Grand Forks Police Chief Addresses City Council on His Department’s Interaction with the Hearing Impaired

(KNOX) -Grand Forks City Council was recently faced with the subject of the hearing-impaired and its law enforcement.
Grand Forks Police Chief Mark Nelson addressed the council on the subject.

“This is a complex situation that we’ve dealt with, and the majority of the time, about the only training we’ve had available to us was passing notes back and forth,” said Nelson.

A hearing impaired person usually carries a card stating who they are, but they carry it in a pocket, which creates a problem for a law enforcement officer.

“Remember this guy doesn’t know you when you are coming up as an officer, but we don’t know them. We don’t know that they’re not the robber. We don’t know what they’re going into their pockets for. You never quit learning,” Nelson said.

Nelson told the council that if he had officers who knew sign language, it probably would not help the hearing-impaired community.

“Everybody would be fluent in sign language, but of the 98 officers that I have, A: Would you be you be lucky to hit one of the few that would be trained in it. B: Would they be fluent in it if they are not regularly using it,” said Nelson said.

Nelson told the council that an individual with a hearing problem looks normal.

“If you are out for a jog, what does a hearing-impaired person look like? Could look like you. Could look like me. Could look like any of us.”