This is just horrible!
A Southern California man was brutally beaten by Hawthorne police after they say he made threatening gestures at them.
Only he wasn’t making threatening gestures, he was trying to use sign language!
Jonathan Meister is deaf and had no idea why cops were approaching him outside of his ex-roommates’ home. He had been retrieving some stuff he was storing at the house when neighbors called police because they thought Jonathan looked suspicious.
When officers arrived on the scene, they handcuffed Jonathan, thereby taking away his only means of communication! They then preceded to beat and shock him with a stun gun until Jonathan was rendered unconscious!
So outrageous!
The man was then taken to the hospital where he was charged with assaulting police officers!
What the WHAT?! They charged the handcuffed deaf guy who got knocked out?!
Those charges have thankfully since been dropped and Jonathan, an architect from Manhattan Beach, is now suing the department and several of the officers involved in this violent incident!
Jonathan’s attorney, Anna Rivera, described just how scary the situation was for her client, saying:
“If the primary way you communicate is to use your hands, and you├óΓé¼Γäóre looking at somebody when you speak, when you go to grab somebody without explaining what├óΓé¼Γäós happening and take that method of communication away from them, Mr. Meister became afraid.├óΓé¼┬¥
Hawthorne Police however have stated since that they knew Jonathan was deaf but that he still tried to resist arrest.
The bruises on his face and body speak louder than any words though! This is a travesty! One the city of Hawthorne, California can expect to pay for!
Watch the full report (below) on the beating of Jonathan Meister.
[Image via CBS.]