A North Carolina state trooper shot dead a deaf and mute man who was apparently trying to communicate using sign language after he was pulled over for a speeding violation.
Daniel Kevin Harris, 29, a father to a four-year-old boy, was killed just feet from his home in Charlotte by trooper Jermaine Saunders on Thursday evening.
Police say Saunders tried to pull Harris over for a speeding violation on Interstate 485 at around 6.15pm, but the driver led authorities on a brief pursuit before stopping.
Officials said that's when the driver got out of his car and an encounter took place between the driver and the trooper, causing a shot to be fired. Harris died at the scene.
But witnesses said Harris – who was unarmed – was shot ‘almost immediately’ after he exited his vehicle, WCNC reports.
Scroll down for video
A North Carolina state trooper shot dead Daniel Harris (pictured), a deaf and mute man who was apparently trying to communicate using sign language after he was pulled over
They also say he appeared to be trying to communicate with the trooper using sign language.
However, Saunders has said he shot Harris because he was advancing and not following commands, WCCB reports.
But Harris' immediate family, who are also hearing impaired, think he was 'just afraid' and not understanding the situation.
Jay Harris, who spoke to the local station through a sign language interpreter, believes his brother was not aware that troopers were trying to pull him over.
'He was unarmed - and he is a deaf individual, and I think that he was just afraid,' he said.
'He could not hear their warnings. He could not hear their commands to stop or to stay away from them.'
He added that his mother has been in the hospital with a heart issue since the shooting. 'He was shot, and now we’re left with nothing,' Jay said.
Neighbors blasted the decision to ‘shoot first, ask questions’ later.
‘You’re pulling someone over who is deaf, they are handicapped. To me, what happened is totally unacceptable,’ neighbor Mark Barringer told the local station.
‘They should have de-escalated and been trained to realize that this is an entirely different situation.’
Harris (pictured feeding his son) – who was unarmed – was shot ‘almost immediately’ after he exited his vehicle, witnesses say
A Charlotte-Mecklenburg police report identified Harris as hearing and speech impaired, but did not give further details about his impairments.
Saunders was placed on administrative leave, which is standard procedure after an officer-involved shooting.
State Bureau of Investigation spokeswoman Audria Bridges said agents will interview Saunders this week.
However, the SBI report doesn't mention that Harris is impaired.
The police report identifies Harris as white. Bridges said she was uncertain of the trooper's race.
Harris’ family have set up a fundraising page since his death, which has raised almost $5,000 so far, for his memorial and cremation costs.
In a post on the page, they say: ‘He was unarmed when shot and killed by a state trooper.
‘His tragic death could have been prevented. Police brutality ends NOW.’
They also plan to set up a foundation in his name to ‘educate and provide law enforcement [with] proper training on how to confront deaf people.’
Police say Saunders tried to pull Harris over for a speeding violation on Interstate 485 at around 6.15pm. Above, the scene after the shooting
Harris led authorities on a brief pursuit before stopping on the Interstate, officials said
The family also hope to change the DMV registration system to require states to set up a ‘DEAF’ alert to appear when a car’s license plate is looked up.
‘With this change, Daniel will be a hero in our deaf community,’ they add.
Activist Shaun King notes that it’s not clear if Harris understood what was happened in the moments before his death ‘since he could not have heard the sirens’ in his New York Daily News column.
He adds that while some cases of police shootings pose genuine threats to law enforcement, this case is ‘hard to justify.’
‘Beyond being unarmed, deaf and mute, Daniel Harris appears to have been a rather small, thin man,’ he wrote in his column.
Harris' family (above, with Harris second from left) plan to set up a foundation in his name to educate and provide police with proper training on how to confront deaf people
His family also hope to change the DMV registration system to require states to set up a ‘DEAF’ alert to appear when a car’s license plate is looked up
King insists opening fire could not have been the trooper’s only option.
‘What threat did Harris pose? Was a Taser or pepper spray used? Could the officer truly not subdue Harris on his own?
‘If reports from neighbors are accurate, it doesn't appear the officer even tried, but pretty much shot and killed Harris mere seconds after he got out of the car.’
He added: ‘Virtually any other option the officer could've considered was better than what he chose in this case, but here we are with another avoidable casualty of police violence.
‘Daniel Harris should be alive with a speeding ticket, but instead his family is raising funds for his cremation.’
#1: misterwhite To: cranky (#0)
What, is he f**king blind, too? Didn't see the flashers in his rearview mirror? Didn't know he was supposed to pull over?
All of this could have been avoided BY HIM.
misterwhite posted on 2016-08-23 08:02:08 Reply Private Reply
#2: misterwhite To: cranky (#0)
And the trooper was communicating with him in the universal sign language of a drawn gun -- meaning stop what you're doing.
misterwhite posted on 2016-08-23 08:06:10 Reply Private Reply
#3: cranky To: misterwhite (#1)
Yeah.
It's about time scofflaws get what they deserved.
The heroic badged bureaucrat was cornered with only body armor and a police cruiser to shield him and a shotgun and handgun to protect him against an unarmed handicapped serf and no time to call for help.
Obviously, it was a 'good shoot'.
cranky posted on 2016-08-23 08:47:12 Reply Private Reply
#4: misterwhite To: cranky (#3)
If he ignored the officer's orders and kept advancing, yeah, he got what he deserved. We'll see. As soon as I read, "... but the driver led authorities on a brief pursuit before stopping" I knew it was not going to end well ... and so did you.
When you post a story where the driver did everything right and yet ended up being killed by the officer, THEN I'll have something to say about the officer's actions.
misterwhite posted on 2016-08-23 13:22:13 Reply Private Reply
#5: misterwhite To: cranky (#3)
Uh-huh. And wouldn't you agree that only an idiot would threaten such an individual?
misterwhite posted on 2016-08-23 13:25:19 Reply Private Reply
#6: calcon To: misterwhite (#5)
FU*CKING COWARD
calcon posted on 2016-08-23 13:38:25 Reply Private Reply
#7: misterwhite To: calcon (#6)
Did the cop have a taser?
misterwhite posted on 2016-08-23 13:49:20 Reply Private Reply
#8: TrappedInMd To: cranky (#0)
TrappedInMd posted on 2016-08-23 13:55:59 Reply Private Reply
#9: BorisY To: cranky (#0)
A
few
years
ago
I
was
going
in
early
morning
to
work
I'm
on
the
highway
I
noticed
just
ahead
of
me
was
a
police
suburban
suv
so
I
backed
off
a
few
minutes
later
a
car
sped
past
with
two
chatty
guys
in
it
passing
the
police
car
he
flipped
on
the
lights
for
a
thousand
two
thousand
feet
they
didn't
notice
had
to
stop
at
a
red
light
the
light
turned
green
just
when
I
was
going
by
the
cop
was
out
front
at
the
driver
door
in
like
construction
worker
cloths
in
a
crouch
position
double
handed
pointing
a
gun
at
them
pwwhhheewhwee
boris
BorisY posted on 2016-08-23 14:43:25 Reply Private Reply
#10: Gatlin To: misterwhite, Cranky (#4)
Harris led the trooper on a chase, which ended with both vehicles damaged after Harris’ vehicle spun out of control. Harris exited his vehicle and an encounter took place with the trooper causing a shot to be fired. Harris died at the scene. Harris has a history of resisting arrest.
Daniel Kevin Harris: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know.
Gatlin posted on 2016-08-23 16:58:21 Reply Private Reply
#11: nolu chan To: Gatlin, misterwhite, Cranky (#10)
google map [10020 is just a random address on Seven Oaks Drive]
http://www.wcnc.com/news/crime/nchp-trooper-involved-in-deadly-shooting/301939728
Looking at the map, it appears Harris exited 485 and went a couple of miles on Rocky River Road before he turned off on Seven Oaks Drive.
As both vehicles were damaged, the cop may have initiated contact from behind to stop Harris.
nolu chan posted on 2016-08-23 17:43:35 Reply Private Reply
#12: A K A Stone To: misterwhite (#2)
A K A Stone posted on 2016-08-23 18:03:48 Reply Private Reply
#13: cranky To: misterwhite (#5)
An unarmed, handicapped person could pose no threat to an armored, armed assailant who was fully capable of retreating to the safety of his vehicle, if he felt his life was in danger.
cranky posted on 2016-08-23 18:26:46 Reply Private Reply
#14: Fred Mertz To: BorisY (#9)
Banjo Boy, you need to start smoking dope again.
Fred Mertz posted on 2016-08-23 21:16:43 Reply Private Reply
#15: BorisY To: Fred Mertz (#14)
two
handed
better
love
boris
ps
double
could
mean
four
pss
pts
BorisY posted on 2016-08-23 21:41:13 Reply Private Reply
#16: Gatlin To: nolu chan (#11)
Gatlin posted on 2016-08-23 21:57:17 Reply Private Reply
#17: misterwhite To: cranky (#13)
At the time, the officer knew neither of those things. He was faced with a guy who refused to pull over for merely speeding (why?) and was now charging at him (why?) and had to make a split second decision.
But you say the officer should have known this poor guy was harmless and should have retreated to his police car, locked the doors, and called for backup?
misterwhite posted on 2016-08-24 08:45:23 Reply Private Reply
#18: misterwhite To: Gatlin, cranky (#10)
But ... but ... he was handicapped, don't you see? The handicapped are spay-shull. The officer should have known that. He should have just let him go, then none of this would have happened. Oh, the humanity.
misterwhite posted on 2016-08-24 08:56:05 Reply Private Reply