A deaf 76-year-old woman accused an Alameda County Sheriff’s Office deputy of excessive force during an alleged jaywalking incident last year, claiming the deputy “violently threw” her to the ground and handcuffed her to an ambulance while she was unconscious.
Hui Jie Jin and Deputy Corvello encountered each other on the morning of July 21, 2017, when Jin was out shopping for groceries. The lawsuit claims that Corvello began yelling at Jin while she was allegedly jaywalking, but because Jin is “profoundly deaf” she couldn’t hear or understand his commands.
As Corvello moved closer to her, the suit alleges, Jin pointed to her ear with one hand and waved her hand back and forth with the other to signal that she was deaf.
“Despite recognizing that Mrs. Jin could not hear or understand him, Officer Corvello made no attempts to effectively communicate with Mrs. Jin at any point before or during her arrest,” the suit states.
More officers arrived on the scene and performed a search of Jin and her grocery bags, according to court documents, and during this time Jin emptied her pockets to hand Corvello her California identification card, disabled senior citizen bus pass, and a handwritten card with the name and phone number of Jin’s daughter for emergencies.
“Mrs. Jin was terrified, but at no point did she resist arrest or attempt to flee, nor could she due to her age and disabilities,” the complaint states. Jin prayed and repeatedly bowed in front of Corvello “in order to beg ... for mercy and not to hurt her.”
In response, the suit alleges, Corvello slammed the woman to the ground, placed a foot or knee behind her neck or back and handcuffed her. Jin passed out and was taken to the hospital via ambulance, according to the suit, which alleges violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act, negligence, and deprivation of Jin’s civil rights.
Jin was issued a citation for jaywalking and resisting arrest, but no paperwork exists and no charges were filed, the suit states. (San Francisco Chronicle, August 16, 2018)
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This is of course just one side of the story. Perhaps the deputy had a justifiable law enforcement purpose for slamming a deaf 76-year-old woman to the ground, and treating her so violently that she passed out and had to be taken to the hospital via ambulance. After all, he had just contacted her for the very serious crime of jaywalking. :-(
This type of police violence, while rare, is a serious problem. Whether it is slamming a old woman to the ground, using a Taser on an 11-year-old shoplifter, or pulling a gun on a non-resisting driver during a traffic stop, these actions create mis-trust and hate for the police.
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