Police officers who mistook a deaf man's frantic signing for rude gestures have been criticised by magistrates for arresting both him and his brother

Police officers who mistook a deaf man's frantic signing for rude gestures have been criticised by magistrates for arresting both him and his brother.

Shaun Phuprate, 22, had raised two of his fingers to his ear in the internationally recognised sign for 'I am deaf'.

But the infuriated constables, Steve Hawkins and Richie Smith, were convinced he was giving them a V-sign.

They had attempted to speak to Mr Phuprate, who is deaf, after he forced a car to stop as he crossed a road in his home town of Sunderland while eating pizza.

Mr Phuprate, who had been celebrating his 22nd birthday, was eventually bundled into a patrol car, along with his 20-year-old brother Michael, who tried to intervene.

Mr Phuprate was charged with being drunk and disorderly and his brother with causing harassment, alarm or distress following the incident in March.

He told Sunderland magistrates through an interpreter: 'The police officer got out of his car, but I couldn't understand what he was saying.

'I lifted my hand next to my head to try to tell the policeman I was deaf. My fingers were actually together, but he obviously thought I was giving him a V-sign. I repeated it again and that just seemed to make him even angrier.'

He added: ' I had been out celebrating my birthday and I had obviously had a few drinks, but we had done nothing. I was dragged around, thrown into a police car and locked in a cell. I was humiliated.'

Michael Phuprate said he had tried to explain that his brother was deaf, but the officer told him: 'Do you think I am stupid?'

He then pointed out that his brother was unable to communicate with the police officers because they were holding his arms.

'I told him that if he released his arms he would be able to answer, but the officer refused.

'I couldn't believe what I was hearing, so I began to get angry. The next thing I was being grabbed as well,' he told the court.

The magistrates threw out the case, saying Mr Phuprate could not possibly have understood any caution that was given or the reasons for his arrest and describing his brother's response as 'understandable'.