Trooper Kills Deaf Man After 7-Mile Chase

But authorities won't say what led to Daniel Harris being shot
By Michael Harthorne,  Newser Staff
Posted Aug 23, 2016 6:34 PM CDT
Trooper Kills Deaf Man After 7-Mile Chase
Sam Harris, center, older brother of Daniel Harris signs to the crowd during a candlelight vigil to remember Daniel, who was shot and killed Thursday by a North Carolina state trooper.   (David T. Foster III/The Charlotte Observer via AP)

A family is left searching for answers after a deaf man was shot and killed by a North Carolina state trooper last week, CNN reports. Daniel Harris, 29, was driving on the interstate near Charlotte when a trooper attempted to pull him over Thursday. Harris didn't stop, and the trooper followed him for seven miles to his neighborhood. There, Harris got out of his car. Something happened between the trooper and Harris that left Harris dead from a gunshot wound, but police aren't giving details of what led to the shooting. They won't say if anything was said between the trooper and Harris, who is also speech-impaired, or if Harris was armed.

Sam Harris wants to know if his brother's disabilities led to a fatal misunderstanding with the trooper. "The police need to become aware of how to communicate with deaf people, what that might look like, and how to avoid situations like this from ever happening again," he tells WSOC. Residents of Harris' neighborhood were stunned by what happened. "I saw him out in the neighborhood signing with his family," one neighbor tells WBTV. "It seemed like a very peaceful family." The State Bureau of Investigation is looking into the shooting, and the trooper is on administrative leave, which is standard following a shooting. (More police shooting stories.)

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