The members of the United States Deaf Community and its' allies wish to express outrage at Doug Bahl's conviction of "obstruction of a peace officer."

Doug Bahl, a deaf man, was pulled over by the Ramsey County police and Mr. Bahl informed the officers that he was deaf. The police officers, now aware that he was deaf and therefore needed his eyes to understand communication, willfully pepper-sprayed him in his eyes because of his apparent noncompliance with verbal commands. The officers subsequently proceeded to physically assault Mr. Bahl.

Mr. Bahl then was held in jail for four days incommunicado. He was not allowed access to a TTY, a device that enables him to use the phone. He could not contact an attorney, or his family to inform them of his situation. This is a blatant violation of his civil rights and a violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act.

We therefore petition the Ramsey County Sheriff Department in Minnesota to set an example for the rest of the nation by ensuring this unnecessary outrage never happens again by doing the following:

1. Require all officers to attend sensitivity training about cultural and communication differences of the deaf community.

2. Explain how the American Disabilities Act and Section 504 of the 1973 Rehabilitation Act applies to the police when they are dealing with a deaf citizen.

3. Review rules of police handling as applied to deaf citizens, and work with the Deaf Community in procedures of approaching a deaf citizen i.e., what to do and what not to do.

4. Implement a community liaison between the police and the Deaf Community.

Sincerely Yours,

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