Deaf woman claims 911 call got her zapped with Taser
Aug 6, 2012, 5:24 AM | Updated: 6:19 am
A Tacoma woman, deaf since birth, claims police officers zapped her with a Taser, handcuffed her and arrested her after she called police for help.
The call to 911 last April was done with a special telephone. An interpreter trained in sign language gave a dispatcher Lashonn White’s information that she was being assaulted.
KIRO TV reports that internal police records seem to show that responding officers were told the victim was deaf and given the names of the victim and her attacker.
When officers arrived, White ran out of her apartment to meet police. That’s when she was hit with the Taser.
In his report, one officer claims he yelled at White to stop and held up his right hand as a signal. But a neighbor, interviewed by KIRO TV, insists the officer never held up his hand. She says she went over and talked to officers, whom she says admitted confusion, claiming they thought White was coming at them, fist clenched, not running to them for help.
KIRO TV reports Tacoma Police have not responded to their requests for an explanation of what happened.
White, who has no criminal record, was jailed for two days on suspicion of simple assault and obstructing police and then released when no charges filed.
