Cops Interpreted Sign Language as Threat, Handcuffed, Used Stun Gun, and Beat Deaf Man, Lawsuit Alleges

A lawsuit filed in California against the city of
Hawthorne and its police department alleges that last February
local cops confronting a deaf man who was picking up his stuff from
an ex-roommate’s back porch interpreted his attempt to communicate
with them via sign language as a threat, handcuffed him, beat him
up, and then took him to the police station. Jonathan Meister is
suing with the Disability Rights Legal Center.
CBS Los Angeles reports:

The South Bay man claims officers didn’t give him a
chance to explain what he was doing before placing him in
handcuffs, beating him and using a stun gun to shock him into
submission.

The problem began when police reportedly misunderstood Meister’s
attempts to speak in sign language as threatening gestures.

Moreover, officers didn’t realize that when they handcuffed
Meister, who is “profoundly deaf” and non-verbal, they took away
his ability to communicate.

Police initially charged Meister with assaulting officers, but
those charges were dropped. A police statement insisted it was “the
person’s behavior and actions who we contact that dictate police
response rather than the communication barriers present”.

Last week,
Leon Rosby, whose dog Hawthorne police shot last year in an
incident partially
caught on video also
filed suit against the city and three of the cops involved.