Deaf Man Was Beaten By Cops Because He Could Not Understand Their Commands

Idaho Springs, Colorado -- A deaf man who was arrested and jailed following a traffic stop in 2019 is now suing the officers involved, alleging use of excessive force, unlawful arrest and malicious prosecution. Brady Mistic, who is deaf in both ears and uses American Sign Language to communicate, was walking up to a laundry mat in Idaho Springs, Colorado when a police patrol car pulled up with its emergency lights on. Officers Nicholas Hanning and Ellie Summers had followed him after Mistic allegedly ran a stop sign near the laundry mat. The officers gave commands for Mistic to get back into his car and weren’t aware at the time that he is deaf, according to a statement from the Idaho Springs Police Department. The officers then forced Mistic to the ground and used a stun gun on him twice, during which he told the officers “No ears,” according to the lawsuit filed on Sept. 17, exactly two years after the initial incident occurred.
Hanning’s leg was broken during the altercation. Mistic was charged with resisting arrest and second-degree assault on a police officer. Summers later charged Mistic with possession of forged currency after finding “movie-prop money” in his wallet while being booked at the Clear Creek County jail, according to the lawsuit. The charge isn’t mentioned in the police department’s statement regarding the incident.
Mistic spent four months at the county jail, where he was unable to communicate with jail staff or his attorney except through written notes after he was denied an interpreter. The police department's statement said the district attorney's office allowed Mistic to participate in a diversion program in lieu of formal charges being filed.
As part of his lawsuit, Mistic is suing the City of Idaho Springs and the Board of County Commissioners of Clear Creek County for failure to accommodate his disability while in jail. “Any officer on scene would have known from his thick and incoherent speech, which did not consist of clear words or complete sentences, and his attempt to use his hands, that he was deaf or otherwise disabled,” the lawsuit states. Mistic said he had used written notes to communicate with police during previous traffic stops.
It’s not the officers’ first lawsuit of the year. Summers and Hanning were named in a suit filed by a 75-year-old man in July after Hanning used a stun gun on him. Hanning was charged with third-degree assault against an at-risk person and was fired, according to the Washington Post.