A Colorado man who is deaf and uses sign language to communicate said two Idaho Springs officers slammed him to the ground during an arrest despite his attempts to tell police that he could not understand their commands.
Brady Mistic said he was wrongfully jailed for four months over the Sept. 17, 2019 incident. He’s now suing Officers Nicholas Hanning and Ellie Summers, as well as the city of Idaho Springs and the Clear Creek County Board of Commissioners.
The suit, filed this month in the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado, says the incident began just after 7:30 p.m. with Mistic allegedly running a stop sign before he pulled into the parking lot of a laundry mat. Unaware that police had followed him into the parking lot, Mistic exited his vehicle and began walking toward the laundry mat, according to the lawsuit.
“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 states. “He had no idea what was happening, what the police were doing, or if the officers’ presence had anything to do with him.”
Mistic stopped walking and used his hands in an attempt to communicate with the officers, the lawsuit says. Mistic uses American Sign Language to communicate, is unable to read lips and can vocalize only a few words, according to the suit. He usually writes down messages on a piece of paper to communicate with people who do not know sign language.
The lawsuit claims that without any “warning or attempt to communicate,” Hanning grabbed Mistic by the sweatshirt and threw him on the ground causing Mistic’s head to hit the concrete.
“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 says. “On the ground, defendant Summers joined in, grabbing Mr. Mistic. … Defendant Summers pulled out her Taser and drive stunned Mr. Mistic.”
Mistic tried to communicate with the officers by saying “no ears” in an attempt to explain that he is deaf, but it did not make a difference.
“Defendant Summers ignored Mr. Mistic’s plea and then tased Mr. Mistic a second time,” the complaint states.
Hanning and Summers could not be reached at phone numbers listed for them. The Idaho Springs Police Department defended the officers’ actions, saying that Mistic approached a “clearly marked patrol car” that had its emergency lights activated.
“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 police department said in an online statement.
“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,” the statement continued. “Mr. Mistic resisted the officers, and a physical altercation took place.”
Police said Mistic was taken to the hospital for an evaluation and then transferred to the Clear Creek County jail.
“The incident was reviewed by former Chief Christian Malanka and the officers’ actions were deemed to be appropriate,” according to the department.
The police statement identified Hanning as a former officer with the department, but did not specify when he left or the reasoning behind it.
Idaho Springs police said in their statement that Mistic’s “resistive actions” led to Hanning breaking his leg during the 2019 arrest. The lawsuit alleges that Hanning caused his own injury.
The suit also claims that at some point officer Summers realized Mistic was deaf and relayed that information to responding officers and to emergency medical services. Still, Mistic was jailed for four months on charges of second-degree assault on a police officer and resisting arrest. During his time in jail, the suit alleges that Mistic was denied an interpreter and had trouble communicating with jail staff.
The charges were eventually dismissed and Mistic was released, according to the lawsuit.
A spokesperson for the city of Idaho Springs referred NBC News to the police statement and the county board of commissioners did not immediately return a request for comment.
Mistic is seeking compensation for physical and emotional harm, as well as pain and suffering.
Source: | This article originally belongs to Nbcnews.com
