Teen Loses Cochlear Implant After Being Tased

Cochlear Implant helps people hear? A Tennessee teen loses cochlear implant after being tased who failed to hear the officer’s command.

LAFOLLETTE, Tennessee -- A Deaf teenager tased by a sheriff’s deputy because he couldn’t hear the officer’s command to stop. To make matter’s worse, when he fell, his expensive cochlear implant was lost. The teen was released when they realized there had been a mistake.

The young Campbell County man wears a cochlear implant. It’s a complex electronic device that can help to provide a sense of sound to a person who is profoundly Deaf or severely hard of hearing.

His device wasn’t working 11 days ago, following an unfortunate incident in which the young man couldn’t communicate with sheriff’s deputies who were responding to an emergency call in Lafollette.

19-year-old Brett Elkins is Deaf and he is a graduate of the Tennessee School for the Deaf.

His mother showed us where Brett’s cochlear implant was located; the surgical scar is behind his right ear, about the size of a quarter.

But you don’t see the device, that’s because it was lost when Elkins was tased and fell to the ground incapacitated on October 11.

Elkins had gone to a friend’s house to use their phone to have his mother pick him up. As he was leaving the house, he didn’t know that Campbell County deputies had been called there for a domestic dispute between Brett’s friends.

"Jamie Wilhoit, Elkins’ mother, saying, “He was walking, he felt a shock, his arms fell beside him, and he fell over. He assumed it was his cochlear, that it had malfunctioned, that was the first thing he thought. He was scared and crying. His cochlear implant had died, the batteries weren’t working, it wasn’t charged.”

Elkins’ implant was new, it came from TennCare. He said somehow it fell off after being tased.

He and his mother went back to look for it, but it hasn’t been found.

We received a copy of the sheriff’s report, and deputies didn’t know Brett was Deaf when he failed to respond to their commands.

It states he was released once determined he had nothing to do with the domestic disturbance. Deputies also called an ambulance to check him out, however, there is no reference to the implant.

"Connie Hull, Elkins’ grandmother, saying, “He got the cochlear three weeks ago. It was $8,000, they just don’t hand those out left and right.”

Brett showed us his back where several prongs from the taser gun left welts after suffering a five second shock, according to the incident report.

His mother telling us that Elkins would like an apology and for them to replace his cochlear implant.

"A ranking officer from the Campbell County Sheriff’s Office called Elkins’ mother and said, “Sheriff Goins has talked to with our insurance provider and they are willing to pay for Brett’s implant.”

Elkins and his mother were overwhelmed.

“Wow! Oh my God, oh, they cared, they cared.”

Jamie Wilhoit – Elkins’ mother.

It will take a few weeks before Elkins’ fitted with a new cochlear device.

Sheriff Robbie Goins telling us that domestic violence calls are the most danger his deputies face, and they have to make split second judgement calls with the information they have during the situation.

He also said his deputies acted reasonably under the circumstances when they first confronted Elkins. Sheriff Goins is pleased to learn that Elkins and his family are happy with the resolution.

SOURCE - WATE

Related Cochlear Implant:
Deaf Girl's Family Sues Cochlear Ear Implants For $7.25M
Cochlear Implants Is NOT A Cure !
Deaf Culture - Have We Cured Deafness ?
Violation of Human Rights: Forcing A Deaf Child to Wear CI
VICE News: Deaf Culture 'Signs of Change'
Deaf Adopted Child To Force On Cochlear Implant
Deaf Girl Dies of Bacterial by Cochlear Implant
No More Sign Language For Deaf Children With Implants ?
Cochlear Business Is Dirty Business!
Cochlear Implant User Struck By Lightning
Cochlear Implant Users Parody
The Language in Space of the Cochlea Implantation
University Killing Deaf Kittens For CI Research
Deaf Cats In Cochlear Implant Research

Related Police Brutality:
Police Pepper Sprays Deaf Man
Deaf Man Shot, Killed By Louisiana Deputy
Police Shoot, Kill Deaf Man After Order To Stop
Deaf Man Shot, Killed By Oklahoma City Police
Protest For Deaf Man Who Was Shot By Police
Police Brutality: Driving While Deaf
Deaf Elderly Man Brutally Beaten By Police
Police Brutality On A Deaf Man In India
Police Brutality Against Deaf People
Deaf Man Parked Illegally, Slapped Officer
Deaf In America - Black And Deaf
Marlee Matlin On Deaf And Police Interaction
Deaf Protesters Complains of Police Brutality
Deaf Advocates Responds On Police Brutality
Stop Doing That! With Nyle DiMarco

Related Posts:
#PoliceBrutality - #CochlearImplant - #DeafNews - #DeafTeenagers - #DeafVictims

Parents Allegedly Murdered Adopted Deaf Son

Hearing parents accused of killing adopted Deaf son and covering it up: New York police.

GUILFORD, NY -- CBS News: A mother and father are accused of killing their teenage son and setting fire to their home to cover up the crime.

Ernest Franklin II, 35, and Heather Franklin, 33, are charged with second-degree murder, arson and tampering with physical evidence.

According to CBS affiliate WBNG, officials say a fire was reported around 1:15 a.m. March 1 at the family’s home in Guilford. The couple’s son, 16-year-old Jeffrey Franklin, was found dead inside. Sheriff Ernest Cutting says an autopsy determined the fire didn’t cause the teen’s death and that he was dead before the fire started.

Video Source Inside Edition

According to the Chenango County Sheriff’s Office, Jeffrey was adopted about seven years ago. He was Deaf and had special needs.

WBNG reports that when asked his plea by the judge, Ernest Franklin said “guilty,” but his public defender quickly corrected him, and changed the plea. Both Ernest and Heather pleaded “not guilty” and were sent to the Chenango County Jail without bail.

Authorities haven’t said how the boy was killed.

WBNG reports that a GoFundMe page was created shortly after the fire to help the parents with expenses. More than $11,000 was reportedly raised, but the page has been taken down.

In a statement, GoFundMe said:

“It’s important to remember that the platform is backed by the GoFundMe Guarantee, which means that in the rare case that GoFundMe, law enforcement or a user finds campaigns are misused, donors will get their money back. In this case, due to recent information released, GoFundMe will honor refunds to all donors.”

SOURCE - CBS News

Deaf Student of CSDR Killed by Gunman

California School for the Deaf, Riverside student killed by gunman after he and friends explain in a text, 'We can't hear you'

LOS ANGELES, California -- The family of a Deaf teen says he was killed Friday night when a gunman approached him and his Deaf friends in Moreno Valley, asked them questions and began shooting as they tried to explain that they couldn’t hear him.

Najai Welch said her brother, DeSean Welch, and his friends were watching a football game at Rancho Verde High School, where the unidentified gunman approached them and began asking questions.

A friend of the dead teen pulled out a cellphone and showed it to the man in effort to explain that they were Deaf and didn’t understand him.

She said the friend wrote, “We are Deaf. We can’t hear you. We don’t understand what you are saying to us.”

The gunman, she said, took the phone and typed out a message, saying he “bangs in this hood,” and then asked the victim if he knew someone who lived in Ontario.

Her brother and friends then left the football game and entered a minivan, Najai Welch said. The group was being followed as the van drove away, she said.

At 9:56 p.m., deputies received a report of shots fired in the intersection of Via De Anza and Camino San Simeon near the high school, according to the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department.

When deputies arrived, they found evidence of a shooting but no victims.

At the same time, DeSean Welch’s friends flagged down deputies in the area of Lasselle Street and Iris Avenue, pleading for help because he had been struck by the gunfire.

The 18-year-old Victorville teen was taken to an area hospital, where he later died, deputies said.

Najai Welch thinks the shooting was a case of mistaken identity. She said her brother was never involved in gangs or anything criminal. He was focused on sports and loved basketball, which he hoped to play professionally.

“My brother didn’t deserve that,” she said. “He was a good kid.”

News of the teen’s death left many in the Deaf community stunned.

DeSean Welch attended California School for the Deaf Riverside, and played varsity basketball, according to the school’s athletic department.

Memorials for the teen circulated on social media, and at least one team held a moment of silence for him during its game.

The school’s alumni association said its members were mourning the fallen teen’s death.

“We do not support any violence toward anyone regardless of their backgrounds, their actions or their characters,” the group said in a statement. “We believe anything can be resolved or find solutions. Unfortunately it did not happen with DeSean Welch.”

A family member has created a fundraiser to help pay for his funeral expenses.

Najai Welch is hopeful detectives will find the gunman.

“I just want him to turn himself in,” she said.

SOURCE - Los Angeles Times

UPDATE: According to police, the man shot at the car, killing the teen after being shown a text that read "We are deaf, can't hear you, don't understand what you’re saying to us." - Police Searching For Killer Of Deaf High School Basketball Star.

Deaf Boy Viciously Attacked By Dogs

Nine-year-old sister saves her Deaf brother from vicious dog attack.

MOORE, OK -- A boy is learning how to walk again after three Rottweiler dogs attacked him Saturday.

The family of 10-year-old Elijah says his 9-year-old sister saved him, and he is lucky to be alive. More than 40 stitches later, his little sister shares what happened.

“I wanted to go check on him, but then I just heard them screaming and yelling and I started running,” Alyssa McKenna, Elijah’s sister says. She was running to help her brother who is Deaf.

“I saw his orange shirt and a belt, then I saw his hair and I saw him moving a lot and I saw the dogs biting him,” Alyssa said. Elijah’s sister says she found him by a dirt road not far from their grandmother’s home. The three dogs were attacking him, so she took matters into her own hands to save him.

“I picked him up…he couldn’t walk, he just fell right over again, so I picked him up from where we were standing and I picked him up and carried him,” Alyssa said.

They eventually got Elijah to the hospital; he went straight to the OU trauma center where he immediately went into surgery. “He had two wide cuts on his head, he had to get over 40 staples on his head,” Alyssa says. Pictures don’t begin to show the deep wounds he received from the three dogs.

“I’ve never seen injuries like this from a dog,” Rhianna Bravenec, Elijah and Alyssa’s mom said. “He had a gash all the way down from his neck to the top of his head.” But his mother is thankful he’s alive... Read The Full Story.

Related Posts: #WTF - #DeafDogs