A North Carolina police officer fatally shot a speech and hearing impaired man just feet away from his home.
Daniel Harris, 29, was shot after reportedly being pulled over for a traffic violation. According to authorities, Harris led the officer, Jermaine Saunders, on a pursuit before halting near his home.
As it turns out, the 29-year old father of one is both deaf and mute. While it had not been confirmed, his family speculated that he was attempting to make it home in order to get help to better communicate with the officer.
According to witnesses, Harris was shot within seconds of exiting his vehicle. Witnesses say that the man was attempting to communicate with Saunders using sign language when he was shot.
Conflicting reports speculate an altercation prior to the shots being let off, however one neighbor specifically recalls Harris being shot within 10 seconds of seeing the patrol car.
Harris was unarmed.
“It was surreal, you just don’t expect to see something like that,” Harris’ neighbor Mark Barringer told WCNC. “When the gunshot went off, it was scary. They should’ve deescalated and been trained to realize that this is an entirely different situation, you’re pulling someone over who is deaf. To me, what happened is totally unacceptable.”
Saunders has been place on administrative paid leave and will be questioned in one week.
