Deaf robbery victim "violently wrestled" by LE after just trying to communicate!!!

Truthful Lies

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I'm sorry, I usually don't get so livid..but this is INEXCUSABLE!!!

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/annearundel/bal-te.md.ar.deaf09mar09,0,4917741.story

"...The house has been burglarized at least six times in the past decade, he said, and he believes thieves target him and his mother because they are deaf....When mother and son awoke April 16 to find a window smashed and 79-year-old Evelyn Pyles' purse missing, they called 911 on their TTY phone and hung up. As paramedics watched, Stephen Pyles showed police the shattered window and wrote a note....

...Ashley Eckhardt, a paramedic with the county Fire Department, wrote a different account. Pyles apparently "frustrated from not being able to communicate with the officers, attempted to get an officer's attention by grabbing the officer's arm and placing a piece of paper with a note for the officer on the officer's chest," she wrote. "It was at this time that the officer began wrestling the patient to the ground." Pyles was "guarding himself from the officer," "pointing to his neck" and "motioning for officer to stop," she wrote."


I hope you all are as outraged as I am: The guy had JUST had neck surgery, used a TTY phone to call 911 - that right there would let the 911 operators know they were hearing impaired!!!

So the officer puts this victim on the ground and says he HIT him?!?!?! Un-freaking-believable. Emergency services HAD to know these victims were deaf (even if they HAD NOT used a TTY machine.....6 burglaries in the past 10 years....I'm sure it was noted!!)

I am disgusted at the way Mr. Pyles was treated...really appalled.
 
omg...i am appalled too i cannot believe this .i hope the person gets fired
 
Oh Lord. What came to mind was an "Everybody Loves Raymond" show where Raymond talks about his brother arresting a guy for flashing 'gang signs'.... and what was he really doing Robert? "He was being deaf".

I thought that to be funny at the time thinking it would never happen in real life. How awful for this man & his mom. :( I hope this LE gets his hiney fired & sued.
 
I can't believe this. It's bad enough this man was victimized by the burglar, but then to be wrestled to the ground by the police officer!

Even if the man grabbed the officer's arm and place a sheet of paper against his chest, it wouldn't justify the police officer's actions.

How sad is this:

"When the officer was pushing me, I couldn't breathe. I kept trying to mouth the word 'air, air, air' over and over again," Pyles, who says he had neck surgery six days before his arrest, said through a sign-language interpreter. "Every time I see the police, I get chills. If something happens to my mom, who do I call? I can't call the cops."

This reminds me of a case in Houston where cops tazed a man who was sleeping on the couch in his own living room......they responded to a WRONG address after receiving a 911 call, and then refused to believe the man was the homeowner.

Both cases feature officers who are unable to LISTEN.
 
My adult son has been deaf since 5 mos old. While he was a student at Gallaudet University in DC there was an incident where a deaf student was upset with an instructor about grades. He became threatening so security was called. They tackled him to the floor and handcuffed him behind his back. He was so frustrated that he couldn't sign to them and communicate that he hyperventilated and went into cardiac arrest and died. As a result of a long investigation security people were required to have better training. Gallaudet is a university for THE DEAF - security should have been trained before that happened. I feel so very bad for Mr. Pyles and his mother. He needs to contact an attorney that specializes in deaf rights. There are many such attorneys in the Baltimore-DC area.
 
I just e-mailed the reporter....because I could not find anything. I just want Mr. Pyles to know that there are others out there that are upset at his treatment!!!
 
Wow! The reporter forwarded my e-mail to one of Mr. Pyles' family, Darlene,...and she was amazed that people cared...and I'm very glad that they know that people do...maybe it brought a little sunshine to their day!!

I thought your idea was a good one, Travelgal.....definitely should take legal action...and when I responded to Darlene, I brought up your suggestions...thank you!

Darlene said Mr. Pyles' computer was having some issues, but I'm hoping when it is fixed, he will take a look at the thread. Thank you, Darlene!!! =)
 
Thank you so much Truthful! I feel so bad for Mr Pyles and would love to be able to send an e-mail to him and his family. Thanks for staying ontop of this story.
 
Thank you so much Truthful! I feel so bad for Mr Pyles and would love to be able to send an e-mail to him and his family. Thanks for staying ontop of this story.

Travelgal,

I will e-mail Darlene and ask her if it's okay to give you her e-mail....I think you are the perfect person to help!!!

Thanks so much for following the thread...I'm so glad to call WS "home"...so many great people! I can't insert the "blowing kiss" smiley, so :::blowing kiss::: =)

Edit: e-mailed her =)
 
How awful!! Another group is often mistreated by LE and they are the people in the spectrum of Autism. They do not communicate or do not communicate well which is often misinterpreted by LE as being uncooperative or worse.

Here, the hearing impaired have it on their IDs or drivers license so they can be readily identified to LE or to emergency workers.
 

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