Cops tasered deaf man and knock him unconscious while he was attempting to use sign language

Jonathan Meister is suing police for violating his rights as a disabled person under the American with Disabilities Act

Jonathan Meister was loading boxes he left at a friends house into his car when cops who were told there may be a burglary at the house and arrived at the scene

Meister tried to use sign language to communicate with police and one of the officers mistook his hand motions for aggressive force

Cops tasered the innocent man and knocked him unconscious



Police officers in Hawthorne, California who were not trained to communicate with the hard of hearing tasered a deaf man who was trying to tell them he had a disability by using sign language.



Jonathan Meister was loading boxes he left at a friends house into his car when cops who were told there may be a burglary at the house and arrived at the scene on February 13.



The officers told Meister to stop loading the boxes but because he was deaf, Meister did not hear the police officers' commands.

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A new lawsuit accuses the Hawthorne Police Department of beating Jonathan Meister as he tried to tell them he was deaf during a confrontation in Feburary 2013

Police used a taser on a man who was trying to communicate with them

Officers Jeffrey Salmon, Jeffrey Tysl, Erica Bristow, and Mark Hultgren didn't realize Meister wasn't responding because he had a disability.



Meister tried to use sign language to communicate with police and one of the officers mistook his hand motions for aggressive force.



The officers punched Meister and kicked him and also allegedly shot him twice with a taser. Another officer then gave Meister a 'drive stun' to his abdomen.



The officers then allegedly beat Meister until he was unconscious reports rawstory.com.

Officers then took Meister to a hospital where he was charged with assaulting police officers. The charge was later dropped and now the officers are facing a lawsuit.

Meister is suing police for violating his rights as a disabled person under the American with Disabilities Act.



The lawsuit states, 'This incident occurred in substantial part because the HPD does not provide its officers the training and resources to serve people who are deaf or hard of hearing.'



The lawsuit also states that the Hawthorne Police Department failed, 'to provide effective communication to deaf and hard of hearing individuals, including himself, who come into contact and interact with the HPD, thereby discriminating against them.'



The Hawthorne Police Department released a statement to NBC regarding the incident.



'Hawthorne Police Department officers are trained to deal with incidents where communication, for various reasons, can sometimes be difficult. Officers make every effort to communicate effectively and bring every one of these incidents to a peaceful resolution.'





Had police been trained in sign language, they may have thought twice before tasering an innocent man



