The Wichita NAACP Blog: WPD Officer uses a Taser gun on a deaf man who could not hear verbal commands

Profile in Courage: Dr. Ronald W Walters

As the President of the Wichita NAACP Youth Council in July of 1958, Dr. Walters led the group as they conducted the first successful student-led sit-in of the Civil Rights movement. Sit-Ins were not an approved tactic of the NAACP in 1958 so when the Branch and Youth council asked for the support of the National Office, they were turned down. It required an extraordinary amount of courage for Ron as the Youth President and Chester I Lewis, the branch President, to press forward over the objections of the National Office. When the sit-in ended in August of that same year, the Dockum drug store on the corner of Broadway and Douglass in Wichita Kansas was integrated - along with the entire Rexall Drug store chain and all its subsidiaries. Following the success of the Dockum Sit-In, the Oklahoma City Branch Youth Council conducted a sit-in that August. From there, the tactic spread throughout the Midwest. In 1960, a group of young men and women from SNCC conducted a sit-in in Greensboro North Carolina which many mistakenly believe to have been the first... Dr. Walters went on to become known throughout the world for his knowledge of African American politics and leadership. He headed the African American Leadership Institute and Scholar Practitioner Program of the University of Maryland, served as Distinguished Leadership Scholar at the James MacGregor Burns Academy of Leadership, and retired as Professor Emeritus of the University of Maryland College Park. Dr. Walters was a dear friend, a supporter, and a mentor, and he will be sorely missed... July 1938 - September 2010

Thursday, December 6, 2007

WPD Officer uses a Taser gun on a deaf man who could not hear verbal commands

On November 20th, a man by the name of Donnell Williams, 39, was at home alone . Mr. Williams is hearing impaired, has a glass eye, and walks with a slight limp. He was taking a shower when 4 officers responding to a call of 'shots fired' knocked on his door. Mr. Williams did not (and could not) hear them and he continued to shower.

When he exited the shower, he walked into his living room, dressed only in a towel to find 4 Wichita Police Officers, one of which was carrying a bullet proof shield. Mr. Williams saw the officers gesturing to him, but could not hear what they were saying so he motioned towards his hearing aid which was sitting on his dining room table.

When Mr. Williams turned to get his hearing aid from the table, he was shot with a taser gun by one of the officers. (remember; he was wearing only a towel, and motioning towards his hearing aid which was sitting on the table)

After he was shocked by the taser, he continued to gesture towards the table and the officers allowed him to get his hearing aid. The officers realized that they had a bad address and apologied for breaking down his door and tasering Mr Williams, then suggested that he get a sign or a sticker so that people would know he was deaf.

Since the incident, we have learned that the call to the WPD was made from a cell phone, which has since been disconnected. And today, the Wichita Eagle reported that it was a 'false' call.

The Wichita Branch is currently assisting Mr. Williams in obtaining Legal Representation. A complaint has been filed with the Wichita Police Department's Office of Professional Standards. Additionally, the Wichita Branch has contacted the National NAACP Legal Defense Fund, and will file formal Civil Rights charges with the US Attorney's Office, the Department of Justice, and the FBI.

5 Click HERE to POST or READ the latest comments!!!:

Unknown, December 6, 2007 at 3:31 PM: We have added your update to our blog today.
BAP Publisher, December 6, 2007 at 4:01 PM: I'm glad to hear that the Wichita Branch of the NAACP is standing in the gap for this man who was tortured.

AAPP
Unknown, December 6, 2007 at 8:27 PM: What is the racial make-up of the officers that stormed Mr. Williams' home? Why is the deputy police chief doing the interviews for the media (as opposed to the chief)?

Just curious...
Anonymous, December 15, 2007 at 11:42 PM: Yep, they will "regret" it a lot more with the $5 million lawsuit hits the fan...

The NAACP gets involved in THIS just because they guy is black???
How was this accident a civil rights issue in the first place!
Anonymous, July 31, 2008 at 12:36 AM: "The officers then suggested that he get a sign or a sticker so that people would know he was deaf."
So we are back to blame the victim. Hey man wearing towel, just out of shower, not wearing his hearing aid, in his own home, how dare he not have made more of an effort to let them know he could not hear and was not a threat. They own him more than an apology.