Alabama officers say they weren't aware man was also deaf when trying to force him from store's bathroom

[Peikko 1,575]

Officers who used pepper spray and a Taser to remove a man from a store bathroom found out only later he was deaf and mentally disabled and didn't understand they wanted him to open the door, police said today.

A spokesman for the Mobile, Alabama police department said the officers' actions were justified because the man was armed with a potential weapon: an umbrella. But relatives of Antonio Love, 37, have asked for a formal investigation and said they plan to sue both the police and the store.

"I want justice," Love's mother, Phyllis Love, said today.

The woman said her son hears only faintly, has the mental capacity of a 10-year-old and didn't realise that it was the police who were trying enter the bathroom.

"He thought the devil was out there trying to get in to get him," she said.

Antonio Love, in a written statement and in a television interview given in sign language about the confrontation, said he had a badly upset stomach on Friday and went into a Dollar General store to use the restroom.

Police spokesman Christopher Levy said today store workers called police complaining that a man had been in the bathroom for more than an hour with the door locked. Officers knocked on the door and identified themselves, but the person didn't respond. Officers used a tire iron to open the door, but the man pushed back to keep it shut. Officers sprayed pepper spray through a crack trying to subdue the man, Levy said. They shot the man with a Taser when they finally got inside, he said.

Officers didn't realise Love was deaf or had learning disabilities until he showed them a card he carries in his wallet, Levy said. He was arrested on a charge of disorderly conduct, but officers released him and took him home after a magistrate refused to issue a warrant.

Levy said officers were justified in using force against Love since he had an umbrella.

"The officers really worked within the limits of our level-of-force policy," he said. "We had no information about who this guy was."

Phyllis Love said her son, who has worked in the garden department at a Lowe's home improvement store for several years, was scared when he realised someone was trying to get into the bathroom with him. He put water on his face after being hit with pepper spray, she said.

"He didn't know it was a policeman until they busted the door in on him," she said. "He had a knot on his head from where it hit him."

Levy said police wish the confrontation had never occurred. The internal investigation will include a review of Love's complaints that officers laughed at him after realising he was deaf, he said. "We'll make whatever efforts we can to resolve this situation, hopefully so this man will be able to trust police in the future so we can help him. Obviously, it's going to be a rough road," he said.

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What kind of training goes into producing this type of reaction to someone locked into a bathroom with an UMBRELLA!!!

Is this what happens when guns are categorized as merely 'tools' and other 'tools' are treated as circumspectly as if they were guns? Are people quite mad?

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

It does seem a bit over the top.

So you incapacitate the guy with pepper spray - kick the door into his face and then taser him?

Wow...

[Peikko 1,575]

And all because he stayed in the bathroom for over an hour. What kind of crime is that? Yes it's odd behaviour and yes it would elicit concern, but surely concern for the occupant, not concern what the occupant might be 'plotting'. It's very odd.

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

And all because he stayed in the bathroom for over an hour. What kind of crime is that? Yes it's odd behaviour and yes it would elicit concern, but surely concern for the occupant, not concern what the occupant might be 'plotting'. It's very odd.

I have worked retail before and know from experience that do get a lot of strange types who for some reason or other gravititate towards the bathrooms, locking themselves in cubicles. Sometimes the store management would call the cops if the person were somehow making a nuisance of themselves (usually talking to themselves or vandalising the stall).

Still, I don't understand how someone can possibly justify pepper spraying someone, kicking a door into their face and tasering them - just because they possess an umbrella. That's just nuts.

[_Simpson_ 250]

And all because he stayed in the bathroom for over an hour. What kind of crime is that? Yes it's odd behaviour and yes it would elicit concern, but surely concern for the occupant, not concern what the occupant might be 'plotting'. It's very odd.

No it was him refusing to open the door that caused all this, it does seem a little excessive but we weren't there and a mental man with a umbrella isnt exactly a welcoming situation.

[Peikko 1,575]

He's deaf. He didn't 'refuse' to open the door, he was scared because he had no idea what the hell he was being subjected to. I wouldn't be worried about engaging with someone just because they had umbrella in a toilet, that's ridiculous.

Edited July 28, 2009 by Madame Cleo

[_Simpson_ 250]

And all because he stayed in the bathroom for over an hour. What kind of crime is that? Yes it's odd behaviour and yes it would elicit concern, but surely concern for the occupant, not concern what the occupant might be 'plotting'. It's very odd.

I have worked retail before and know from experience that do get a lot of strange types who for some reason or other gravititate towards the bathrooms, locking themselves in cubicles. Sometimes the store management would call the cops if the person were somehow making a nuisance of themselves (usually talking to themselves or vandalising the stall).

Still, I don't understand how someone can possibly justify pepper spraying someone, kicking a door into their face and tasering them - just because they possess an umbrella. That's just nuts.

it wasn't just a matter of possessing a umbrella, he was probably trying to jab them with it or something.

[Peikko 1,575]

Yeah, I can see how scary it would look to see an umbrella being jabbed through the locked door of a cubicle. This is insane, tazering for these types of non issues. It's totally wrong, period.

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

We can only speculate as to the exact events that transpired - of course I don't think it takes much speculation to make an objective assessment of the danger posed by a man with an umbrella in a locked bathroom stall (so small you can barely swing a cat) Vs. several heavily armed police officers.

Edited July 28, 2009 by Private Pike

[_Simpson_ 250]

He's deaf. He didn't 'refuse' to open the door, he was scared because he had no idea what the hell he was being subjected to. I wouldn't be worried about engaging with someone just because they had umbrella in a toilet, that's ridiculous.

What I was addressing was how you made it sound that all this happened just because he was in the stall, but confrontation started when he pushed the door back, yes your right he didnt refuse my bad. The cops didnt know that he was deaf and the guy probably didnt know they were cops because by the time they got into the stall he had mace in his eyes. Although its reasonable to think he could tell they were cops the the openings in the stall but on the other hand he is mental.

[_Simpson_ 250]

We can only speculate as to the exact events that transpired - of course I don't think it takes much speculation to make an objective assessment of the danger posed by a man with an umbrella in a locked bathroom stall (so small you can barely swing a cat) Vs. several heavily armed police officers.

What if it was a handicap stall and this was his umbrella -

Seriously though it would be nice to see some video of what happened.

[pedroh 21]

remember.. cops are there, not to risk themselves.. of course a deaf man with an umbrella poses a terrible danger to the cops

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

We can only speculate as to the exact events that transpired - of course I don't think it takes much speculation to make an objective assessment of the danger posed by a man with an umbrella in a locked bathroom stall (so small you can barely swing a cat) Vs. several heavily armed police officers.

What if it was a handicap stall and this was his umbrella -

Seriously though it would be nice to see some video of what happened.

I dont think you need a video to know whether or not excessive force was used - it being rather difficult to attack someone from inside a closed room.

[Peikko 1,575]

You want video of a guy suffering from severe diarrhea being pepper sprayed and tasered out of the toilet? That's a video I can definitely do without.

[_Simpson_ 250]

We can only speculate as to the exact events that transpired - of course I don't think it takes much speculation to make an objective assessment of the danger posed by a man with an umbrella in a locked bathroom stall (so small you can barely swing a cat) Vs. several heavily armed police officers.

What if it was a handicap stall and this was his umbrella -

Seriously though it would be nice to see some video of what happened.

I dont think you need a video to know whether or not excessive force was used - it being rather difficult to attack someone from inside a closed room.

Handicapped stalls are rather spacious but story doesn't tell us if it was, heres my thought on this, if somebody refuses arrest I think the cops should be able to use a taser, that said had they known he was deaf and did this I would disagree with there actions.