Deaf driver’s shooting death by trooper under investigation

Friends and family of Daniel Harris gather around a heart drawn onto Seven Oaks Drive during a candlelight vigil to remember Harris, a deaf motorist who was shot and killed by a state trooper, Monda. Daniel Harris, 29, was driving on the interstate near Charlotte when a trooper attempted to pull him over Thursday.

“I saw him out in the neighborhood signing with his family”, one neighbor tells WBTV. “When the gunshot went off, it was scary”.

Harris was pronounced dead at the scene. Neighbors believe he was trying to communicate using sign language when the trooper opened fire.

“State and local law enforcement officers throughout North Carolina are trained to recognize the card and understand its objective”, the agency states.

“You’re pulling someone over who is deaf. To me, what happened is totally unacceptable”.

The family of Mr Harris said: “With this change, Daniel will be a hero in our deaf community”.

Daniel Harris had arrests in several states on minor charges, including three for resisting police officers. I motioned to him.

Sam Harris is also deaf and spoke through an interpreter.

It’s unclear whether or not Harris, being deaf, knew the afternoon chase was happening.

The State Highway Patrol said in a statement that a trooper tried to pull over a motorist on Interstate 485 for speeding.

The National Association of the Deaf in a statement Tuesday called Harris’ death “wrong” and called on law enforcement to improve their training to better understand how to interact with a deaf person. According to the Free Thought Project, the police claim the deaf man got in an “encounter” with the officer, suggesting that he may have approached with aggression.

Colorado, where he was stopped in 2015 and 2009 in Denver. The five misdemeanor charges filed in 2008 included obstructing a peace officer; all those charges were dropped. A sister lives in suburban Lakewood, Colo.

And in December of that same year, he pleaded guilty to interfering with or resisting police in Watertown, Connecticut. He graduated from American School for the Deaf, about 30 miles away in Hartford, in 2006. “Let us all refrain from making assumptions or drawing conclusions prior to the internal and independent reviews”.

A state trooper in North Carolina is on administrative leave as outrage grows over the deadly shooting of an unarmed driver who was deaf.

Harris’ memorial was held Tuesday, August 23 at First Baptist Church.

The Harris family has set up a YouCaring page that already has enough contributions to pay for Daniel Harris’ funeral; by Tuesday evening it had raised more than $24,000.

The Mecklenburg County District Attorney’s Office said it will evaluate the case after law enforcement finishes its investigation.