The previous post “Response to a comment on deaf drivers” made me think about relationships between law enforcement and deaf/hard of hearing. One of the commenters who goes by “Fookem” left two links for me to look at. Both links went to Fookem and Bug’s blog “The Flying Hands.” One link in particular, was specifically about how many people who thought that deaf people shouldn’t drive. It included a link to a police officers’ discussion forum where a police officer posted on June 6, 2006 (just one year ago!) saying he pulled over a deaf pair and questioned whether deaf people should be driving. Link here.

It made me wonder what local deaf/hard of hearing residents and law enforcers’ opinions and experiences are with each other. I remember when I was a young teenager, I heard horror stories from other deaf/hard of hearing adults in which there was a huge misunderstanding between the deaf/hard of hearing person and the police officer. In some cases, the police officer didn’t believe the person was really deaf and thought the person was hostile due to being unresponsive, or that he/she was under the influence due to slurred speech.

A recent story that made the Modesto Bee news and was later picked up by Deaf News Network, is about a deaf pizza deliveryman who was mistaken for a wanted criminal. A friend of mine, who is reporter at Modesto Bee, forwarded the story to me when it appeared but I didn’t have a chance to use the story till now. The original article is here: deaf pizza deliveryman Tessien was pulled over and shot at with beanbags. Police officers say they did not hear him shout that he was deaf. Tessien is suing the officers in federal court for excessive force and violating the Americans With Disabilities Act for not providing an interpreter after he was taken into custody.

Personally, I have had a generally professional experience with police officers. I’ve been pulled over only twice although I’ve had other encounters over accidents or where I was merely the passenger. One was for a fix-it citation in Yuba City in 1994 or 1995. My rearview mirror had become unglued from my windshield due to extreme summer heat, and a police officer on motorcycle happened to be behind me when he noticed it was not there. The officer communicated with me via notepad.

The second one was near Wainscott, New York for speeding. There was a semi truck loaded with tires and at least 4 other vehicles with me. A team of police officers were nabbing speeders on this residential road that was popular for motorists to take to go around the morning traffic jam. The police officer that dealt with me was young and very polite. He communicated with me via notepad. I tried to give him gruff for ticketing me and informed him I was LATE to work. As it turns out, I shouldn’t have hurried to work. It was the day our CEO announced that they were laying everyone off temporarily. I learned my lesson that day. If I’m late, I’m late period. No amount of speeding is going to turn the clock back.

The only negative experience I had was with Los Angeles police officers when I was living in Northridge. I was involved in an accident with a hearing driver that was DUI, uninsured and not wearing a seatbelt. An emergency response personnel knew a few signs, but we did not use him as an interpreter. One of the police officers was an older officer. He was clearly displeased that he was dealing with two deaf women (my roommate and I). A younger officer intervened and took over. My roommate and I thought the older officer was extremely rude to act impatient with us.

My opinion is that law enforcers have a tough job. They must be hard on the real criminals yet sensitive when dealing with the various people they encounter on the job. And they’re still human beings.

What has YOUR experience been? I am inviting comments from both law enforcement and citizens.

I will be conducting a Q&A with Marysville Police Department Traffic Sgt. Dennis Hauck, also a fellow blogger. Send me your questions at hnoda@appealdemocrat.com.