Linda A. Krutsinger 13

State and local police are training for situations involving speech-impaired people following the shooting deaths of two deaf men in Illinois in 1996.

In October, about a year after the deaths, would-be state police troopers began specialized training about hearing loss, the Americans with Disabilities Act and the use of new communications tools.

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Police shot two deaf men to death in 1996 one in the Chicago suburb of Forest View and the other in the small town of White Hall. Although investigators ruled both incidents justified, they raised concerns about officers’ ability to communicate with deaf people.

Officers have been issued sign language communication cards, Lt. Charles Mays, District 13 patrol commander in Du Quoin, said. The cards show how to make the most common signs officers would need to communicate and a complete alphabet.

Police worked with organizations for the deaf to help develop the communication cards and identify common errors made when hearing individuals meet deaf people.

Mays said officers need to understand that it is vital to maintain eye contact with deaf people who read lips and to ensure that the person stopped for a traffic violation is not ignoring the officer but has a communication problem.

Most of the time a hearing-impaired person will present the officer with a card stating that they are impaired, Mays said. On the rare instance when that doesn’t happen, it is vital to provide the officers with an alternative tool.

Members of the Carbondale and SIUC police departments rely on the services of a sign language interpreter when they are faced with communications problems with hearing-impaired individuals.

We currently do not have anyone on staff who does signing, Lt. Andrew Smith, SIUC Police operation commander, said. Using the services of interpreters is the most efficient way for us to deal with any language problems that may occur.

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Carbondale Police Sgt. Luanne Brown said city law enforcement officers receive training in alternative communications during basic training.

The department relies on the services of interpreters through the SIUC Foreign Language Department to deal with specific incidents as they arise, Brown said.

Mays said the District 13 office has added several TDD phone lines to the department to facilitate the needs of hearing-impaired individuals. A TDD is a type of text telephone used nationwide through Telecommunications Relay Services.

We are doing everything we can to make sure we do serve and protect the members of our community, Mays said, all the members of our community.