North Carolina state trooper shoots and kills unarmed deaf and mute man
A North
Carolina state trooper shot dead a deaf and mute man who was speeding. The
man, Daniel Kevin Harris, a 29 year old father to a 4 year
old was trying to communicate with the trooper using sign
language when he was shot and killed not too far from his
home in Charlotte on Thursday evening.
Police say state Trooper
Jermaine Saunders tried to pull Harris over for a speeding violation on
Interstate 485 at around 6.15pm, but the driver led authorities on a brief
pursuit before he finally stopped.
Authorities said after Harris
stopped, he got out of his car and an encounter took place between the
driver and the trooper, causing a shot to be fired. Harris died at the
scene. But witnesses said Harris, who was unarmed, was shot ‘almost
immediately’ after he got out of his car.
His immediate family members say they are
also hearing impaired.
His brother, Jay Harris, spoke to WCCB Charlotte
through a sign language interpreter:
“He was unarmed”. “And
he is a deaf individual, and I think that he was just afraid.”
Jay Harris thinks his brother didn't know Trooper
Saunders was trying to pull him over for speeding. Trooper Saunders says
he shot Harris because he was advancing and not following commands.
But his
brother said
“He could not hear their
warnings. He could not hear their commands to stop or to stay away from them,”
.
Family
says his mother is in the hospital with a heart issue since the shooting.
“He was shot, and now
we’re left with nothing,” said Jay Harris.
The
family wants the state to document in the Dept of Motor Vehicle system when a
driver is deaf to alert officers when they pull over someone who is hearing
impaired.
“What is wrong with us,
and what is wrong with a system that allows this to continue to happen? It
needs to stop”. “Daniel’s death represents that he is a hero in our deaf
community. He will raise awareness on this issue so that we can prevent this
from happening to other deaf people in our community” said Jay Harris.
Source: WCNC
A North
Carolina state trooper shot dead a deaf and mute man who was speeding. The
man, Daniel Kevin Harris, a 29 year old father to a 4 year
old was trying to communicate with the trooper using sign
language when he was shot and killed not too far from his
home in Charlotte on Thursday evening.
Police say state Trooper Jermaine Saunders tried to pull Harris over for a speeding violation on Interstate 485 at around 6.15pm, but the driver led authorities on a brief pursuit before he finally stopped.
Police say state Trooper Jermaine Saunders tried to pull Harris over for a speeding violation on Interstate 485 at around 6.15pm, but the driver led authorities on a brief pursuit before he finally stopped.
Authorities said after Harris stopped, he got out of his car and an encounter took place between the driver and the trooper, causing a shot to be fired. Harris died at the scene. But witnesses said Harris, who was unarmed, was shot ‘almost immediately’ after he got out of his car.
His immediate family members say they are also hearing impaired.
His brother, Jay Harris, spoke to WCCB Charlotte through a sign language interpreter:
“He was unarmed”. “And
he is a deaf individual, and I think that he was just afraid.”
Jay Harris thinks his brother didn't know Trooper
Saunders was trying to pull him over for speeding. Trooper Saunders says
he shot Harris because he was advancing and not following commands.
But his
brother said
“He could not hear their
warnings. He could not hear their commands to stop or to stay away from them,”
.
Family
says his mother is in the hospital with a heart issue since the shooting.
“He was shot, and now
we’re left with nothing,” said Jay Harris.
The
family wants the state to document in the Dept of Motor Vehicle system when a
driver is deaf to alert officers when they pull over someone who is hearing
impaired.
“What is wrong with us,
and what is wrong with a system that allows this to continue to happen? It
needs to stop”. “Daniel’s death represents that he is a hero in our deaf
community. He will raise awareness on this issue so that we can prevent this
from happening to other deaf people in our community” said Jay Harris.
Source: WCNC
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