Daniel Kevin Harris was a Deaf man, born to a Deaf family, who was shot and killed by a police officer.

Daniel had just moved in with family in their hometown of Charlotte, North Carolina six weeks prior to the shooting.

Killed By Police

On August 18th, 2016, at around 6:15 PM, a trooper, Jermaine Saunders, from the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department led a pursuit that lasted shortly. Officer Saunders attempted to pull-over the vehicle for a speeding violation on interstate 485. Eventually vehicle stopped near a neighborhood and an encounter between the driver and Harris led to a gunshot. The shot fired instantly killed Harris. ^[6]

According to neighbors, there wasn't much of an encounter between Officer Saunders and Harris - they claim the officer shot him immediately after he pulled over and exited the vehicle.

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State Bureau of Investigation have investigated the death of Harris, and will be interviewing Saunders who has been placed on administrative leave. SBI did not mention in their report that Harris was Deaf. ^[0]

Harris was unarmed at the time of the altercation.

Under the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, Police authorities have to follow protocol when dealing with a person with a hearing loss. ^[2]

He was gunned down near the home of his family.

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Records show that Harris has had encounter in 2010 with a police officer before and was arrested for resisting arrest, but some claim it was due to Harris not being able to hear the commands of the officer.

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A foundation has been created to cover the expenses of Harris' burial and cremation process.

The rest of the money will be used to education law enforcement on how to confront Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing people.

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