A Seattle sign language interpreter wants to end police brutality against the deaf

A couple of years ago, a deaf Tacoma woman named LaShonn White was involved in a domestic violence situation in her home. She called police for help, using an interpreter through video chat.

“And that interpreter actually told 911 that the victim was deaf. That information was texted to the police officers en route,” says Seattle sign language interpreter, Colleen Langdon. “And the [interpreter] said, ‘The police officers want you to meet them outside.’ So she ran outside and, according to her, was signing, trying to let them know that she needed help. The police officer started yelling at her to stop, which she couldn’t hear, and never put up his hand like in a halting position. So she just kept coming. So he Tased her, which caused her face to bleed, the pictures are just horrible, her hands were all bloody. At that point they arrested her. She was in jail for 60 hours with no interpreter, no lawyer.”

Colleen says White, a victim looking to the police for help, was wrongly charged with assaulting an officer and resisting arrest.

“At the same time that all this is happening, her neighbors are yelling out the window, ‘She’s deaf! She can’t hear you. What are you doing?’ It was tragic.”

The charges were eventually dropped, but Colleen says deaf people are all too often assaulted by police officers who misinterpret sign language for gang signs and deafness for defiance. After her friend LaShonn’s incident, Colleen started her non-profit, Signing For Safety, and on October 1 she will leave on a cross-country trip to educate police officers at 54 police stations, from Washington to Virginia and down to Florida.

“Basically just giving them the tools to identify someone who is deaf and hard of hearing. For example, if you see someone waving their hands at you, or it may look like they’re waving their hands, giving them the skills to actually ask in sign language, ‘Are you deaf?’ That could have probably stopped all these instances from happening. On top of that, making sure that they know the sign for ‘help’ and the sign for ‘interpreter.'”

She also wants to make sure officers understand ADA laws.

“Which is the American Disability Act. For police departments, they have to provide an interpreter. Anytime that someone who’s deaf or hard of hearing requests an interpreter, they have to be provided one free of charge.”

Colleen has also made some materials that officers can keep in their cars.

“Each individual police department is going to have items for their cars that have emergency signs and where to find interpreters in their local areas.”

Colleen is funding most of the trip and paying for all of the materials out of her own pocket. But you can go to her Go Fund Me page to donate to her mission.

Another thing Colleen is pushing for is the ability to text 911.

“If we have to call 911 we pick up the phone, we dial 911 and then a dispatcher is there within seconds. But if you’re deaf, you don’t have that luxury. You cannot text 911 at the moment, in Washington state at least, so you need to get a video phone or TTY and say, ‘Hey, I need help.’ The interpreter calls 911 and relays the information. It can take so much more time.”

And if someone can’t get to a video phone, calling 911 becomes basically impossible.