A North Carolina police officer fatally shot Daniel Harris, a deaf man

A State Highway Patrol trooper shot and killed Daniel Harris, a hearing-impaired driver in the University City area Thursday after the two apparently got into an altercation after the driver refused to pull over for a speeding violation. Daniel Kevin Harris, the man killed, was shot after “an encounter”, according to a statement released by the North Carolina Bureau of Investigation.

But one eyewitness says Harris was shot and killed “almost immediately” after leaving his vehicle.

A fundraising page set up online by Harris’ family says he was unarmed when shot, according to NBC News.

While pursuing Harris for speeding, Trooper Saunders at one point deliberately rammed his Volvo, trying to stop him.

The SBI identified the trooper as Jermaine Saunders.

Harris reportedly didn’t stop and led the trooper on a brief chase before pulling over in his neighborhood.

His family wrote that Harris was unarmed at the time of his death. It is also not clear if the officer was aware of Harris’ speech and hearing impairments. “Great sense of humor, socialable”, said Daniel’s brother Sam Harris. Harris did not immediately stop, leading police to follow him home, roughly seven miles from when they first signaled.

Harris’ brother, Sam Harris, said his brother was a family man with a big heart.

Some accounts say Harris may have been gesturing in sign language when he “jumped” out of the vehicle, fueling suspicions Saunders was either taken off guard by the gestures or was simply not trained in dealing with deaf motorists.

Sergeant Michael Baker of the Charlotte Highway Patrol did not disclose much about the incident, including whether Harris and the trooper had communicated during the brief time between Harris exited his auto and was shot. Subsequently, we hope to change the DMV registration system by requiring states to set up a “DEAF” alert to appear when law enforcement look up a car’s license plate.

Harris’ neighbors report hearing gunshots just moments after seeing Saunders’ patrol vehicle pull up.

Daniel’s death represents that he is a hero in our deaf community.

“They don’t understand why it happened, and there is no communication between what happened outside and their family”, O’Donnell said.

Tragically, the father of a four year old boy was shot dead just feet from home in Charlotte.