Read: Article in The Atlantic about US Police officers’ deadly lack of Deaf awareness

An article in The Atlantic has laid bare the issues Deaf people in America face with their police force, who seem unaware of the Americans with Disabilities Act, following the death of Magdiel Sanchez one week ago, shot despite neighbours trying to tell the police that he was deaf.

The article says:

The Sanchez case has brought attention to calls from disability-rights advocates to reform police relations with people who are deaf and hard of hearing. Since the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act, the government has been required to provide “effective communication,” “reasonable accommodation,” and equal access to services for those with disabilities. But almost 30 years later, law enforcement hasn’t always satisfied this mandate. When it comes to the deaf community, officers’ gaps in cultural competency have led to strain and miscommunication—and, at times, the use of deadly force.

 

Read the article here: https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2017/09/the-steadily-problematic-interactions-between-deaf-americans-and-police/541083/