Deaf woman unable to 'hear their orders' beaten by Police


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A Washington woman suffering from mental and hearing disabilities was left with severe bruises on her face after she claims an officer punched over and over her because she could not understand his orders.

Megan Graham, 36, of Federal Way, dialed 911 while being arrested last Monday to complain about police brutality after being pulled over by an officer and hit in the face.

Things quickly spiraled out of control during Graham's run-in with police officers, whom the 36-year-old disabled woman had accused of hitting her several times in the face while attempting to restrain her.

The Federal Way Police Department, however, insists that it was Graham who was violent and disorderly.

The 36-year-old woman now faces a felony assault on an officer charge. She is set to be arraigned June 10.

It all started at around 7.15pm last Monday when Graham pulled into the parking lot of Forest Cove Apartments, where her friend lives.

Moments after the woman stopped the car, a police cruiser drove up behind her with its lights flashing.

Graham was under the impression that the officer spotted her using her cell phone while driving.

Police records indicate that Officer Justin Antholt approached Graham and asked for her license and registration. Graham showed the officer her license, along with an expired insurance card.

In an interview with the station KIRO-TV, Graham, her face still black and blue and swollen, said that she got out of the car, told the officer she was just going to carry her dog to her friend's unit and offered him to accompany her.

According to Graham, because Officer Antholt was speaking to her from his car with its engine running, she never heard him order her to get back into her vehicle.

In the next moment, Graham said the officer lunged at her and grabbed her wrist.

?I pulled my arm back, grabbed my phone and called 911 to call for help,? she said. ?I told the officer I had mental and hearing disabilities, and didn't understand why he was trying to hurt me.'

In the recording of the 911 call obtained by the paper Federal Way Mirror, the 36-year-old woman is heard telling the dispatcher that she is being attacked and asking for help.

?How dare you even touch me,? she told the officer on the call, which captured the officer's voice repeatedly telling Graham 'You are under arrest,' 'put your hands behind your back' and 'stop resisting.'

A second officer, identified as Ashley Crispin, arrived on the scene a short time later and, assisted by the first officer, wrestled the woman to the ground.

?I could taste the blood going into the back of my sinuses,? she said. ?Once I was on the ground, I was hurt. ? All of a sudden there's all these cops on top of me pushing my face in the ground. ? It was just so unbelievably horrific and upsetting.?

Graham said the second officer punched her in the face three times, and one of the cops also threatened to use a Taser on her while she was pinned to the ground.

?It was horrible. I just didn't understand any of it,? said Graham. ?I told him about my condition. Punching me over and over in the eye is obviously excessive force. He could have handled it a lot differently.?

Federal Way police, however, offered a different version of events, claiming that when an officer approached Graham to arrest her, she clenched her fists, took a fighter's stance and tried to strike the cop.

In a photo provided by the police department and posted on the FoxNews.com, Antholt is seen showing what was described as a scratch mark on his cheek, which he allegedly sustained during his confrontation with Graham.

Graham's friend Deborah Fenwick said she witnessed the incident and insists that the disabled woman was not resisting arrest.

?That woman doesn't have a violent bone in her body,? Fenwick said. ?She's got a heart of gold. If she would have understood the officer's commands in the first place, she would have absolutely complied with him.?

Graham said that besides the bruises to her face, she also suffered a concussion. The Federal Way police are currently reviewing her complaint regarding excessive use of force.

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AKA I'm Deaf so the laws don't apply to me.... Just FYI ignorance of the law is not an excuse.

last I heard, being "deaf" meant you can't hear so.. how could she hear what the officer was saying???????

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^ You are kidding, right ?

The USA is loaded with uninformed, thoughtless, mental people.

She was evidently smart enough to drive a car. Every time I hear of someone getting out of there car when stopped, it doesnt end well. Regardless on whether or not you have a disability.

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Well if you can't hear the officer, just look at his face. If he looks angry, just lay down on the ground with your hands behind your head.

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She had a valid license in order to drive the car, so in that respect, her hearing and mental status wasn't that impaired. I normally side against police, but in this case, unless she had severe mental defects, leaving your car when an officer is next to you, talking to you with with lights flashing... is just stupid.

Once he is arresting you... calling 911 to report it is also stupid. They will beat you senseless. That is their mission once you fail to comply. Period.

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She had a valid license in order to drive the car, so in that respect, her hearing and mental status wasn't that impaired. I normally side against police, but in this case, unless she had severe mental defects, leaving your car when an officer is next to you, talking to you with with lights flashing... is just stupid.

Once he is arresting you... calling 911 to report it is also stupid. They will beat you senseless. That is their mission once you fail to comply. Period.

So you have no problem with police brutality?

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Physical restraint should be a last resort, which doesn't seem to have been the case here. It's concerning how many stories there are like this of abuse by US police officers - it seems to be a profession for thugs, egotists and the low IQ. I'm just surprised they didn't shoot her dead by the side of the road.

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Physical restraint should be a last resort, which doesn't seem to have been the case here. It's concerning how many stories there are like this of abuse by US police officers - it seems to be a profession for thugs, egotists and the low IQ. I'm just surprised they didn't shoot her dead by the side of the road.

That was probably their next option.

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People always side with the "victim" right away and it is always the police fault. Police said she was threatening, and woman/friend said she wasnt. And friends will more often than not stick up for each other regardless if they are in the wrong or not. Not saying the police are innocent, or vise versa...but to little info to accuse one way or the other.

Regardless, excessive for one person on the police part. But thats how it seems to be more and more. Especially with more police shootings happening now a days.

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People always side with the "victim" right away and it is always the police fault. Police said she was threatening, and woman/friend said she wasnt. And friends will more often than not stick up for each other regardless if they are in the wrong or not. Not saying the police are innocent, or vise versa...but to little info to accuse one way or the other.

It's about the balance of probability. Here we're talking about two male officers inflicting major bruising, swelling and a concussion against a disabled, mentally handicapped woman. Did you even look at the pictures? The woman had horrific injuries, yet the officers were uninjured (one had what could barely be considered a scratch).

This looks like a classic case of police brutality. I can't believe for one second that the degree of force used here was justified.

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This looks like a classic case of police brutality. I can't believe for one second that the degree of force used here was justified.

It wasnt justified. Did you read the last sentence of my post where I said it was excessive force? I even said that in my first post here. I mearly said in a lot of these cases the cops are the ones to always be blamed first. And that we do not know the full story here but again, I have stated it was excessive.

And from the OP, it says there were two officers. The second being a woman that was inflicting the damage. But this will have to be for the courts to decide I guess on which story is true and so on.

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that is just stupid that they would immediately resort to violence rather than trying to control the situation.

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Stupid to resort to violence? So the police should just ask nicely and when that doesn't work ask with vigor and when that doesn't work...?

Please, physical action is required when someone doesn't listen to a lawful order. Now, whether this was the fault of the woman doing something incredibly stupid or the police letting loose on this woman without cause is for the investigation to decide. At this point it's he-said-she-said.

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^ There is never a need to punch a suspect repeatedly in the face. Cops are taught how to disable a suspect in seconds, without harming them or themselves. Punching should never have been necessary, at all.

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She was evidently smart enough to drive a car. Every time I hear of someone getting out of there car when stopped, it doesnt end well. Regardless on whether or not you have a disability.

You comment would make sense had she actually been stopped by the police while driving, which she was not.

^ There is never a need to punch a suspect repeatedly in the face. Cops are taught how to disable a suspect in seconds, without harming them or themselves. Punching should never have been necessary, at all.

Exactly. There is only one reason to punch someone in the face and this is to hurt them. Hurting someone on purpose is not a requirement of restraining them. This woman was not hurt because she was resisting. If that was the case, her injuries would have been things like scrapes from sliding on the ground. She was hurt because she was ATTACKED while being restrained. There is not a single situation in which a cop should be punching someone in the face. That is purely assault..
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You comment would make sense had she actually been stopped by the police while driving, which she was not.

OP said she was pulled over. So she was driving and it sounded like the copy was following. She then got out of her car and was ordered to get back in. Which she did not.

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She had a valid license in order to drive the car, so in that respect, her hearing and mental status wasn't that impaired.

... you can be 100% deaf completely unable to hear... but still be allowed to drive, just means you cant roll down your windows and head bop to an amazing tune....

also mentality ? I know some people with mental impairments, most of whom would not understand situations like this who can drive...

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^ There is never a need to punch a suspect repeatedly in the face. Cops are taught how to disable a suspect in seconds, without harming them or themselves. Punching should never have been necessary, at all.

Well, you are right about deliberately punching someone. If a suspect is resisting enough that you are punching them to get them to comply, I imagine a taser would be a better option. I was responding in general to controlling a situation with physical restraint.

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