Police Deaf Near Far – a play by David Rush, which enjoyed a sold-out Michigan premiere in 2012 – tells the story of Stinger, a Deaf man who is killed by a a police officer in a moment of tragic miscommunication. The play is based on an incident that took place in Chicago, but which is sadly echoed throughout the United States.
The Raw Story reports that the latest incident, from California:
[pl_blockquote pull=”right” cite=”The Raw Story”]The officers interpreted his sudden movements as resistance, so they “struck Meister with fists and feet, and forcibly took him to the ground.” Once he was on the ground, one of the officers allegedly shot him twice with a taser. Another officer then delivered a “drive stun” to Meister’s abdomen.[/pl_blockquote]
[pl_button type=”primary” link=”http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2014/02/16/california-police-use-taser-on-deaf-man-trying-to-communicate-with-them-via-sign-language/” target=”blank”]The Raw Story: SEE FULL ARTICLE[/pl_button]
Danny McDougall, PhD, CSC — “Dr. Danny” — owns and manages TerpTheatre. Since 1986, he has interpreted in hundreds of plays, musicals and other performances on stage – most in the shadowed style. He teaches and lectures on the theory and practice of theatre interpreting. Danny is the chair of Sign Language Studies at Madonna University, and holds a PhD in Translation and Interpretation from Heriot-Watt University – where his dissertation explored the relationship between space and meaning during interpreted theatre performances.