Deaf Man Spends 4 Months in Prison Because He Did Not Hear the Commands of Police Officers

A deaf man went through an unpleasant experience with police officers after they detained him, and he faced months in jail without an interpreter. Now, he is filing a lawsuit against them.

In 2019, a Colorado resident who relies on sign language to communicate went up against two police officers. He could not understand any of their commands and claimed the arrest was violent. The officers allegedly stunned him with their tasers.

According to the man, Brady Mistic, they also pushed him to the ground. He tried to tell them he was deaf, but his efforts were futile. As a result, he spent four months in jail for assault on an officer of the law and resisting the arrest.

THEY USED VIOLENT FORCE

Mistic states these charges are false. Eventually, they were dropped but not before he had already paid the price. The attorney for Mistic, Raymond Bryant, said the officers used force "unreasonably fast" and "unreasonably rashly."

Bryant also claims this is especially problematic for someone like Mistic, who has a disability. The Idaho Springs Police Department released a statement in which they confirmed that the two officers were unaware that Mistic was deaf.

POLICE ACTED APPROPRIATELY

Nicholas Hanning and Ellie Summers are the officers being charged. They indicated that he resisted their arrest and caused one of them to break a leg. However, the lawsuit states the injured police officer was responsible for his own injury.

The Idaho Springs Police Department also said the police chief looked at the case. He indicated that the police officers "acted appropriately." Despite this, a lawsuit filed in October seeks justice for "the wrongful incarceration of a deaf man."

UNAWARE OF HIS TRANSGRESSION

The police apprehended Mistic after his car allegedly went over a stop sign. They then followed him into a parking area. Mistic was purportedly unaware of their presence and his transgression until they blinded him with their police vehicle lights.

In the lawsuit, it stated that Mistic was confused by the encounter. He stopped in his tracks and is believed to have used hand signals to try to communicate with the police. The officers pinned him to the ground violently.

HE SCREAMED, "NO EARS"

Attorney Bryant claims Mistic did not resist arrest. He allegedly screamed "no ears" in an attempt to speak with the police. They purportedly ignored this and tased him more than once. In addition to the encounter, Mistic also suffered in jail.

He was allegedly denied an interpreter and could not communicate well while incarcerated. As a result, he faced physical and emotional pain.

Meanwhile, the police officers in question were also in the news earlier this year for another case of a similar nature which involved brute force during an arrest.