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Accusations fly after deaf man charged
St. Paul Pioneer Press | 12/05/2006 | Accusations fly after deaf man charged
Web-driven outrage leads St. Paul cops to ask whether driver or officer struck first
Pictures bouncing by e-mail through the Twin Cities deaf community are jarring — they show a well-known local activist with black eyes and blood on his shirt. The tale accompanying the photos is sparking outrage.
As the story goes, a St. Paul police officer stopped Doug Bahl for running a red light. When Bahl tried to communicate that he was deaf, the account continues, he was sprayed with a chemical irritant and roughed up.
"It sounds like this gentleman was treated appallingly by the police and it was entirely avoidable on the part of police," said Joy Bartscher, executive director of the Neighborhood Justice Center, which is representing Bahl.
But the police version portrays Bahl as the aggressor. The 56-year-old college instructor hit Stephen Bobrowski, a St. Paul police officer for one year, on the arm and bit his thumb, according to a criminal complaint charging Bahl with obstructing legal process with force.
Firsthand information is hard to come by: Bahl didn't respond to messages, and his attorney has advised him not to talk to the media. Police aren't commenting while an internal affairs investigation is under way.
The complaint, filed Nov. 20 in Ramsey County District Court, says Bahl went through a red light at Marshall Avenue and Finn Street at 5 p.m. Nov. 17.
"When the officer approached the vehicle, the defendant would not speak with the officers," according to the complaint. "He would shake his head and make a negative gesture, as if stating, 'no.' All of a sudden, the defendant grabbed the officer's jacket and pulled the officer to the car."
Bahl then punched and bit Bobrowski, the complaint said. Police sprayed Bahl with a chemical irritant, according to a police report, which doesn't note any other use of police force.
Internal affairs investigations are usually prompted by outside complaints, though no one requested one in this case, police spokesman Tom Walsh said. Because of the rash of stories circulating about what allegedly happened, the department initiated an investigation about 10 days ago, he said.
Bahl has been an American Sign Language instructor in St. Paul College's interpreter training program for 16 years, according to the college. He is the former president of the Minnesota Association of Deaf Citizens and is active at Charles Thompson Memorial Hall, a social club for the deaf in St. Paul.
Electronic messages and blog items circulating acknowledge that people have only "sketchy" information about what happened. They say the officer who pulled Bahl over tried to speak to him and that Bahl held up a hand for him to wait. Bahl then reached for a pen and paper, something noted in the messages as a "mistake" because the officer didn't know what Bahl was reaching for.
Bahl panicked after the officer sprayed him with the chemical irritant because then he was not only deaf, but also virtually blind, according to the messages. Bahl began struggling and continued trying to convey to the officer that he was deaf and needed an interpreter.
Bahl's son, who couldn't be reached for comment, apparently sent out an e-mail with the photographs of his father and this message: "They beat the crap, I mean crap, out (of) my dad. All he asked was for an interpreter and they said, 'no,' sprayed him with mace, almost broke his wrist, kicked him in ribs," used a Taser "and dragged him on pavement. All this just for a light infraction."
Ricky Taylor, who is based in Washington, D.C., and calls his Web site the nation's most popular blog for the deaf in the United States, Canada and Europe, said he "was floored with e-mails" from people in the region about Bahl. He posted a message Sunday about Bahl with the headline, "What Else is New? Cops Beats Deaf Guy."
St. Paul police officers receive training in the police academy about interacting with deaf and hearing-impaired people, including how to identify when someone is deaf and how to ask for a driver's license, Walsh said. Police also have had in-service training in recent years on the subject, he said.
St. Paul Pioneer Press | 12/05/2006 | Accusations fly after deaf man charged
Web-driven outrage leads St. Paul cops to ask whether driver or officer struck first
Pictures bouncing by e-mail through the Twin Cities deaf community are jarring — they show a well-known local activist with black eyes and blood on his shirt. The tale accompanying the photos is sparking outrage.
As the story goes, a St. Paul police officer stopped Doug Bahl for running a red light. When Bahl tried to communicate that he was deaf, the account continues, he was sprayed with a chemical irritant and roughed up.
"It sounds like this gentleman was treated appallingly by the police and it was entirely avoidable on the part of police," said Joy Bartscher, executive director of the Neighborhood Justice Center, which is representing Bahl.
But the police version portrays Bahl as the aggressor. The 56-year-old college instructor hit Stephen Bobrowski, a St. Paul police officer for one year, on the arm and bit his thumb, according to a criminal complaint charging Bahl with obstructing legal process with force.
Firsthand information is hard to come by: Bahl didn't respond to messages, and his attorney has advised him not to talk to the media. Police aren't commenting while an internal affairs investigation is under way.
The complaint, filed Nov. 20 in Ramsey County District Court, says Bahl went through a red light at Marshall Avenue and Finn Street at 5 p.m. Nov. 17.
"When the officer approached the vehicle, the defendant would not speak with the officers," according to the complaint. "He would shake his head and make a negative gesture, as if stating, 'no.' All of a sudden, the defendant grabbed the officer's jacket and pulled the officer to the car."
Bahl then punched and bit Bobrowski, the complaint said. Police sprayed Bahl with a chemical irritant, according to a police report, which doesn't note any other use of police force.
Internal affairs investigations are usually prompted by outside complaints, though no one requested one in this case, police spokesman Tom Walsh said. Because of the rash of stories circulating about what allegedly happened, the department initiated an investigation about 10 days ago, he said.
Bahl has been an American Sign Language instructor in St. Paul College's interpreter training program for 16 years, according to the college. He is the former president of the Minnesota Association of Deaf Citizens and is active at Charles Thompson Memorial Hall, a social club for the deaf in St. Paul.
Electronic messages and blog items circulating acknowledge that people have only "sketchy" information about what happened. They say the officer who pulled Bahl over tried to speak to him and that Bahl held up a hand for him to wait. Bahl then reached for a pen and paper, something noted in the messages as a "mistake" because the officer didn't know what Bahl was reaching for.
Bahl panicked after the officer sprayed him with the chemical irritant because then he was not only deaf, but also virtually blind, according to the messages. Bahl began struggling and continued trying to convey to the officer that he was deaf and needed an interpreter.
Bahl's son, who couldn't be reached for comment, apparently sent out an e-mail with the photographs of his father and this message: "They beat the crap, I mean crap, out (of) my dad. All he asked was for an interpreter and they said, 'no,' sprayed him with mace, almost broke his wrist, kicked him in ribs," used a Taser "and dragged him on pavement. All this just for a light infraction."
Ricky Taylor, who is based in Washington, D.C., and calls his Web site the nation's most popular blog for the deaf in the United States, Canada and Europe, said he "was floored with e-mails" from people in the region about Bahl. He posted a message Sunday about Bahl with the headline, "What Else is New? Cops Beats Deaf Guy."
St. Paul police officers receive training in the police academy about interacting with deaf and hearing-impaired people, including how to identify when someone is deaf and how to ask for a driver's license, Walsh said. Police also have had in-service training in recent years on the subject, he said.
