuffed to my hands. It’s why I wasn’t picked up in such a manner that both of my shoulders were at risk of being dislocated under the stress of my own weight. It’s why I wasn’t thrown into a holding cell with no access to a TTY or an interpreter for hours and days on end.
I used my voice.
Do you understand me? That’s it. That’s the only reason that I as a deaf man am relatively safe around police officers at all. It isn’t because I don’t make threatening gestures, and it isn’t because I respond to the officers’ orders or because I cooperate with them. If you can’t or won’t use your voice, reaching for a pen and paper is an attempt to respond to an officer and cooperate with him. Pointing at your ear to convey that you’re deaf is an attempt to show him you’re not violent and that you fully intend to do everything he tells you to do. The only difference between using your voice to tell someone you’re deaf and using a pen and paper or your finger to tell him the same thing is that you don’t have to move your hands when you use your voice. And that’s what makes it less likely that a police officer will subsequently blind your eyes, beat your head in, or shoot you.
If you can’t or won’t use your voice in a situation that involves police officers, God help you. If God doesn’t help you, you’ll die for holding a rake. You’ll be strangled to death on your way across campus. If you do not know what I am talking about, do your homework and learn for yourself how many deaf people have perished or have been seriously injured at the hands of those who are sworn to “protect” the public; a public which includes (supposedly) deaf people who cannot or will not use their voices.
I am disgusted, sickened, and deeply frightened over what happened to Doug Bahl. Should anyone be tempted to comment that this incident was not about audism, let me say just this once that I agree. It also wasn’t about culture, or about how long Deaf people have been oppressed. And it also wasn’t about ignorance.
It was about being blind and stupid. And I’m not talking about just Bahl here, or those specific officers either. I’m talking about all of us and the illusion we both create and delude ourselves into believing. We point at all of those pictures of thousands of deaf people standing near the Capitol at DPN or UFG and we pretend that means anything to Hearing America at large; or that the Americans with Disabilities Act will protect us; or that we have “rights.” What bullshit. When we’re facing a police officer who has a gun, a spray can full of pepper spray, a baton, a taser, and years of training that have enabled him to bring us down if we so much as twitch wrong, we have no rights, including the right to remain silent. Doug Bahl proved that.
You want to argue otherwise? Fine, you reach for the pen and paper, friend. I’m keeping my hands on the wheel.
(Note: I do not know everything about Bahl’s case, including whether or not he was reaching for a pen and paper to communicate with the officers. This post is only meant to show that what happened to him can happen to any deaf person who doesn’t speak–as Bahl apparently did not.)
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More often than not, I agree with your opinions, but not this time, I’m afraid. I can’t utter one word with my voice but my run-ins with the cops never came even close to a violent rumble.
When I see the police lights flashing, I stop my car, turn off the engine, get the paper and the pen ready, roll down the window and wait for the cop to come. Me-no-hear-write-please gestures and every cop I’ve run into was very cooperative. I can’t say anything bad about them. But then this is DC, one of the most deaf-saturated metro areas in the world. What goes on in the other areas, I wouldn’t know for sure,
The closest time anything serious came out from a run-in with cops, they overreacted but ultimately understood that they overreacted and let me go. So I can’t help but feel as if there’s some sort of check-and-balance thing going on in their world.
I’m willing to hear out the other deaf folks who had unpleasant run-ins with the police, tho. Obviously not everyone runs into the same cops I faced.
Exactly, exactly. That’s exactly what my reaction was after reading your article too - as much as I feel sorry for Mr. Bahl’s experience with the police, one cannot make generalizations based on this one encounter.
I’ve seen plenty of hearing people who are very well able to use their voice, but still get in trouble with police officers when being pulled over. The key here’s cooperation. Not that this is the perfect recipe for success, but the more courteous and cooperative you are with the officer who pulls you over for whatever reason, the higher your chances of seeing the officer letting you go with just a mere warning.
For a person who cannot use his voice, whenever I got pulled over, like Ben, I got the pen and paper pad, wallet, license up front and ready. I even opened the window open. But often, they stood few feet away from the driver’s seat and shout loudly — even I gestured that I’m deaf, they would then scream louder. And put the flashlight directly in my eyes — preventing me from communicating at ease. Sometimes, they would shout so close that they actually spat on my left arm, neck and cheek — disgusting.
So Chris, c’mon. I wonder why people like you try to assume that Bahl did something *wrong* since he was found guilty by whom? The whole legal system was composed by whom? Hearies.
*rolling my eyes*
R-
No Ricky, I don’t think he did anything wrong. And Michele, what you say (the law of averages) is exactly what I’m saying. I said in my last blog that I wasn’t ashamed of my voice–but this is the kind of situation that does cause me to feel shame in it, because by the law of averages I’m probably safer than a deaf person who can’t use his voice. Why? Because if you can’t then you either have to gesture or reach for a paper or pen. All you need is to be unlucky ONCE. It’s not the “odd case” Michele, when it happens to YOU.
Please don’t think that I’m implying here that the answer obviously is to use your voice. I’m trying to convey my disgust over the fact that if you won’t or can’t, you can never afford to assume that the cop approaching you is someone who will understand that.
But Michele, I also concede the point that a cop might overreact to ANYTHING–not just the fact that you’re not using your voice (in fact he might overreact BECAUSE you use your voice).
That doesn’t make me feel much better. Or safer.
Ever think Cops hate you Ridor? cuz they must have read your blogs! LOL.
There is a slight misconception in your post Ridor. You CAN use your voice, it works, maybe not to the perfection needed for verbal English communication, but it works nontheless. You CHOOSE not to use it, plain and simple.
Why is it everyone must bend to accommodate the Deaf, yet, the Deaf don’t have to bend for the others?
On the other hand, Bionic, if it’s not a crime to not accomodate someone in a specific way (a deaf person should be free to write to an officer instead of having to speak), why should that deaf person now have to live in fear that if he can’t (or won’t) accomodate that officer by speaking, he might get beat up for being perceived as noncompliant?
I wouldn’t suggest that ALL deaf use their voices. Some sound like they are drunk or high. It is up to the individual to decide whether they want to use their voice.
I don’t see how writing back and forth is bending backwards for accommodation. I wouldn’t even call that accommodation. :P
I hadn’t have trouble with cops so far (knocking on wood). A few times when I was stopped by cops, I turned the engine off, put keys on the dashboard, open the window and wait til the cop comes to me, to let him know I am deaf (gestures as well as voice). No facial expressions as well (a friend told me he was pestered by cop just because he kept rolling his eyes and sneering at them *at least he admitted it*) From my encounters, I hadn’t any problems with cops.
Geez, Chris. There you go again with your idea that using voice solves all problems. (You must really, really, really want Deaf people to call you “hearing-on-the-head” really badly!)
Obviously, I’m one of those Deaf people that doesn’t have a great voice.
I have always signed “Deaf”, and then gestured “paper” and “pen” until they understood and allowed me to get paper and pen. (sometimes I try to get paper and pen in advance before the cop approaches the car, but not always.)
And guess what? Sometimes they EVEN sign back! I’m always delighted when that happens, and usually the signs that they do are pretty good (like they’ve been practicing!).
There will always be an odd case or two. It happens. I feel for Doug Bahl, since I happen to know him and his ex-wife and have long admired their past work in the Deaf Minnesotan community, as well as their work for the Miss Deaf America pageant.
Every now and then, an unlucky deaf person gets hurt or killed…and sometimes not using voice ISN’T the cause. Sometimes these unlucky deaf people *did* use their voice, and still got hurt or killed anyway. I could recite hundreds of cases (I’m 41 and I’ve heard plenty!…remember the Radio Shack case? The unlucky hard of hearing guy used his voice and still got beaten up by the Radio Shack clerk anyway!!!).
The point is, which you seem to be overlooking…SOME HEARING PEOPLE ARE INSENSITIVE, IGNORANT JERKS, and when they run into deaf people, their worst instincts come out. That’s all there is to it. Deaf people have long known this, and this is why we don’t assume that hearing people always have our best interests at heart.
Most of Deaf people have strategies to deal with these jerks…and for most part, we do fine. But you know, when you swim in the ocean, occassionally you get stung by a jellyfish or bitten by a shark or step on a spiny fish or something. Chalk it up to law of averages, and it gives Deaf people more motivation to continue pushing for better access, services, etc etc.
I have some speech, yeah. But for police and situations with them, I refuse to use my speech. Number one is I cannot trust them with my speech at all! I was stopped by policeman once for not stopping at stop sign (no car nowhere! oh well!). It was at night, and I put my hands on wheel. I waited for the policeman to come…He looked nervous. I waited and waited til he put flashlight at my face. I said I am deaf. Pointing to my ear. Then put my hand back to the wheel. Then I gestured pen and paper to him. He got the message. So, I was lucky this time.
So, I was puzzled all about Bahl… He is an intelligent guy. Why?
deafk
I’ve never had any trouble with cops when I was pulled over. Sascha’s right. The key is COOPERATION.
I always turn the engine off and put it on the dashboard or next to me, roll down the window then KEEP my hands on the steering wheel.
When they approach, I gesture that I’m deaf. Never have had a problem.
I would take this as a wake-up call. The state associations need to get off their asses and train the police on how to deal with the deaf. Hell, we need the state associations to train EVERYBODY on how to deal with us, period. How many of us are college educated, but struggle to find jobs outside of the usual deaf jobs?
NAD can’t do it alone. The state associations HAVE to step up to the plate. NOW.
By the way, there was an article on AOL recently about what to do when the police stop you. I was surprised by one thing they said: keep the car running. The reason they gave is so the cops won’t have to help you if your car won’t start up again. Just thought I’d mention it since many people here are saying turn the car off and put the keys on the dashboard.
So, Chris you assumed that you would’ve been beaten to a bloody pulp had you not used your voice?
Somehow I get the feeling you’re quite prejudiced towards cops for some reason. I may be wrong but what you wrote was a bit of hyperbole in action as if you would have undoubtedly been beaten to a pulp for not verbally responding. Why not pointing toward your ear and gesture you cannot hear be acceptable?
Also, what are the odds that a DC police will come across a deaf person driving a car knowing that DC is home of Gallaudet University? And that surrounding areas (VA, MD) are home for many more deaf/hh people?
Oh hell yes I’m prejudiced toward cops. And the reason is in a holster on their hips.
If pointing at your ear will work every time, why didn’t it work for Bahl?
We don’t even know the full detail. It’s the he said/ cop said drama.
I never said pointing at your ear will work every time. Just as you said not talking will get you beaten up into a bloody pulp which I find a bit a contradictory coming from people who did talk to cops, including me. Not saying talking is a guarantee but what reduces the risk of getting hauled to the police station is cooperation and courtesy.
It’s one thing to experience something but it is entirely another to paint every cop as the bad guy and that you WILL get beaten up if you don’t talk presents a wrong message. The message ought to be cooperation, courtesy and respect whenever you get pulled over.
What choice do I have, Mike? Of course every cop is not like this or every deaf person pulled over would end up like Bahl. But I only need to be wrong once. I only need to misjudge once. I only need to believe I’m safe ONCE, when that one particular time is when I’m most definitely not safe.
The risk of getting injured while driving is much greater than getting pulled over by a cop thinking you’ll have your brains bashed out because you didn’t use your voice?
Like everybody is saying, it pays to be courteous and cooperative.
Mike, Michele, you know what I can’t get past? Okay, what is the statistical occurence of children being poisoned by household products in this country (drain cleaner or the like)? What’s the occurence of them sticking forks in electrical outlets and being electrocuted to death? And what are your actual odds of being in a car accident? It’s weird because even though these numbers might be relatively low, we STILL lock the cabinets that hold the drain cleaner and such while our kids are growing up, and we childproof the house by putting those plugs in the outlets, and we still (hopefully) buckle up most of the time. Are we being paranoid for doing this? Or are we simply reacting to the realities of the environment?
If cops have already done what they’ve done to Bahl, what they’ve already done to the deaf guy holding the rake, etc, why are this type of behavior henceforth simply NOT interpreted by us as a reality of our environments? We move our hands, there’s a greater chance we’ll be jumped. It’s that simple. It’d be foolhardy to not take this into account. I’ve got two dead deaf people I know of (the guy strangled on Gallaudet’s campus) and the deaf guy holding the rake and one deaf guy whose eyelids look like a rising cake in an oven backing up my argument. You have the thousands of incidents in which deaf people signed or wrote and came through it okay backing up YOUR argument. But the thing is, your argument will be right until its wrong, and that’s when someone will be hurt or killed.
Adding to that… you don’t think about that cabinet you just locked any further BECAUSE YOU CAN CONTROL THAT. You have control over that outlet to the extent that you can put a cap on it and childproof it. You have the control of strapping yourself in with a seatbelt.
A cop you can’t control. You can only forget about him until you are pulled over. And then you are in danger. Look at Bahl’s face and tell me you are not in danger, that the possibility of this is not there for you.
It’s there for me. Most definitely.
Chris, trying to compare preventative measures for children around the house such as using outlet covers, locking up poisons, or putting gates where stairs are present are not in the same realm as being “paranoid” but a statistical fact that risks can be reduced by taking these steps.
And, no, odds are not “relatively low.”
91,000 kids are accidentally poisoned every year.
http://www.usa.safekids.org/ti.....der_id=301
Over 2000 kids are hospitalized for electrical shock each year.
http://findarticles.com/p/arti.....rk05035969
Some 44,000 are killed every year involving automobile accidents (not pedestrians)
While some 2.3 million are injured in those auto accidents.
http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/porta.....810791.pdf
Chances of dying from a car accident: 1 in 18,585
We have real odds to back them up when it comes to reducing risks, Chris. Do you have a number indicating the chances (or historical data on the number of cops that have beaten deaf people within an inch of their life for not using their voice) of getting beaten up by a cop for not using his/her voice?
Bottom line, you said it in so many words that you would’ve been beaten into a pulp had you not used your voice. That’s being paranoid when you attempt to make it as a fact you would’ve been beaten up into a pulp had you not used your voice. You made a prediction thinking that the only outcome would’ve been a beating. You had no idea whether it was your voice that “saved you” or rather it was your courtesy and cooperation with the police that “saved you”. Odds are that if you used your voice but were rather uncooperative and showed resistance would certainly be higher that you’d be dragged off to jail. Unless you’re saying that there were 91,000 cases of cops stopping deaf people and beating them up just because they didn’t use their voice? What about foreigners who do not know the English language? I’d say the odds are extremely low (close to nil but not nil) that a cop would pull you over and give a beating within an inch of your life just because you didn’t use your voice. Let’s put these odds into perspective, shall we?
Chris, trying to compare preventative measures for children around the house such as using outlet covers, locking up poisons, or putting gates where stairs are present are not in the same realm as being “paranoid” but a statistical fact that risks can be reduced by taking these steps.
And, no, odds are not “relatively low.”
91,000 kids are accidentally poisoned every year.
http :// www . usa . safekids.org/tier3_cd_2c.cfm?content_item_id=24611&folder_id=301
Over 2000 kids are hospitalized for electrical shock each year.
http :// findarticles . com/p/articles/mi_pwwi/is_200112/ai_mark05035969
Some 44,000 are killed every year involving automobile accidents (not pedestrians)
While some 2.3 million are injured in those auto accidents.
http://www. nhtsa .dot. gov/portal/nhtsa_static_file_downloader.jsp?file=/staticfiles/DOT/NHTSA/NCSA/Content/RNotes/2007/810791.pdf
Chance of dying from a car accident: 1 in 18,585
Because we have real odds to back them up, Chris. Do you have a number indicating the chances (or the number of cops that have beaten deaf people within an inch of their life for not using their voice) of getting beaten up by a cop for not using his/her voice?
Bottom line, you said it in so many words that you would’ve been beaten a pulp had you not used your voice. That’s being paranoid when you attempt to make it as a fact you would’ve been beaten up into a pulp had you not used your voice. You made a prediction thinking that the only outcome would’ve been a beating. You had no idea whether it was your voice that “saved you” or rather it was your courtesy and cooperation with the police that “saved you”. Unless you’re saying that there were 91,000 cases of cops stopping deaf people and beating them up just because they didn’t use their voice? What about foreigners who do not know the English language? I’d say the odds are extremely low that a cop would pull you over and give a beating within an inch of your life just because you didn’t use your voice. Let’s put these odds into perspective, shall we?
I have a number. One. Doug Bahl. All of the perspective that I need I get from looking at the video of his face.
Why is it that if one guy is beaten up, or choked to death, or shot to death, it should be placed in some other kind of perspective than if 91,000 kids fall down the stairs or if 18,585 people die in car accidents? The one guy who was beaten up, tell it to his wife. The one guy who was choked to death… tell it to his parents.
Goddamn. We walk away from this kind of thing thinking… “Oh, it rarely happens. It’s not worth an extreme reaction.”
Yes it is. I want to rake my lawn. I want to drive to the store and get milk. I want to walk across campus after having a confrontation with someone on the other side of it. I don’t want to be shot. I don’t want to be beaten up. I don’t want to be strangled to death.
I could change the subject here and list all of the things we’ve poured billions upon billions of dollars and countless manpower hours into fighting things that have a statistically low probability of occuring, but I won’t. The math might play a part in our decisions, but we do what we do for reasons above and beyond the math.
Otherwise what’s the point of doing anything regarding deaf peoples’ rights? We’re few and hearing people have much greater numbers. We need to put ourselves in perspective, after all, and the truth is that when you balance us out against the overwhelming numbers of hearing people, we just don’t matter that much.
I don’t buy that for a second.
Chris, you still can:
“…rake my lawn. I want to drive to the store and get milk. I want to walk across campus after having a confrontation with someone on the other side of it.”
Realistically, the average citizen doesn’t interact with a cop on a frequent basis. Especially if you do the activities you listed above. And definitely if you are basically a law-abiding citizen.
Not to diminish what happened to Doug Bahl, he just had a bad day. We all feel for him, and we are all angry on his behalf, and we are reminded once again that some cops just cannot be trusted.
But most of us (from what I’ve seen here so far) are smart enough not to let fear take over our thinking and our actions.
We are keeping the bigger picture in mind: yes, hearing people outnumber us. So what?
White people outnumber other races, yet it doesn’t stop other races from continuing to practice their cultural beliefs and speaking their language.
If culturally Deaf people truly bought into “we-are-outnumbered-by-hearies-and-we-always-will-be” thinking, we wouldn’t have bothered to do the things we’ve done in the past 50 years.
And I forgot to add this point:
Yes, you can control cops’ behavior up to a point.
We pay their salaries. We can sue their asses off. We can get the story out in the media. We can demand the firing of the cop. We can speak to our legislators.
It’s not completely “beyond our control.”
Hi Michele:
I agree with just about all of that. Especially the part about how being outnumbered shouldn’t make us feel like the tragedies that befall other deaf people don’t matter.
But I have to tell you, Michele, that if anything like this ever happened to me, I’d hesitate to tell anyone about it. How many comments such as “Oh I know Chris, he’s always so emotional… I have no doubt he must have done something to those cops” will pop up in any discussion about what happened to me? Or how many people will go back and find my comment about being prejudiced against police officers and use it against me?
Not that this is about me–it’s about Bahl. And it’s just that this question has been running through my mind all day:
What if he didn’t do anything wrong?
What if YOU (any of you) didn’t do anything wrong on the day it happens to you? What will you do about it? How will you fight back? What support do you expect to receive from the very people who should understand the most?
How much longer can we keep discussing issues without ever working up the energy or the tactics necessary to DO something? If this goes away and nothing gets done, how are we supposed to maintain our faith that we’ll help each other out? If we can’t even work up some kind of consensus and group action when someone has been pepper sprayed and beaten, how are we going to work up some sort of consensus when the issue is less deadly but equally important? Or even just important to some of us but not really all that important to all of us?
Let’s write to these people. A simple email message directing them to this blog. Nobody deserves to have to climb over the communication barriers that we have to climb over every day, AND be treated the way Bahl was treated. Don’t just do this for him. Do it for yourselves. I can’t make you but I AM asking you.
[…] itself, which sparked reaction across the Deaf blogosphere. Ridor’s chimed in, and now Chris Heuer has posted at DeafDC as well. I posted about the Bahl case back when it first surfaced, last fall. […]
My goodness! Can you clear this up before I comment. Is this a satirical post because if it is, then I agree wholeheartedly with your sarcastic view of those stupid hearie underlings but if it is not a satire, then I don’t know what to say :).
I am being deadly serious. I am sickened and horrified over what happened to Bahl.
Look, what I’m saying here is do the math. Based on what can happen, based on the laws of probability, which group is safer around police officers–hearing people who can speak, or deaf people who cannot/will not speak?
Now do the math again. Which group is safer around police officers? Deaf people who can speak, or deaf people who cannot/will not?
Will you be beaten to a bloody pulp every time? No. But is it true that you might? Oh yes. And if you want to roll the dice and take your chances, I can’t stop you. But I’m for treating all guns as if they’re loaded, all snakes as if they’re poisonous, and all police officers as if they will drag me out of my car if I move before they are ready for me to move. You might disagree with me. I wonder if Doug Bahl would.
One day I was going around my business but made a small mistake and panicked one homeowner. Anyway, I was knocking the door and nothing happened. Someone tapped me and it startled me so I turned around fast. I had dark eyeglasses and typical casual clothes. In addition, I am a Latino guy. The cop leaned backward his torso slightly but stayed ready but he was cool at the same time. I indicated I was deaf and after that we wrote back and forward and the problem was resolved with no problem at all. I liked that cop. I don’t live in fear of cops with guns. I live in fear of wrong men in the cops’ uniform. There is such a thing as good self control and lightning fast reflexes if needed. Where did that happen? It was in Hammond, Indiana. It was not very safe out for me but I still went out for my business. The cop COULD had used the excuse that he was jittery but he didn’t. He was cool till he discovered I was deaf and it was settled. that is where my problem with laws is because some people when they put on uniform forget common sense totally. I wish we have that type of cop I met everywhere but in meanwhile I WILL not live in fear of my life everytime I meet a cop but hold them accountable for their own actions while I concentrate on my own actions.
Sorry, but I find it somewhat hard to believe that a cop would beat the **** out of you, for no reason. Not very logical.
Yeah but Sacha, the reason they originally pulled you over for would be more than enough to escalate things to the next level if they felt that was necessary.
“if they felt that was necessary” - indeed. Don’t make them feel that way, then. And no, you don’t necessarily need to have an ‘human’ voice in order to alleviate their concerns :)
But Sacha, you cannot STOP that. You know, there’s always this… assumption… present, that a deaf person must have in some manner gotten what was coming to him. Whether he gets thrown off a plane, beaten up by police officers, or kicked out of a restaurant, no matter what you do, in any blogsphere discussion about the topic, you’re always going to find X number of people–DEAF people from the looks of it–who believe that deaf person must have done something to cause it. Now if they did, if they were jerks or rude, that’s one thing. But if they were just standing there being deaf, or if the communication difficulties caused the other person (not the deaf person) to hit a level of frustration or paranoia or hostility or irritation or even rage and that resulted in what happened to Bahl, that’s not acceptable. That’s not a statistic to me. That’s not something we should let go of, or write off as a simple incident of bad luck.
What if someday you get jumped by a cop who for the last five minutes was following you and ordering you to stop (on foot or whatever) and you didn’t even know the guy was THERE.
What’s ADA going to do for you then? I mean right in that moment when he draws his gun or his pepper spray? Tell me what it was that you did wrong.
Actually it’s funny you’re mentioning this scenario because it has actually happened to me once. Not that I was driving for miles and miles with a police car following me at full speed - I once was driving for a little while before realizing that there was a police car with flashing lights behind me (I was talking with a friend, that’s why I didn’t see it in the first place). Sure, the officer looked pissed at the beginning but when he saw that I didn’t mean bad (remember, I’m cooperating which means I’m apologizing and staying courteous during the exchange), guess what happened? He let me go with just a warning.
All I’m saying is that if you’re willing to take a little humility and remain calm, the odds of having you end up with a swollen face decreases significantly.
Chris, you’re still missing the point.
Hearing people are also beaten to bloody pulp by cops even though they can hear, can use voice etc etc.
The point is, if there is a bad cop, it doesn’t matter what method of communication is used: if that cop wants to beat that person to a bloody pulp, he will.
I understand your fear, but I have been stopped by cops several times, and never had a problem. As everyone here has been telling you, the key is COOPERATION and LACK OF ATTITUDE.
Any negative tone, facial expression etc etc could/may cause problems. Bahl simply had the misfortune to run in such a cop. That’s all it was. He did everything right and it still went wrong.
But how do either you Michele, or Sacha know that this stemmed from some sort of negativity on Bahl’s part (even if he did everything right)? What if he was just pulled over, the cops tried talking to him, it didn’t work, so he tried to either gesture/sign with more emphasis (not necessarily frustration) or reached for a pen or something, and bam they jumped him? Maybe they thought he was drunk or stoned or something or going for something (a gun, knife, whatever)… fine. But they jumped him. And from there, totally freaked out, he simply and automatically defended himself, which was further interpreted as resistance?
If a person uses his voice to shout: “I’m going to kill you cop @x$xx!!” then yeah, I wouldn’t be surprised if he was beaten to a bloody pulp. But if Bahl could have shouted “I’m deaf” the way I shout it, could it have made a difference? Yes.
And that’s what makes this so scary.
I know Doug Bahl…and he’s one of the most mild-mannered guys I know.
In addition to being culturally Deaf, he’s very well educated and very aware of what to do when a cop approaches you.
I have no doubt that he did everything right and it still went wrong.
Again, you’re equating the use of voice as a magical solution for any potentially dangerous problem, and that’s *not* true. If that was true, hearing people would NEVER get into dangerous problems. (and so would hard of hearing people, and so would oral deaf people.)
Do me a favor, Chris: go to the Gallaudet library and look up the January 2002 issue of Deaf Life. Read the cover story about the Radio Shack case.
And make a note of the fact that it happened to an ORAL DEAF man…he used his voice and got beaten to a pulp by the Radio Shack salesperson.
Very poignant and well written post, Chris. It certainly has everyone thinking. I love your frank, yet witty writing style. You’re one of my favorite bloggers.
~ LaRonda
I think people aren’t getting the point of your post; the way I read it, you’re not saying, “All deaf people must learn to speak so the cops can understand them.” You are, in fact, saying that it’s a shame that using your voice often is the only thing that stops an officer from using physical force. While many people have commented that they do not speak and have never had problems, there are always exceptions.
An old friend of mine was riding his motorcycle across the country one time when he was pulled over. He gestured that he was deaf, but the officer continued yelling at him. Afraid to reach into his pocket for his hearing aid, he had no idea what she was saying. Next thing he knew he was in the back of the squad car. Fortunately he was able to get her to understand that he was deaf before he ended up in a cell.
Yes, thank you. This is what I mean.
This is such a stereotypical post, Chris. Deaf people who do not use voice when stopped by a cop are in trouble? I am one of those who are VERY deaf in every way - I can’t even talk and my voice might SCARE cops away. No, I’ve always followed the protocol of stopping, turning off engine, and waiting for the cop to approach the window. I point to my ears and lips and shake my head. All of the cops I was stopped by understood. Sure, one or two went, “Eh?” and became a little annoyed, but with a few repeats, they got it. They asked me to roll down my window - one asked me to get out of the car. I pointed to my purse for my paper and pen by gesturing. I WAITED for them to ask for registration. Never go to the glove compartment before they ask. Like some commenters, just be cooperative and calm and you’re fine.
I think it was BOTH Bahl AND the cop that had bad vibes towards each other. Doug was perhaps tired and anxious to get home. The cop perhaps had a bad day. Bad combination. Happens. It is unfortunate Bahl apparently was confrontional with the cop and it is unfortunate the cop misinterpreted his actions and determined that he was being combative. Key thing here is to be calm and let the cop be in charge.
Anyway, Chris, please do not spread this misconception that using voice is the answer to everything. This is a fallacy.
I agree. I think it was a series of bad combination and misinterpretations for both sides but we’ll never know for sure exactly who or what precipitated the assault/attack/defense.
That’s not what I’m trying to say. I’m trying to say that a person who doesn’t have to move his hands (to gesture or get a pen and paper) is automatically better off than a person who does, and this is disgusting in the case of police officers and deaf motorists who cannot or will not use their voices. I’m not advocating for oralism here. I’m saying that this is how people wind up dead, and this scares the hell out of me. This should not happen. Ever.
Um, there are many, many more hearing people who talked and got hauled off to the police station simply because they weren’t courteous or cooperative in the first place.
If the fear is so great, then why not include in police database whenever they run down your license plate numbers/letters shows the owner of the car is deaf? Thereby reducing possible miscommunication or misunderstanding?
It’s on my license. I have no idea if that’s fed into the same holds my license plate, but I’d be surprised if it wasn’t…
Might be worth inquiring…
I do not think using your voice makes any difference!!! The police would have beaten you to a pulp anyway if you did use your voice because if they feel you are dangerous in any way, they would have used a loudspeaker from their car and tell you to get out! If you didnt, then they would suspect you are dangerous! Or tell you to get out and you did not hear them!! You spoke? maybe a little too late. ya know?
I got pulled over 5 times and I have great speaking ability but I refuse to speak and just waited for the cop to come to my window…I gesture I’m deaf.
We write back and forth… out of those 5 times I got a ticket once. Why? cuz I smiled and I was polite! No need to be nasty with the cop, they are just doing their job and when they realize you are deaf and you are trying to communicate with them… and just “apologize”. Usually it works. I have no bad experience with police officers in those 5 times I got pulled over.
I think it’s how you respond to the police! If they suspect you are dangerous because you have the same car as reported over the police radio (someone robbed a bank or something driving the same car as you) then you have to be careful. Just keep your eyes on the mirror and open your window and put your hands on the steering wheel to show the cop you are not dangerous.
when I say “apologize” I do not mean apologize for being deaf… apologize for making a mistake you did not know or did not realize whatever reason you are being pulled over for.
I understand what you mean. I keep my hands on the wheel and am always polite (this isn’t to imply that I always get pulled over–I’ve been pulled over three times in the last fifteen years). Nonetheless the reason I do not reach toward the glove compartment or toward my pocket or even gesture until I have used my voice to tell the officer that I am deaf is because I expect to be treated in exactly the same way that Bahl was treated. Right or wrong, that’s how I feel.
The advice to use voice might be bad. One does not know how one’s voice might be interpreted–if slurred, the cop might think you were drunk, if too loud, the cops think you’re aggressive, if rough or unnatural, the cops might think you’re high. Better to keep voice off if you’re not confident with it.
Being proactive would help somewhat–keep a “I AM DEAF, I COMMUNICATE BY WRITING OR SIGN LANGUAGE” card above the visor and pull it out for the police.
An attitude of friendliness, cooperation and nonaggression works. (Being a sweet little old lady and not a large, scowling, physically fit man helps.)
It’s not advice to use your voice. It’s outrage that if you don’t you have no options left other than to use your hands, and if the officer does not like this… Doug Bahl.
Scary.
I like the card idea though.
It took me a while to understand your point, and I think I got it… now my question is, suppose a deaf person was fooled into thinking he has a great voice by his teachers, parents, etc., but when he encounters a cop, his voice is so garbled that the police think he must be high or drunk or both. Is it still better to speak or not?
Scary, scary, scary. I have no idea how to answer.
Why you, Chris and others keep saying “Doug Bahl done nothing wrong……” Bit the hand of law enforcement officer is beyond comprhension. Never assault the law enforcement officer until you feel your life is being threatened, ex. push an officer away.
Tom Willard give out real common sense like not putting out your keys on the dashboard and stop the car engine. Some phony cops are out there to rob, rape and assault innocent car drivers.
Just leave the car engine running with key on the ignition and put your hands on steering wheel. No tusslings for notepad and pen somewhere in the car which could lead to unpleasant consequences.
Be cooperative and responsive to the presence of law enforcement officer. Keep the eyes on law enforcement badge number and name for future reference.
Bash cops will be not helpful or constructive. Cops lead very stressful life, ex. call-on duty and often do social work tasks beyond their given duties.
Using voice to the police officer kinda contribute to the concept of audism. Non-voice users among deaf people are often at cross-cultural dilemma with law enforcement authorities.
We need to hold our horse until we find all the facts within the Bahl trial. Not all the police officers are saints.
Robert L. Mason (RLM)
You can use your voice and communicate with police officers. I don’t see it as “audism” if one uses his/her voice. I’ve done it a few times when I got pulled over. Not a problem if you can do it and communicate without much problems. For others, just gesture that you cannot hear or talk very well.
Best thing to do is to shut the engine off and be courteous as possible.
WHO said using voice can be perceived as audism, Mike? Stop putting things in RLM’s mouth!
RLM - “Using voice to the police officer kinda contribute to the concept of audism.”
Kinda, sorta, dunno…thing is, he said “audism” whether it’s the full blown type or not in this scenario Chris is talking about.
And I didn’t put nothing in RLM’s mouth. Whether it “kinda contributes to the concept of audism” or the full blown type I replied that I do notplainly see it as audism (in whatever form even if it’s kinda, sorta, dunno type comment).
He said it, not me.
RLM! Stop sprouting everything as sexism or even audism!
R-
Audism is so played out. Some people are abusing the idea of audism. Audism applies when we are forced to talk not when we choose to talk. If we choose to speak than write when approaching an officer, or going to McDonalds..it’s not audism.
RLM try to ease down on audism.
You know, to comment here on audism… in this particular situation I don’t think it’s a factor. You have to KNOW someone is deaf and treat him badly because of that before you can be guilty of audism. I believe it’s entirely possible that the police didn’t figure out he was deaf until later.
Not that that makes this any better. Because that would mean that he was assaulted because he responded in a way that made the police nervous (by moving his hands) or by NOT responding in a way that made them nervous (by not using his voice). That’s why he was assaulted, would be my bet. I definitely do not buy some of the comments I see on the blogsphere that argue he MUST have done something wrong because the cops don’t go around peppper spraying just anyone. That’s a weak argument. What he probably did “wrong” was commit whatever traffic violation he was pulled over for in the first place. But from there on the whole situation had heavy odds of playing out this way. And that puts us all in danger, whether we consider ourselves Deaf or deaf. Too many of us need to gesture or write or use our hands in some way.
The scariest thing about this blog is that it can be read as justification for more speech therapy, more hearing intervention, more mandatory conformation to a hearing standard and less of that weird hand-waving deaf mute stuff …instead of as a criticism of the sometimes dire consequences of living with a hegemony that privileges speaking and hearing above other ways of communication.
That, in itself, is part of the point of your blog, I think. Very well constructed.
At the same time, your blog also seems to imply that those who don’t use their voice are more likely to be assaulted by police. And that’s an implication I find disconcerting.
But why should it be disconcerting? If you don’t use your voice, you have to use your hands–an action that police officers are trained to decide on the spot is threatening or non-threatening.
I’m not saying we should have to use our voices. I’m saying I’m horrified at being in that position in the first place when it might get me killed.
Bring on other options before more people are hurt. Virginia’s card idea maybe.