The cop had attempted to pull over Daniel Kevin Harris for a traffic violation in Charlotte, NC but Harris did not pull over, perhaps because of his hearing impairment.
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The chase continued off 485, to Rocky River Road exit, eventually ending at Seven Oaks Drive with both vehicles damaged… Neighbors believe Harris, whose family is also hearing impaired, was trying to communicate with the officer with sign language.
But witnesses said Harris – who was unarmed – was shot “almost immediately” after he exited his vehicle, WCNC reports.
Harris, 25, was “deaf and mute” and used sign language to communicate, The Daily News said. The man died a few feet from his family’s home.
“They should’ve de-escalated and been trained to realize that this is an entirely different situation”, neighbor Mark Barringer told WCNC.
A state trooper is on administrative leave as outrage grows over the deadly shooting of an unarmed driver who was deaf.
“I was here in my driveway and I saw the highway patrol auto come through and it was smoking really bad”, said Mark Barringer.
Harris’ family have set up a fundraising page since his death, which has raised nearly $5,000 so far, for his memorial and cremation costs.
They are raising funds to cover the costs of his memorial.
More than $10,000 had been raised by late Monday.
“Any monies 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”, the family wrote.
His family would like to see DMV registration systems flag a license as “DEAF” so that officers are aware of the situation before it gets out of control like in this case.
‘With this change, Daniel will be a hero in our deaf community, ‘ the post added.
Harris was found guilty of resisting an officer in 2010 when he lived in CT, according to public records.
State Bureau of Investigation spokeswoman Audria Bridges plan to interview Saunders this week.
The SBI said “details of the encounter are still being investigated” and that the agency is working on getting body and dash-cam footage.
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As the 29-year-old stopped close to his home a state trooper pulled his gun as Harris got out of his auto.
