“A deaf Hawthorne resident is suing the Police Department, claiming he was beaten, tased and arrested because officers failed to allow him to use his hands to communicate with them via sign language.

Jonathan Meister, 32, filed a lawsuit in federal court that claims Hawthorne police violated the Americans With Disabilities Act by improperly preparing its officers to deal with the hearing impaired.

According to the complaint, two Hawthorne officers confronted Meister Feb. 13, 2013 when a neighbor spotted him carrying things from a residence to his car. Meister used to live at the home and was picking up his belongings from the backyard where the owner had left them out for him, his suit claims.

Meister was hopping the backyard fence to go in and out of the yard, which appeared suspicious to neighbors, according to the suit.”* The Young Turks hosts Cenk Uygur and Ana Kasparian break it down.

*Read more here from Joseph Serna / LA Times:
http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-hawthorne-deaf-suit-20140218,0,4535842.story#axzz2tvSuuHv7