There are certain disabilities that should disqualify a person from being a police officer
By Trey Rusk
Running Code 3
March 30, 2018
This morning I read a blog from BARKGROWLBITE that gave kudos to the Dalhart, Texas police department for hiring a deaf female police officer. Kudos for what?
Apparently the Chief of Police felt that this determined young lady deserved a chance at being a police officer. I applaud her for trying to fulfill her passion to become a police officer, but let's be rational about her quest.
Even though she must go through a 6 month FTO program where she will not be allowed to patrol by herself this will not prevent the following:
1. How can a deaf officer hear if her partner needs assistance when clearing a building?
2. How can a deaf person search for a lost child if they can't hear the child call out?
3. How can a deaf person work traffic?
4. How can a deaf person hear a person coming up behind them to do them harm?
The Chief of Police lauded the fact that the newly appointed deaf officer will be an asset for those who are hard of hearing or deaf. I want to know what percentage of the population of Dalhart is deaf. It seems that there are a lot of duties that the officer cannot adequately fulfill in order to do a single duty of communicating with deaf citizens.
I believe this is an effort in futility. A deaf police officer puts the citizens, her partner and herself at risk. It is dangerous and The City of Dalhart needs to step back and look at the big picture.
COMMENT: Bob Walsh
It is completely possible that a fairly large P D would have a reasonable uses for such a person, possibly even in a sworn officer capacity. Putting a deaf officer out "on the street" as a working, uniformed police officer is folly at best and a huge liability issue at worst, not only for the general public but for other officers.
No comments:
Post a Comment