Actress Marlee Matlin, who is deaf and the wife of a police officer, teamed up with the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and advocacy group HEARD, on an American Sign Language video to ensure deaf people know their rights when interacting with law enforcement. (Also captioned).
When police officers don’t realize deaf and hard of hearing people can’t hear them, it has led to police officers brutally assaulting deaf people and other tragedies.
While this video aims to ensure that deaf people know their rights, they can only do so much. It is the responsibility of police departments to ensure that their officers are adequately trained.
For more information, go to www.aclu.org/deafrights