Partnership with Kent County Sheriff’s Office Benefits Deaf Students
This summer, Erica Chapin, community and partnerships manager for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Services, talked with Natashia Smith, a community policing deputy at the Kent County Sheriff’s office, about partnering on an event.
The result, in late September, allowed Deaf students from Northview High School the chance to be “pulled over” by a police officer.
Students got to sit in a vehicle and then an officer approached their window from a second sheriff’s vehicle with its lights flashing.
“They then proceeded as a traffic stop normally would, with a bit more lighthearted humor included,” said Chapin.
It was the experience of a lifetime for the students.
Kylie Herzog is a teacher at Northview who works with Deaf and Hard of Hearing students there who are part of the Kent Intermediate School District Total Communications Deaf and Hard of Hearing Program.
She said when D&HHS reached out to her to see if she and her students would like to be part of the event it was an easy decision to say yes.
“My hope was that the students would have a positive interaction with the police force,” she said. “Natashia did a wonderful job building rapport with them and provided a lot of great information.”
Herzog noted that many of these students are getting ready to take driver’s training or are in the process of getting their driver’s license, so the event and the information Smith provided was helpful because it created the opportunity for a conversation about situations that might be unique to Deaf or Hard of Hearing individuals.
“The students were able to go through a simulation of what it would be like to be pulled over,” she said. “It was a great learning experience for my students as well as the deputy involved. These kinds of events are so important for my students. Information that is designed specifically for them and can be presented in their native language is even better. They were able to take information and then directly apply what they learned to an interactive activity. This is how learning is done best!”
Herzog added that her students were a bit nervous about going to the police station but so excited after their experience.
“They expressed that they felt more comfortable with communicating with the police,” she said, “and that they would love to do another simulation to help train officers on how to interact with Deaf and Hard of Hearing individuals.”
Students agreed. In the evaluations of the event, all of the students had positive things to say about the experience. One wrote: “I learned how to communicate with police. I learned to move slow and look in my mirror.” And another commented: “I know some things about driving laws, but then I saw new ones I never heard of. Like what to do if a police officer pulled you over.”
Hearing that brought a smile to Smith’s face.
“My goals for the event were education and an opportunity for everyone, including us police officers to learn,” she said. “I also wanted the opportunity for there to be a positive interaction with police officers and members of the Deaf community. I think it’s important that people experience positive interactions whenever possible and in a non-complaint type of situation.”