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Hearing Impaired Man Tased by Police
KWCH ^ | 12/3/07 | Michael Schwanke

Posted on 12/03/2007 11:46:15 PM PST by LibWhacker

Donnell Williams had just gotten out of the bath tub, wearing only a towel around his waist, when he turned the corner to see guns pointing right at him.

"I ain't never been so scared," says Williams.

Police forced entry into Williams home while responding to a shooting, but it turned out to be a false call. They had no idea at the time the call wasn't real and that Williams is hearing impaired. Without his hearing aid he is basically deaf.

"I kept going to my ear yelling that I was scared. I can't hear! I can't hear!"

Officers were worried about their own safety because at the time it appeared Williams was refusing to obey their commands to show his hands. That's when they shot him with a Taser.

Deputy Chief Robert Lee says, "This one occurred on the worst of calls, that being a shooting. The first few minutes getting control of the scene are very, very important."

Once the facts were all sorted out, officers repeatedly apologized to Williams. Police wish it never happened, but with the information they had at the time, their choices were limited.

"Do I wish there would have been some way they were notified in advance this gentleman was hearing impaired? I certainly do. No one is happy with the way it worked out," says Lee.

Williams was not hurt in the incident. Police say the shooting call came from a cell phone but they still don't know who made it or why.

The case is being reviewed by the department.


TOPICS: News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: badcopnodonut; deaf; donttazemebro; donutwatch; hearing; impaired; police; tased
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To: LibWhacker

Did they shoot his dog?


61 posted on 12/04/2007 11:47:04 AM PST by mysterio
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To: BfloGuy
It's a hypothetical, of course, but I wonder if you'd be so sanguine if it happened to you.

As I said earlier, on many other posts I have been highly critical of the use of the taser. I believe in most of the cases I have seen here, the cops should be prosecuted. I do, particularly when it is not on video, try to see it from the police officers point of view. I have made many enemies on this site pointing out that the real problem much of the time is we have staffed our police forces with a bunch of chickens.

So it may very well be that they are making up ex-post excuses for breaking in this guys house. I wonder for example if they had a warrant. Or if there really was a report of a gun shot fired. Or if there was a report of a gun shot fired, why that permits them to legally break and enter without any firm worry that someone is endangered.


62 posted on 12/04/2007 2:03:34 PM PST by JLS
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To: LibWhacker

This will continue and get much much worse until there are penalties.

Where are the civilian review boards? Press? Activists? Race baiters? Pandering politicians?

A. They’re scared $#!8less too!

We were never schooled on how to live and survive in a draconian police state except through hollyweird, or military training, so random non-street wise citizens are going to continue to be intimidated, tazered, demoralized, detained and incarcerated in the name of an imaginary war to prevent some jerkwad from flushing a rock.
(Yes, this case was a gun, in an unarmed neighborhood, same M.O.).

SO,,, sorry ain’t gettin’ it. $10 for your dead dog ain’t gettin’ it.

It would be nice to see some of these cowboys get charged, fired, or at the very least lose their all powerful “shield”, “badge” or “patch” along with a few years of daylight behind bars and a few years income down that fearful drain they work so hard to keep from flushing.


63 posted on 12/04/2007 2:30:28 PM PST by JoeSixPack1
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To: LibWhacker

As a deafie, this is one large worry.


64 posted on 12/04/2007 3:54:12 PM PST by Glenn (Free Venezuela!)
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To: TXnMA

If he had let go of his towel and put his hands up, they would’ve gotten him on indecent exposure. Damned if you do, damned if you don’t...


65 posted on 12/04/2007 6:11:35 PM PST by LibWhacker (Democrats are phony Americans)
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To: JoeSixPack1

Penaltize the cops for this and all this nonsense will stop.


66 posted on 12/05/2007 7:36:56 PM PST by MinorityRepublican
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