Suffolk sheriff's deputies to get cards to help communicate with deaf people

The Suffolk Sheriff’s Office will equip its deputies with palm cards designed to help them communicate with deaf or hearing-impaired residents — a first-of-its-kind program for law enforcement in the county.

The car visor-sized palm cards use visual aids, with images such as a stop sign, an ambulance or a firearm, that would allow the department's roughly 250 deputies, including those on highway patrol and serving warrants, to communicate with residents through nonverbal methods. It is estimated that more than 40,000 Suffolk residents have a hearing impairment or are deaf, officials said.

Suffolk County Sheriff Errol Toulon pointed to a recent incident when an individual was arrested and in the Sheriff's Department's custody but law enforcement officials never realized he was deaf until he was arraigned in court.

"Not all of those 40,000 individuals are going to interact with law enforcement," Toulon said Monday. "But those few could be misinterpreted for not being compliant or not obeying the officer's commands. We could really alleviate that communication conflict."

Relatively few members of the Sheriff's Department, he said, are fluent in American Sign Language.

Toulon, along with officials with the Town of Islip, which helped conceive the program, and local hearing-impaired community advocates will roll out the program during a news conference Wednesday in Brentwood.

Islip Councilman James O’Connor, chairman of the town's Disability Advisory Board, said members of the deaf community often feel forgotten or intimidated when interacting with law enforcement. He said the palm cards could help bridge that gap.

"I think it is going be tremendously effective," said O'Connor, who has a 26-year-old nonverbal autistic son. "Sometimes law enforcement are meeting people in a situation that is very stressful and confrontational … So I think any education or outreach we could do here can only help the community."

The double-sided palm cards will be maintained by law enforcement but displayed, when needed, to individuals who indicate they have a hearing impairment.

Images on one side — which were suggested by members of the hearing impaired community — include a driver's license, insurance card, traffic light, seat belt, gas tank, flat tire and tow truck.

The other side provides instructions to police on how to best communicate with individuals who are hard of hearing, such as making eye contact when you speak, moving to a well-lit area and avoiding shining a flashlight in their face. The card also allows the individual to indicate if they are seeking a sign language interpreter, can read lips or prefer to write or text their responses.

Town of Islip Supervisor Angie Carpenter said the program will be successful "even if it just helps a couple of people … Just raising that awareness is very important sometimes."

Toulon said the cards are subject to adjustment, based on their effectiveness in the community.

"We're looking forward to hearing from our community," he said, "in case we do need to add certain things or revise our cards."