An investigation has been launched after a police officer shot dead a deaf and mute driver who witnesses say was trying to communicate using sign language.
Daniel Kevin Harris was pulled over for speeding on Thursday after cops said he led them on a brief pursuit in Charlotte, North Carolina.
As the 29-year-old stopped close to his home a state trooper pulled his gun as Harris got out of his car.
Police say there was a "brief encounter" between the two men before the gun was fired but witnesses claim the father-of-one, who was unarmed, was shot almost instantly. He died at the scene.
Mr Harris’s neighbours are furious over his death. “You’re pulling someone over who is deaf, they are handicapped. To me, what happened is totally unacceptable,” Mark Barringer said.
“They should have de-escalated and been trained to realise that this is an entirely different situation.”
A report by Charlotte-Mecklenburg police stated Mr Harris as being hearing and speech impaired but did not give further details about his impairments.
The state trooper was identified as Jermaine Saunders, who has now been placed on administrative leave.
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