Witnesses question use of police force on deaf man

Witnesses say San Diego Police used excessive force on a deaf man. One told KGTV,"It ends up with three men on top of him. This poor man on the ground can't even communicate, but they are forcing him down on the ground over a parking ticket." Here's a video report from the TV station.

Deaf Man Attacked In Robbery

Hector Reyna was walking out of a fast-food restaurant in Santa Ana, California Wednesday when he was attacked and robbed by a man with a knife. The man also attacked a responding officer. CBS-LA has a video report.

Teen allegedly killed deaf mom

A teenager in Illinois faces charges she killed her deaf mom and attempted to cover it up the death by setting the home on fire. Police say the 15-year-old waited for her mom to come home from work and told her mom to place a towel over her face before shooting her mom in the forehead. Read more details from Sauk Valley Media here. WQAD-TV spoke withe the girl's sister in the video below.

Deaf Woman attacked at bus stop

A stranger sucker punched a deaf woman in Dallas. KDFW-TV has a video report about what happened to Cindy Tarkington. For captions and text go here.

On this Date... Sentenced to Life in Prison

It was on this date (July 10) in 2002 that a District of Columbia judge sentenced Joseph Mesa, Jr. to six life terms without the possibility of parole for the murders of two Gallaudet classmates. The 22-year-old from Guam was convicted of first beating Eric Plunkett to death in September of 2000 and then stabbing Benjamin Varner to death in February of 2001. Both attacks took place in Gallaudet dorm rooms. Mesa took money from both victims, but turned himself in to police a few days after killing Varners. Pleading not guilty by reason of insanity, Mesa told jurors he saw hands wearing black gloves telling him in sign language to kill the 19 year olds. Mesa's defense attorney suggested that the attack on Plunkett was prompted by rage over an unwanted homosexual advance. Mesa was convicted him on all 15 counts. Mesa is now serving time at the United States Penitentiary in Atwater, California near San Francisco, a high security facility.

Deaf sexual assault survivor graduates with help from detectives

image from Chicago Tribune video

Chicago sheriff's investigators not only sought the person who raped a deaf teen three years ago, they stood by her until she recently graduated from high school. One of them said, "We went into this thinking here is a victim and let's try to solve her case and it just turned into ... seeing her as a goddaughter." The Chicago Tribune has the story here.

Deaf Volunteer Firefighter Arrested Without Interpreter

Keri Dee says local police did not provide her brother, a deaf volunteer firefighter, with a sign language interpreter after his recent arrest. Little Rock's KARK-TV has a video report.

Lawsuit: Denied Services by Sheriff's Office

screen grab from Action News Jax video 

Cassandra Kinney says the Jacksonville, Florida Sheriff's Office failed to provide her an sign language interpreter. Police were called to her home several times but she says they failed to get her side of the story. Now she has filed a lawsuit. Action News Jax has a video report here.

Rally for Deaf Florida Man, Arrested at Protest

A demonstration opposing the Syrian airstrike turned violent in Jacksonville, Florida. Among those arrested was Connell Crooms, who is deaf. Action News Jax has a video report about a rally in his support at the county courthouse.

Mother of Beaten Deaf Protester Speaks Out

Feliciaia Crooms says police severely beat her deaf son in Jacksonville, Florida-and then refused to let her to see him either at the hospital or later in jail. The Florida Times-Union has a report on the several hundred people who gathered at the Duval courthouse in support of protesters arrested Friday night.

Deaf Girl Assaulted for using Sign Language

A search is underway for a woman who police say attached a deaf girl because she used sign language. Read more in the Manchester Evening News here.

Parents Accused of Murdering Deaf Son

Did a New York couple kill their deaf son and then set their house on fire to cover it up? That's what Guilford, New York prosecutors think happened. They've charged Ernest F. Franklin II and Heather Franklin with murdering their 16-year-old adopted son. Here's more from TIME.

MD Deaf man Sexually Assaulted

Image from
 Wicomico County Detention Center

A deaf man was sexually assaulted in Salisbury, Maryland this past Saturday "by a woman who carjacked and robbed him," according to Delmarva Now. Salisbury Police have charged Tina Marie Graham "with kidnapping, carjacking, first-degree sex offense, perverted practice, false imprisonment and other offenses." Read the full story here
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Woman Arrested for Attacking Deaf Girl

from New York State Police

We reported Wednesday about a New York woman wanted by the police for intentionally ramming a Walmart shopping cart into a deaf 10-year-old. Police have arrested Erica Walker and charged her with assailt. Walker is out on bail but due back in a Cortlandt, New York courtroom on Monday.

Woman wanted for Hurting Deaf Girl

image from NY State Police

Police in a little town just north of New York City are looking for a woman who rammed a deaf girl with her shopping car at a Walmart. It happened Saturday morning. Read more about it here.

Deaf MS Man Shot to Death

Rafael Thompson was found dead in his car in Jackson with multiple gunshot wounds, according to MS News Now. Thompson had attended the Mississippi School for the Deaf before going to college. Jackson Police have no suspects in the case. Here's a video report from MS News Now.

MSNewsNow.com - Jackson, MS

Shot after not understanding gunman's demands

John Kelly was getting money out of an ATM when he was shot four times because the deaf man couldn't hear the commands of robbers. WISN-TV in Milwaukee has a video report here.

Police: Video Made of Deaf Man's Beating

A video shows a deaf man being beaten in Detroit by another deaf man.. and "police said the woman holding the camera in the video set it all up," reports WDIV-TV. The three attended the same school for the deaf.

Man pleads guilty for Gallaudet Univ. burglary

"A former employee of Gallaudet University’s food service department pleaded guilty Monday to holding deaf workers at gunpoint during a burglary" at the school, according to the Washington Post. Just days after he had been fired, Donald Williams wore a mask and used a gun to force his way into the kitchen. Read the full story here.

On this date: A deaf man helps to stop a bank robbery

A deaf bank customer helped stop a bank robbery on this day (Jan 30) in 2003. A bank teller in Rochester, New York tipped off the man as he was going through the drive-through. The robber had entered a branch of HSBC yelled that he was robbing it, then jumped on a counter and pistol-whipped a teller. Another teller at the drive-up window just happened to be helping a deaf customer at that moment. She mouthed the words "we are being robbed." The lip-reading customer then drove to a nearby liquor store and called 911. Police nabbed the robbery suspect not far from the bank as he was trying to wash dye off his hands after a dye pack in the money bag had exploded. The injured teller suffered only minor injuries.