Way to go, Doug Bahl!
As many people know, Bahl was savagely beaten during a routine traffic stop. Apparently the cop mistook Bahl’s moving the cop’s hand away from his wrist a sign of resistance when actually the pressure on the hand was giving Bahl extreme pain due to his medical problems. Bahl wrote on a pad of paper explaining the reason, but the cop lost his mind, and maced Bahl’s face before jerking him out of the vehicle. Deaf and now blinded, Bahl was unable to respond to the commands of the cop, leading the cop to think Bahl was deliberately disregarding his order, infuriating the cop even further. Vicious beatings, including kicking, resulted.
After being treated at the hospital for his injuries inflicted by the cops, Bahl was jailed for several days without any access to an interpreter or a TTY, leaving his family frantic. His requests for accommodations were ignored by the jail personnel. Finally another kind prisoner took sympathy on him and made a call to his family for him. With the assistance of his family, Bahl was released on bail shortly afterwards.
Now Bahl is back on the news. This time he is suing the city and county for the multiple violations of his civil rights.
Way to go, Doug Bahl. I hope you will get your justice! MZ
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Deaf activist sues county, city over arrest, jail stay
Douglas Bahl says he was not allowed to communicate with family or seek legal advice for three days after a traffic-stop scuffle in St. Paul.
http://www.startribune.com/local/stpaul/26198684.html?location_refer=Most%20Emailed:Homepage:12
As many people know, Bahl was savagely beaten during a routine traffic stop. Apparently the cop mistook Bahl’s moving the cop’s hand away from his wrist a sign of resistance when actually the pressure on the hand was giving Bahl extreme pain due to his medical problems. Bahl wrote on a pad of paper explaining the reason, but the cop lost his mind, and maced Bahl’s face before jerking him out of the vehicle. Deaf and now blinded, Bahl was unable to respond to the commands of the cop, leading the cop to think Bahl was deliberately disregarding his order, infuriating the cop even further. Vicious beatings, including kicking, resulted.
After being treated at the hospital for his injuries inflicted by the cops, Bahl was jailed for several days without any access to an interpreter or a TTY, leaving his family frantic. His requests for accommodations were ignored by the jail personnel. Finally another kind prisoner took sympathy on him and made a call to his family for him. With the assistance of his family, Bahl was released on bail shortly afterwards.
Now Bahl is back on the news. This time he is suing the city and county for the multiple violations of his civil rights.
Way to go, Doug Bahl. I hope you will get your justice! MZ
.
Deaf activist sues county, city over arrest, jail stay
Douglas Bahl says he was not allowed to communicate with family or seek legal advice for three days after a traffic-stop scuffle in St. Paul.
http://www.startribune.com/local/stpaul/26198684.html?location_refer=Most%20Emailed:Homepage:12
August 4th, 2008 at 12:07 pm
Good to hear about it. Hopefully the criminal justice system will learn the lesson from this lawsuit…
August 4th, 2008 at 1:12 pm
Doug has other motives than the actual incident to be suing. This will end up as another great travesty.
August 4th, 2008 at 1:22 pm
Seeing that you use a name almost similar to the first commenter, why should we believe you?
Obviously being savagely beaten up (we have seen the pictures of Bahl heavily bruised) and staying in the jail incommunicado for three days would be more than sufficient for a good civil rights lawsuit.
It would be my guess that you work for the police department, the city or the county. Your claims are so ludicrous, they are actually downright laughable.
August 4th, 2008 at 1:28 pm
Doug,
Je suis tout á fait d’accord!
Bonne chance!
August 4th, 2008 at 1:31 pm
Are the commenter #1 and commenter #2
the same person?
August 4th, 2008 at 1:48 pm
That was not me… must be another person with the same Karen but last name spelled differently (Mays). I do not know Doug personally. Thanks.
August 4th, 2008 at 2:01 pm
Great news … I will be thinking of Doug.
August 4th, 2008 at 3:17 pm
I also was a victim of overzealous law enforcement manhandlings few months ago at the Pentagon Metrorail station.
I waved to two African American female and male to watch out for my extended leg within the disabled/senior citizen area of the Metrorail. They dismissed me, then ranted against me. The bus driver ganged up on me about extending my leg too much. Other people complied and walked around my leg or walked over it. The bus driver demanded that I moved my leg back thru voice. I don’t understand her.
The next thing, I knew was the sudden arrest of me at the Pentagon Metrorail station. The overzealous military police officer, another African American, strongly put his arm on my neck and slammed me on the concrete wall and handcuffed me. That military police officer yelled at me. I couldn’t communicate at all. He pulled things out of my clothes and tossed them pretty ####### the concrete surface.
Another Pentagon military officer, Causcasian himself, asked me by written communication - “Are you deaf?” I nodded my head “Yes”. That officer unhandcuffed me and asked for my name. I gave him my ID from the side pocket of winter coat along with my wallet. Unbelievable!
Thank Goodness for the eyewitness came to volunteer and told the military police officers what really happened. I was suddenly let go. The African American military police officer told me not to go to the Pentagon Metrorail station at all. I asked him why, then was told “90 days”. I have done nothing wrong.
Yes, some African Americans like to get revenge on white people or get even with me and other white people for past racism.
I am very troubled of how I have been treated by overzealous law enforcement officers. I already lost my respect for them so far.
The law enforcement community must get together with the deaf community how to resolve and prevent any kind of tragedy.
I hope to kick that African American military officer’s rear side someday or put curse on him and his family. I never forget that kind of rough treatment.
RLM
August 4th, 2008 at 4:03 pm
Hey Doug
Good to see u at DBC ….You gotta stick to the end as you are represented to all of us ( Deaf Community throughout the World ) You better win this case… We are with u all the way !!!!!
August 4th, 2008 at 6:49 pm
hope Doug will serve them right and fair.take care…pray for you :)KH
August 4th, 2008 at 11:04 pm
I am not very happy with too low of lawsuit. Doug Bahl deserved more than 50,thousand what they offered him instead deserve to get extra money 10 thousand dollars for beat him for no reason. he is tried to written to cop for his communication. they assulted him for what.. they know deaf is too low educated. The cop should not assulted.. but they did to Doug.
I don’t agree with too low… The reason why I disagreed $ 50thousand dollars is not big enough!
Good luck, Doug
August 4th, 2008 at 11:06 pm
OOPs.. I mean 50 thousand dollars for beatened.. What about Jail and no contact TTY .. he should to be deserved more than 50 thousand. I think he should be 10 million is much double.
I did wrote comment on other blog.
August 8th, 2008 at 10:57 am
I agree $50,000 is not enough for the agony and misery Doug Bahl and his family were put through. He should be charging those police five MILLION dollars for the beatings and neglect that he had to suffer at their hands!!