A deaf man, who uses sign language to communicate, has alleged that two police officers in Idaho Springs, Colorado, slammed him to the ground during an arrest.
The cops reportedly did not respond to his attempts to tell them that he was deaf, and could not understand them.
Brady Mistic is claiming that he was wrongfully jailed for four months over the incident that took place on September 17, 2019.
He is suing two officers, Nicholas Hanning and Ellie Summers, in addition to the city of Idaho Springs and the Clear Creek County Board of Commissioners.
He is claiming compensation for physical and emotional hurt, as well as pain and suffering.
WARNING: some viewers may find the following footage upsetting:Mistic filed the lawsuit earlier this month in U.S District Court. He says that the incident began after 7:30 PM when he reportedly ran a stop sign before pulling into a parking spot of a laundromat service.
He then got out of his car, unaware that he had been tailed by law enforcement, and began walking towards the store.
Per NBC News, the lawsuit details: "As Mr. Mistic exited his car and walked past a dumpster in between his vehicle and the police vehicle, toward the laundry door, he was blinded by police vehicle lights and/or a spotlight shone by the officers," the suit says.
"He had no idea what was happening, what the police were doing, or if the officers' presence had anything to do with him."
It adds that Mistic uses American Sign Language, can only vocalize a handful of words, and cannot read lips. He usually uses pen and paper to write messages to people who do not know sign language.
Mistic then stopped walking, and used his hands to communicate with the two police officers, according to the suit. Then, without "warning or attempt to communicate", Hanning handled Mistic by his shirt, and threw him to the ground, which caused him to hit his head on the pavement.
"Defendant Hanning pinned Mr. Mistic to the ground on his back while Mr. Mistic held his hands out with his palms facing defendant Hanning in an attempt to show that he meant no harm and was doing nothing to threaten the officer," the lawsuit continues.
"On the ground, defendant Summers joined in, grabbing Mr. Mistic... Defendant Summers pulled out her Taser and drive stunned Mr. Mistic."
When Mistic reportedly tried to communicate by saying "no ears", "Defendant Summers ignored Mr. Mistic’s plea and then tased Mr. Mistic a second time."
In a statement, the Idaho Springs police department defended their officers' actions.
"The officers gave verbal commands for Mr. Mistic to get back in his vehicle. It was later determined Mr. Mistic was deaf, but this fact was not known to the officers during the initial encounter," the statement read.
The statement continued: "Officers then directed Mr. Mistic to sit down. At one point officers attempted to gain control of Mr. Mistic by placing him into handcuffs due to his unexplained actions.
"Mr. Mistic resisted the officers, and a physical altercation took place. The incident was reviewed by former Chief Christian Malanka and the officers' actions were deemed to be appropriate."
Idaho Springs police department alleged that officer Hanning had suffered a broken leg due to the altercation — while Mistic's lawsuit says that Hanning was responsible for his own injury.
Mr Hanning was previously dismissed from his role following the reported assault of Michael Clark, 75, in July of 2021.
Per Mistic's lawsuit, he was incarcerated for four months on charges of second-degree assault of a law enforcement officer, and resisting arrest. He also claims that he was denied an interpretation and struggled to communicate with his peers in the jail.
The charges were eventually dismissed.
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