A deaf Tacoma woman who called police to report an assault in her home says she was instead tased by officers and jailed for three days without access to an interpreter, as required by Washington state law.
Lashonn White says the officers who responded to her 911 call were told repeatedly she was deaf and could only communicate through sign-language, an interpreter and a special video equipped phone.
According to the 911 transcript, a dispatcher told White to wait outside her apartment complex for two Tacoma police officers — identified as Ryan Koskovich and Michael Young.
“All I’m doing is waving my hands in the air, the next thing I know, I’m on the ground, she told KIRO-TV.
White, who has been deaf since birth and has no criminal record, was tased in the ribs and stomach. “Tased me. Tased me! For no reason,” she said.
The officers then handcuff her, further limiting communication, she said.
White’s neighbor, Margaret Sims, said she witnessed the April 6 incident and tried to explain to police White was deaf.
She also said she did not see the officers use hand signals to communicate with White.
“He (Koskovich) admitted he tased her because she thought he was coming at him. Well, what she was doing was running to him. He said ‘stop’ but didn’t put his hand up. And she couldn’t understand that,” Sims said.
KIRO obtained the report filed by the officers, who arrested White on simple assault and obstruction charges. They state they did use appropriate hand signals to communicate with the deaf woman.
“I yelled for White to ‘stop’ and held my right hand up to signal for White to stop. White ignored my commands,” Koskovich said.
Tacoma police told the Daily News the incident is “under investigation.”
The actions of the officers “do not appear to be outside of policy,” Police Officer Naveed Benjamin said.
According to Washington state law, authorities conducting an investigation are required to appoint an interpreter when needed. White said she was left in jail for 60 hours without an interpreter.
Officer Benjamin said police provide paper and pen to those who need to communicate through the written word. It was unclear if White was given this option.
