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Communication gap frustrates deaf drivers, police | democratandchronicle.com | Democrat and Chronicle
For a hearing driver, getting a traffic ticket is a relatively straightforward experience.
But if you're deaf, will you leave the scene knowing exactly why you were pulled over and what you should do next?
It depends on the willingness of both parties to bridge the communication gap, say deaf individuals and local law enforcement officials. The resources available to police officers in dealing with the deaf and hard-of-hearing community vary by department, and the deaf community — like any population — is not uniformly aware of police expectations in the event of an arrest, traffic stop or emergency situation.
"There's always a problem with the deaf population and the police," said Dean DeRusso, deaf systems advocate for the Rochester Center for Independent Living, speaking through an interpreter. "There are a lot of misunderstandings, there's a lot of confusion. ... Most of time it's a lack of knowledge and a lack of training ... with both."
Police recruits do receive deaf sensitivity training through the academy, and a recent forum between Rochester police and members of the deaf community allowed both sides to discuss concerns and challenges. But DeRusso and others say more can be done.
Problems on the road
Robert Rademacher of Henrietta is going to Pittsford Town Court today to fight a traffic ticket he believes he was issued unfairly. Rademacher, who is deaf, was at Mendon Ponds Park last month when a man in a black T-shirt walked up and told him to move his sport-utility vehicle from the grassy area by the boat launch.
Rademacher didn't think the man looked like a park employee. He wrote a note asking the employee to show some identification. The employee refused to show ID, Rademacher says, and an argument ensued. The employee ended up calling 911, and Rademacher left the park.
A Monroe County Sheriff's deputy pulled Rademacher over a few minutes later, saying he'd received a call from park staff. Rademacher says the deputy wrote him a ticket for a broken tail light and for not wearing a hearing aid. The sheriff's office confirmed the citations, which were issued on July 6.
According to the state Department of Motor Vehicles, deaf or hard-of-hearing drivers must either wear a hearing aid or have full view mirrors on their car. The term "full view mirrors" means a rearview mirror plus two side mirrors, with which most cars are already equipped. Rademacher's SUV was no exception. And a hearing aid wouldn't help Rademacher anyway, since he's deaf.
"I told (the deputy) he was wrong, and he said, 'No, you're wrong,'" Rademacher recounted through an interpreter. "They wanted to give me a ticket for something. They were trying to get back at me."
Sheriff's spokesman Cpl. John Helfer declined to comment on the details of the situation, saying the sheriff's office doesn't discuss traffic infractions.
DeRusso says it's uncommon for deaf and hard-of-hearing drivers in this area to be cited improperly for not wearing a hearing aid. Because Rochester has a large, vibrant deaf community, there's probably more awareness here than other places.
Still, the occasional unfair ticket gets written, DeRusso says, often because an officer misunderstands the regulation and doesn't know that the standard mirrors are enough.
"When it happens, it's very annoying," he said.
Making the effort
Investigator Kimberly Doerr isn't a professional sign language interpreter, but her signing skills have made her popular with deaf and hard-of-hearing individuals who live within the jurisdiction of the Monroe County Sheriff's Office.
"I've found the deaf community to be extremely accepting of my fumbling with the (signing) I do," Doerr said. "They're appreciative of fact that they don't have to write on a piece of paper."
Doerr, a 1989 Rochester Institute of Technology graduate, handles a lot of the informal communication between deaf individuals and the sheriff's office. If a deaf person is accused of a serious crime, then a professional interpreter gets involved, she says. But in many cases — if a deaf person witnesses a crime or is the victim of a theft, for example — she's called in to help smooth the way. Knowing American Sign Language makes a big difference, she says.
"It's very difficult to calm somebody down when you can't communicate with them, and that's regardless of any language barrier," Doerr said.
Doerr has forged strong relationships with many deaf and hard-of-hearing families. She spent most of her career in the sheriff's C-Zone, which covers western suburbs including Chili and Churchville. When she was promoted to investigator, she eventually was moved to the B-Zone's Henrietta barracks.
"I still had calls from (deaf and hard-of-hearing) people in C-Zone ... even though I wasn't a deputy anymore," Doerr said. "So they build up a rapport with you."
The Rochester Police Department's liaison to the deaf community, Officer Renée Nicholls, has a cell phone equipped with text messaging so she can communicate with deaf individuals who make contact with the police department. She's also learning ASL at the National Technical Institute for the Deaf.
If a situation develops involving a deaf person, Nicholls often responds. She's new to the post, and so far she hasn't had to come in at night when she's off-duty. But she probably will at some point.
"Anytime they need my assistance, the bosses and the 911 center have my number," she said.
If Doerr or Nicholls is not available, their respective agencies have "interpretype" machines that allow deaf people to type back and forth with a deputy or officer. This can be easier than writing with pencil and paper.
RIT as a model
It seems few area departments are as specialized in dealing with the deaf community as RIT's security dispatch center. There, officers monitor a computer screen that always has an instant message window up and running. When deaf students need assistance, they send a message to the public safety office, and an officer responds to it as if it were a phone call.
There are more than 1,200 deaf and hard-of-hearing students attending RIT — many of whom are enrolled in NTID — comprising more than 6 percent of the student body.
Many deaf students have BlackBerry handhelds or other wireless devices, so messaging the officers is possible from almost anywhere, said Chris Denninger, the school's public safety director.
"TTY has gone by the wayside," said Denninger, referring to teletypewriters. Students now prefer instant messaging, he said: "TTY probably gets used once a year."
The security department also has crisis interpreters on-call 24 hours a day. And everyone on RIT's patrol staff must take two 10-week courses in ASL to qualify for a promotion. A second promotion is tied to the completion of a third course, Denninger said.
The RIT public safety department conducts training sessions with volunteer emergency departments, Greece Special Police and other agencies two to three times a year, Denninger said.
Improvements possible
While many in the deaf community understand it's impractical to get an interpreter for minor run-ins with police, some say there are officers who lack basic courtesy.
Daniel Mark of Webster, who is deaf, says he was disrespected by a Webster police officer who pulled over his son last month on Backus Road. The officer refused to acknowledge Mark or explain why his son, who has his motorcycle permit, was ticketed, Mark says.
Mark doesn't expect every officer to know sign language.
"Take out paper and pen," he said by e-mail. "Don't ignore deaf people — we won't go away. We need our police officers and they need to be educated, not intimidated by (an) inability to communicate."
At the same time, many officers do reach out. Sally Taylor of Sodus, Wayne County, former editor of Deaf Rochester News, once mistakenly dialed 911 when she meant to dial the phone relay service, which is 711. A sheriff's deputy arrived at her house to check on her, and she realized what she'd done.
"He instructed me what to do next time I 'goofed' — call back and explain that it was a mistake," Taylor said by e-mail. "He was very courteous about this."
Doerr thinks the Monroe County Sheriff's Office should encourage more deputies and investigators to become trained professional interpreters by funding such training. That way, the agency could handle serious investigations completely in-house without third-party interpreters.
Upgrades to the 911 dispatch center also would strengthen the relationship between police and the deaf community, Dean DeRusso said.
If a deaf person calls 911, DeRusso believes there should be a way for dispatchers to log that information into a computer. Then, if the person calls again, dispatchers will know the person is deaf and can alert responding officers.
DeRusso also thinks the state should allow deaf individuals to become police officers. Currently a minimum level of hearing is required, but DeRusso says if members of the police force were deaf, officers would become more comfortable with deaf culture.
"I don't see any problem with having a deaf person giving someone a ticket," DeRusso said through an interpreter. "I understand that hearing people can hear from behind and deaf people don't have that. But you can train with a dog, a hearing dog. There are so many solutions."
For a hearing driver, getting a traffic ticket is a relatively straightforward experience.
But if you're deaf, will you leave the scene knowing exactly why you were pulled over and what you should do next?
It depends on the willingness of both parties to bridge the communication gap, say deaf individuals and local law enforcement officials. The resources available to police officers in dealing with the deaf and hard-of-hearing community vary by department, and the deaf community — like any population — is not uniformly aware of police expectations in the event of an arrest, traffic stop or emergency situation.
"There's always a problem with the deaf population and the police," said Dean DeRusso, deaf systems advocate for the Rochester Center for Independent Living, speaking through an interpreter. "There are a lot of misunderstandings, there's a lot of confusion. ... Most of time it's a lack of knowledge and a lack of training ... with both."
Police recruits do receive deaf sensitivity training through the academy, and a recent forum between Rochester police and members of the deaf community allowed both sides to discuss concerns and challenges. But DeRusso and others say more can be done.
Problems on the road
Robert Rademacher of Henrietta is going to Pittsford Town Court today to fight a traffic ticket he believes he was issued unfairly. Rademacher, who is deaf, was at Mendon Ponds Park last month when a man in a black T-shirt walked up and told him to move his sport-utility vehicle from the grassy area by the boat launch.
Rademacher didn't think the man looked like a park employee. He wrote a note asking the employee to show some identification. The employee refused to show ID, Rademacher says, and an argument ensued. The employee ended up calling 911, and Rademacher left the park.
A Monroe County Sheriff's deputy pulled Rademacher over a few minutes later, saying he'd received a call from park staff. Rademacher says the deputy wrote him a ticket for a broken tail light and for not wearing a hearing aid. The sheriff's office confirmed the citations, which were issued on July 6.
According to the state Department of Motor Vehicles, deaf or hard-of-hearing drivers must either wear a hearing aid or have full view mirrors on their car. The term "full view mirrors" means a rearview mirror plus two side mirrors, with which most cars are already equipped. Rademacher's SUV was no exception. And a hearing aid wouldn't help Rademacher anyway, since he's deaf.
"I told (the deputy) he was wrong, and he said, 'No, you're wrong,'" Rademacher recounted through an interpreter. "They wanted to give me a ticket for something. They were trying to get back at me."
Sheriff's spokesman Cpl. John Helfer declined to comment on the details of the situation, saying the sheriff's office doesn't discuss traffic infractions.
DeRusso says it's uncommon for deaf and hard-of-hearing drivers in this area to be cited improperly for not wearing a hearing aid. Because Rochester has a large, vibrant deaf community, there's probably more awareness here than other places.
Still, the occasional unfair ticket gets written, DeRusso says, often because an officer misunderstands the regulation and doesn't know that the standard mirrors are enough.
"When it happens, it's very annoying," he said.
Making the effort
Investigator Kimberly Doerr isn't a professional sign language interpreter, but her signing skills have made her popular with deaf and hard-of-hearing individuals who live within the jurisdiction of the Monroe County Sheriff's Office.
"I've found the deaf community to be extremely accepting of my fumbling with the (signing) I do," Doerr said. "They're appreciative of fact that they don't have to write on a piece of paper."
Doerr, a 1989 Rochester Institute of Technology graduate, handles a lot of the informal communication between deaf individuals and the sheriff's office. If a deaf person is accused of a serious crime, then a professional interpreter gets involved, she says. But in many cases — if a deaf person witnesses a crime or is the victim of a theft, for example — she's called in to help smooth the way. Knowing American Sign Language makes a big difference, she says.
"It's very difficult to calm somebody down when you can't communicate with them, and that's regardless of any language barrier," Doerr said.
Doerr has forged strong relationships with many deaf and hard-of-hearing families. She spent most of her career in the sheriff's C-Zone, which covers western suburbs including Chili and Churchville. When she was promoted to investigator, she eventually was moved to the B-Zone's Henrietta barracks.
"I still had calls from (deaf and hard-of-hearing) people in C-Zone ... even though I wasn't a deputy anymore," Doerr said. "So they build up a rapport with you."
The Rochester Police Department's liaison to the deaf community, Officer Renée Nicholls, has a cell phone equipped with text messaging so she can communicate with deaf individuals who make contact with the police department. She's also learning ASL at the National Technical Institute for the Deaf.
If a situation develops involving a deaf person, Nicholls often responds. She's new to the post, and so far she hasn't had to come in at night when she's off-duty. But she probably will at some point.
"Anytime they need my assistance, the bosses and the 911 center have my number," she said.
If Doerr or Nicholls is not available, their respective agencies have "interpretype" machines that allow deaf people to type back and forth with a deputy or officer. This can be easier than writing with pencil and paper.
RIT as a model
It seems few area departments are as specialized in dealing with the deaf community as RIT's security dispatch center. There, officers monitor a computer screen that always has an instant message window up and running. When deaf students need assistance, they send a message to the public safety office, and an officer responds to it as if it were a phone call.
There are more than 1,200 deaf and hard-of-hearing students attending RIT — many of whom are enrolled in NTID — comprising more than 6 percent of the student body.
Many deaf students have BlackBerry handhelds or other wireless devices, so messaging the officers is possible from almost anywhere, said Chris Denninger, the school's public safety director.
"TTY has gone by the wayside," said Denninger, referring to teletypewriters. Students now prefer instant messaging, he said: "TTY probably gets used once a year."
The security department also has crisis interpreters on-call 24 hours a day. And everyone on RIT's patrol staff must take two 10-week courses in ASL to qualify for a promotion. A second promotion is tied to the completion of a third course, Denninger said.
The RIT public safety department conducts training sessions with volunteer emergency departments, Greece Special Police and other agencies two to three times a year, Denninger said.
Improvements possible
While many in the deaf community understand it's impractical to get an interpreter for minor run-ins with police, some say there are officers who lack basic courtesy.
Daniel Mark of Webster, who is deaf, says he was disrespected by a Webster police officer who pulled over his son last month on Backus Road. The officer refused to acknowledge Mark or explain why his son, who has his motorcycle permit, was ticketed, Mark says.
Mark doesn't expect every officer to know sign language.
"Take out paper and pen," he said by e-mail. "Don't ignore deaf people — we won't go away. We need our police officers and they need to be educated, not intimidated by (an) inability to communicate."
At the same time, many officers do reach out. Sally Taylor of Sodus, Wayne County, former editor of Deaf Rochester News, once mistakenly dialed 911 when she meant to dial the phone relay service, which is 711. A sheriff's deputy arrived at her house to check on her, and she realized what she'd done.
"He instructed me what to do next time I 'goofed' — call back and explain that it was a mistake," Taylor said by e-mail. "He was very courteous about this."
Doerr thinks the Monroe County Sheriff's Office should encourage more deputies and investigators to become trained professional interpreters by funding such training. That way, the agency could handle serious investigations completely in-house without third-party interpreters.
Upgrades to the 911 dispatch center also would strengthen the relationship between police and the deaf community, Dean DeRusso said.
If a deaf person calls 911, DeRusso believes there should be a way for dispatchers to log that information into a computer. Then, if the person calls again, dispatchers will know the person is deaf and can alert responding officers.
DeRusso also thinks the state should allow deaf individuals to become police officers. Currently a minimum level of hearing is required, but DeRusso says if members of the police force were deaf, officers would become more comfortable with deaf culture.
"I don't see any problem with having a deaf person giving someone a ticket," DeRusso said through an interpreter. "I understand that hearing people can hear from behind and deaf people don't have that. But you can train with a dog, a hearing dog. There are so many solutions."
