Miami: A deaf man who was fatally shot after a trooper tried to pull him over for speeding in Charlotte, US on Thursday. Authorities in the southern US state of North Carolina said on Monday they are investigating the death.
Daniel Harris, 29, who used sign language to communicate, was followed by trooper Jermaine Saunders in an eight-mile (13-kilometer) chase on Thursday that started on an interstate highway and ended outside his home in Charlotte, local television station WSOC reported.
The driver left his vehicle in the neighborhood and an “encounter took place” that led to a shot being fired, North Carolina State Highway Patrol spokesman Sergeant Michael Baker said in a statement.
The driver died at the scene, he added. No weapon was recovered from Harris, the State Bureau of Investigation informed WSOC.
Saunders has been placed on administrative leave while investigators go through evidence, including dashboard and body camera videos.
“He didn’t even hear the siren, he didn’t hear anything… You’re pulling someone over who is deaf, they are handicapped,” Mark Barringer, a neighbour, told WSOC.