An unarmed deaf man was shot dead by a police officer in North Carolina after he made a traffic stop. Witnesses claim that the man, Daniel Harris, was trying to communicate with the police officer through sign language when he was shot down.
Reports state that the police officer had attempted to pull Harris for a speeding violation on Thursday but he continued to his way home. A police report stated that an "encounter" occurred between the officer and Harris which caused "a shot to be fired" and ended up killing the 28-year-old handicapped man.
Contrary to the police report, an eyewitness said that the police officer fired the shot "almost immediately" after Harris got off from his car. The witness also said that before getting off the car, Harris had also tried to communicate with the officer through sign language.
The police report also acknowledged that Harris, who was a father of a three-year-old, was "hearing and speech impaired", according to the Associated Press.
"They should've de-escalated and been trained to realise that this is an entirely different situation," Harris neighbor Mark Barrinher told WCNC.
Harris' brother Charles posted a statement on Facebook saying: "You're pulling someone over who is deaf. They are handicapped."
Charles said that Harris was very scared of police officers considering the recent confrontations between officers and unarmed Black people in the United States.
Harry's family has set up a crowdfunding page to raise money for Harry's cremation and memorial expenses. The page also reads: "Any money left over will be used to set up a foundation in his name to educate and provide law enforcement proper training on how to confront Deaf people."
