Colorado: Deaf man arrested and jailed for 4 months after he couldn’t hear police commands

Brady Mistic, a deaf man who uses sign language to communicate was under arrest and put in for not hearing the police commands. He has filed a lawsuit against the city of Idaho Springs, Colorado. He has also filed suit against the police officers who detained him.

Brady Mistic, the deaf man from Colorado was confronted by two police officers two years ago. They had followed him into a parking lot after he allegedly ran a stop sign. Unfortunately, he could not understand what they were saying because he is deaf in both ears and does not lip-read. 

Mistic filed a lawsuit this month. In his lawsuit, he argues about the violation of his civil rights by officers. He is seeking compensation for physical and emotional harm, as well as pain and suffering. 

The incident took place on September 17, 2019. After leaving the car, he was suddenly blinded by police vehicle lights and/or a spotlight shone by the officers, states the lawsuit. “He had no idea what was happening, what the police were doing, or if the officers’ presence had anything to do with him,” the suit says.

These officers were not reasonable: Raymond Bryant, Mistic’s lawyer

“Within 7 seconds of exiting their vehicle, without looking or listening to assess the situation, and without utilizing any reasonable attempts at communication, the officers went hands-on and used force on Mr. Mistic,” Raymond Bryant, Mistic’s lawyer, told HuffPost via email. “Reasonable police officers always de-escalate instead of escalating circumstances so that force is not in use unless absolutely necessary. But these were not reasonable officers.”

Some amount of conversation between Mistic and officers is clear in the footage, while some aren’t. Mistic yells out “No ears!”. He attempts to indicate to the officers that he is deaf but it is of no use.

The lawsuit says, Mistic did not receive an ASL interpreter, or a pen and paper, to or find out why he was under arrest — a decision that “further humiliated and degraded Mr. Mistic for being deaf.” “Officers did attempt to gain control of Mr. Mistic by placing him into handcuffs due to his actions,” the police statement says. “Mr. Mistic resisted the officers, and a physical altercation took place.

Reports by HuffPost, say they received a supplemental police report written by Hanning. The report consists of detailed conversations from both sides. Bryant says the worst allegation in the report is that Mistic pulled away when the officers grabbed at him without explanation.

“This is not sufficient for resisting arrest or assault on a police officer under Colorado law,” he says. Mistic was charged with second-degree assault on a police officer and resisting arrest. After spending 4 months behind the bars with no help in communication, the charges were eventually dismissed. Hanning was fired from the police force in July after he was charged with third-degree assault in an unrelated incident, The Associated Press reported.

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