I think that “deaf” paranoia crosses all types of hearing people when they encounter us.

It’s NOT limited to cops alone.

and it’s usually hearing people who are impatient with time. They dont act up to only deaf people…

You know I think cuz our world is deaf, majority of deafies like to live safely…in their little box. What goes on out there is not our problem…That’s an attitude I’m getting tired of!

“Deaf people continually see anger, disappointment, surliness, impatience, etc in cops’ faces when they realize they have to deal with us.”

Anyone else here in agreement with me that these particular types of expressions in reaction to the presence of deaf people are hardly limited to police officers?

You know how normally you would wait for someone to get up and leave their seat before you move and sit down?

Well, the cop didn’t wait…I got up and hadn’t yet started to walk away from my seat, and at this point, the cop impatiently walked in and at this point our shoulders touched and he kind of pushed me with his shoulder so that he could sit down.

It was more of an act of a very impatient person who couldn’t wait to take a seat.

The point is, this kind of thing is VERY COMMON. Much more common than what you see in here. Deaf people continually see anger, disappointment, surliness, impatience, etc in cops’ faces when they realize they have to deal with us.

And that’s for situations that aren’t even anywhere near dangerous, like the time our tire blew and we were stranded and in need of help. No reason for a cop to be surly with us, since we badly needed help in that situation and we were only too happy to receive help.

Yet this is the attitude we got that day. And this is the attitude that other Deaf people get all the time.

Maybe we should have complained, but at that time we felt that it was something that a police chief/station would excuse/defend their cop, and we really didn’t want to receive that kind of response. So we just dropped it and moved on.

Sorry again! Incomplete link…

What can I say…a geeky hearing guy.

Hopefully this will work!

http://forums.officer.com/foru.....p?p=863906

http://forums.officer.com/forums/show…

You know… I have no excuses, but until the law requires that an interpreter is present when police contact is made then misunderstanding will occur. It might be a good way to get out of tickets if that were to ever occur because of the wait involved in getting an interpreter to the scene. There is not a cop around who will wait more than 15 minutes.

I also found an interesting link from that YouTube link. A forum where active police officers are discussing stopping deaf citizens and how they can deal with them. I read it and found most cops sympathetic and understanding with a few exceptions.

Steve

I think you should have made a complaint if you think an officer used un-necessary force with you. Surliness? Well, I don’t know, but un-necessary force, yes.

Steve

No problem, I have tried to clear things up from a hearing cop’s perspective anyway. I think your idea is wonderful and will try to put something together. I could use the deaf citizens comments made on this blog to assist me in this endeavor.

When I was a cop we did not have any training or exposure to the ‘deaf perspective’. There is little doubt in my mind that awareness of the deaf citizen’s world is a requirement of our police forces. Without it there are too many things that could negatively affect the enevitable encounters with deaf citizens. To read Ms Mutti’s experience with her husband and the police is another example of why our modern police forces need to know how a deaf citizen could possibly react when stopped. However, to be able to read the mind of the person being stopped, even a deaf person and react exactly as needed can be a tricky proposition.

However, our police always reserve the right to protect themselves. Although the incident described by Ms Mutti ended peacefully, the dynamic of human relations does not always dictate that would happen. Yet, I would compliment the police in this situation because they were restrained with how they handled the confrontation.

Cordially,
Steve

Just for the record, my feelings weren’t hurt. I don’t think anybody’s feelings were hurt, either.

If we don’t praise cops enough…(and I doubt black people praise cops enough, either! But I digress.)…it is because we have far too many negative experiences with cops. What you see in this blog represents less than 1% of stories I’ve heard from deaf friends, deaf acquaintances, deaf co-workers etc etc.

We all know that cops put their lives on line for all Americans, and blah blah blah. But then again, so do firefighters, military, hospital personnel, etc etc. This is not to say that we think any less of the sacrifices you all are making on behalf of Americans.

However, I (and many other Deaf people) do see a recurring problem that comes up whenever we deal with cops. They are:

1) Rigidity in cops’ response to dealing with Deaf people…we have seen too many examples of situations where cops follow procedure stubborny even though they *know* they are dealing with a deaf person who doesn’t use voice well and cannot understand voice communication. You yourself have given us example of this very rigidity when you told us that cops would expect people to follow verbal commands, and you yourself admitted that even though you have a deaf sister, it still wouldn’t occur to you that the person you are dealing with is deaf.

2) Negative attitudes exhibited by cops when they find out that they’re dealing with a deaf person. This happens far too often, and it leaves a permanent impression with us, I’m sorry to say. I remember just two years ago my husband bought a moped through Ebay and to complete that transaction, we had to drive to Vermont and meet with the guy to pick it up. Well, one of the tires on our van blew (and this was in February) and we were stranded in middle of nowhere, and we didn’t have a spare (that spare was currently being used on the van) that we could use to replace the blown-out tire. A couple living in a house nearby were kind enough to call police for us, and the cop who came wasn’t too happy when he realized my husband and I were both Deaf. He maintained a surly attitude throughout the whole time we were working on solving the problem, and at one point he wanted to get in our van and I was sitting in the van. I got out in order to let him in, and instead of waiting until I got completely out of the van, he physically pushed me out of the van with his shoulder as he tried to get in. I couldn’t believe it, but in interest of keeping peace, I didn’t say anything to him. We seriously considered writing a letter to his station chief to report his surliness and overall behavior, but we decided it wasn’t worth it. I mean, if we were to send that letter, and if the chief scolded the cop, do you think it would improve that cop’s attitude toward Deaf people? No, most likely not.

It would take much more than a scolding to change a person’s attitude, and that’s the reality we continue to live with.

Diane Di Giovanni’s vlog about the DISHONEST cop (motorist cop) is a must watch. Very bully, he asked her deaf mother in front of her deaf grandparents aged 90ish “CAN YOU LIPREAD ME?” and handed her a ticket with fine print which said $300 for speed when she herself drove 29 MPS. She could not see the $300 in the fine print until she arrived home and called a friend who just so happened to be a cop. True enough, the motorist cop was dishonest! Click

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VRaBUfeNfAU

Should it ever hapapen to you, please call your state association of the deaf for the deaf for help before going to court.