Meeting with Councilwoman Atkin's Staff Aide
This morning at 9:30am, I met with Pam from Councilwoman Toni Atkin's office in Downtown.
The meeting was very good and was the first time I felt like the city was paying attention to what we had to say. Pam clarified many things. She explained that there was a meeting with one of the police captains and Ashley Walker (the Human Relations Committee Director) and they talked about this issue which was good to know because it means they were listening to us.
Pam also explained in depth that it was not a Deaf Hate Crime and she went into some depth to explain the situation more clearly and I came away satisified but asked for a complete police report (with confidential information blacked out) to post that would help the Deaf Community feel comfortable with the path that the police department is taking. She will work on that and get back to us about that.
I explained to her about our experience with Officer Donelson and Keith Corry from Councilwoman Frye's office. I explained that if they had been receptive to the Deaf Community and simply shown a willingness to look into this and talk to people and try to understand the Deaf Community's perspective and then come back with a lot of information to show that this was not a Deaf Hate Crime as it seemed to be then none of this would have happened. She understood how this whole thing unfolded and I made it clear to her that the issue now is communication and awareness of the Deaf Community from the Police Department's end and that the goal now was to meet with Police Chief next Wednesday afternoon and explain how our community felt shut out, ignored and belittled by Officer Donelson's behavior in constantly saying it was a gang incident instead of trying to understand our culture and figure out if our perspective was valid in this case by reaching out to our community.
Overall, all I can say is that the police department and city hall needs more people like Pam! Pam did an excellent job and followed up on this issue and met with people and was really interested in this issue! If Pam ever decides to run for office then I am all for her!
The goal now is to prepare for the meeting with the Police Chief on Wednesday, September 6th at 4:15pm. I am hoping to start reaching out to as many Deaf people in San Diego and ask them if they have had any problems with the Police Department and that this is a chance to build a new bridge with the Police Department and educate them on the Deaf Community and our issues. I did sense some scorn against the police department from some Deaf Community members especially one person who mentioned he had been pulled over a few months ago and the police officer yelled to test his hearing to see if he really was Deaf. These are the types of complaints we need to raise with the Police Department that way in the future they will be aware of our community and culture and hopefully they will take better steps of action in meeting our needs instead of automatically assuming that they know what is happening without listening to what we have to say.
After leaving the meeting, Jared Evans was able to alert me to an article that appeared in the city newspaper today. I copied and pasted it below. You can find it at the bottom of the page at this link : http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20060830/news_7m30ccrime.html or read below for more information. Please note that the Police Department heard our complaints and now is answering it directly through the media. E-mailing and bothering the leaders of San Diego DOES WORK! Good job to everyone who e-mailed them!
Attackers of deaf man sought by police
CITY HEIGHTS – Police are seeking the public's help in finding the people who attacked a deaf man on the basketball courts at Rosa Parks Elementary School.
The 18-year-old victim, who is from Sudan, was playing ball by himself on the courts on Landis Street about 5:30 p.m. Aug. 13. About seven young men, all in their early 20s, approached him, chased him down and beat him for no apparent reason, San Diego police Detective Rob Newquist said.
The victim suffered a broken eye socket and bruising to his nose and upper body. He was treated at a hospital and released.
“He is doing OK; I just visited with him,” Newquist said yesterday, adding, “Several people were in the area and may have seen those responsible.”
Police do not believe the man was attacked because he is deaf.
“We have no indication that this is a hate crime, or that the victim was singled out because he is deaf,” Newquist said.
Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Stoppers at (888) 580-TIPS.
The meeting was very good and was the first time I felt like the city was paying attention to what we had to say. Pam clarified many things. She explained that there was a meeting with one of the police captains and Ashley Walker (the Human Relations Committee Director) and they talked about this issue which was good to know because it means they were listening to us.
Pam also explained in depth that it was not a Deaf Hate Crime and she went into some depth to explain the situation more clearly and I came away satisified but asked for a complete police report (with confidential information blacked out) to post that would help the Deaf Community feel comfortable with the path that the police department is taking. She will work on that and get back to us about that.
I explained to her about our experience with Officer Donelson and Keith Corry from Councilwoman Frye's office. I explained that if they had been receptive to the Deaf Community and simply shown a willingness to look into this and talk to people and try to understand the Deaf Community's perspective and then come back with a lot of information to show that this was not a Deaf Hate Crime as it seemed to be then none of this would have happened. She understood how this whole thing unfolded and I made it clear to her that the issue now is communication and awareness of the Deaf Community from the Police Department's end and that the goal now was to meet with Police Chief next Wednesday afternoon and explain how our community felt shut out, ignored and belittled by Officer Donelson's behavior in constantly saying it was a gang incident instead of trying to understand our culture and figure out if our perspective was valid in this case by reaching out to our community.
Overall, all I can say is that the police department and city hall needs more people like Pam! Pam did an excellent job and followed up on this issue and met with people and was really interested in this issue! If Pam ever decides to run for office then I am all for her!
The goal now is to prepare for the meeting with the Police Chief on Wednesday, September 6th at 4:15pm. I am hoping to start reaching out to as many Deaf people in San Diego and ask them if they have had any problems with the Police Department and that this is a chance to build a new bridge with the Police Department and educate them on the Deaf Community and our issues. I did sense some scorn against the police department from some Deaf Community members especially one person who mentioned he had been pulled over a few months ago and the police officer yelled to test his hearing to see if he really was Deaf. These are the types of complaints we need to raise with the Police Department that way in the future they will be aware of our community and culture and hopefully they will take better steps of action in meeting our needs instead of automatically assuming that they know what is happening without listening to what we have to say.
After leaving the meeting, Jared Evans was able to alert me to an article that appeared in the city newspaper today. I copied and pasted it below. You can find it at the bottom of the page at this link : http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20060830/news_7m30ccrime.html or read below for more information. Please note that the Police Department heard our complaints and now is answering it directly through the media. E-mailing and bothering the leaders of San Diego DOES WORK! Good job to everyone who e-mailed them!
Attackers of deaf man sought by police
CITY HEIGHTS – Police are seeking the public's help in finding the people who attacked a deaf man on the basketball courts at Rosa Parks Elementary School.
The 18-year-old victim, who is from Sudan, was playing ball by himself on the courts on Landis Street about 5:30 p.m. Aug. 13. About seven young men, all in their early 20s, approached him, chased him down and beat him for no apparent reason, San Diego police Detective Rob Newquist said.
The victim suffered a broken eye socket and bruising to his nose and upper body. He was treated at a hospital and released.
“He is doing OK; I just visited with him,” Newquist said yesterday, adding, “Several people were in the area and may have seen those responsible.”
Police do not believe the man was attacked because he is deaf.
“We have no indication that this is a hate crime, or that the victim was singled out because he is deaf,” Newquist said.
Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Stoppers at (888) 580-TIPS.
posted by Pepe C. at 1:04 PM
4 Comments:
~Good Luck tonight~
Let them know that they can bridge the gap between cops and deaf community by taking this certain ASL course offered at Miramar College (which is FOR cops only) taught by Simone Laubenthal. Well that was last time I checked-- almost a year ago since last time I saw her. So there is an opportunity for cops to dispatch their officers to Miramar University to expand their knowledge of cultures that they will encounter in their line of duty.
I am just glad that the smoke screen has cleared up and the truth came through.
Pepe,
Please let us know what exactly did Pam say that it is not Deaf Hate Crime? Can you elaborate by using examples how she came up with this conclusion?
Can you please follow up for many of us -- by using this actual incident - and that incident is NOT related to Deaf Hate Crime --- then what kind of incident that WILL be considered as Deaf Hate Crime....
Please elaborate.
Thanks
I read an article in the newspaper about beaten deaf man. Interesting!
Hey guys, there's another English person about, :)
I'm a new on deafhatecrime.blogspot.com
looking forward to speaking to you guys soon
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