Police allegedly shot dead a deaf man outside his front door as he tried to communicate with them in sign language.

Officers in North Carolina had attempted to pull over 29-year-old Daniel Harris last Thursday for speeding, according to NBC.

But instead of slowing down, Mr Harris continued on his way home.

One witness reported Mr Harris was then shot and killed "almost immediately" after exiting his vehicle".

The witness said it appeared the victim had attempted to communicate with an officer via sign language when he was fired on outside of his home.

They should've de-escalated and been trained to realize that this is an entirely different situation. neighbour Mark Barringer

One witness described the shooting as 'totally unacceptable' Credit: WCNC

On a widely-shared fundraising page, Mr Harris's family - a number of who are also hearing impaired - said they wanted to raise awareness of how police should confront deaf people.

The post adds that states should change their systems so that a police stop triggers an alert showing that the person is deaf.

"With this change, Daniel will be a hero in our Deaf community", the post read.