Madgiel Sanchez, a deaf man residing in Oklahoma City, was shot and killed by a police officer on Tuesday, Sept. 19, 2017. According to Sanchez's neighbors, they yelled at the cops, informing them that Sanchez was deaf. The cops continued to yell for him to put down the metal pipe he was allegedly holding. His neighbor, Julio Rayos, told CNN that Sanchez was deaf and non-verbal; therefore, Sanchez communicated with hand signals, presumably American Sign Language (ASL), and that he believes Sanchez was trying to communicate with the police officers, one armed with a gun and another with a taser, in that manner.

According to his brother, he was carving an eagle. From across the street, a cop yelled a few times for Williams to put the knife down. Williams never heard him, but he could hear someone walking up closer to him, and so he turned. He was shot. Prosecutor Dan Satterberg would not file criminal charges; Officer Birk resigned the same day, allegedly because he feared for his life.

Edward Miller was deaf due to an illness in childhood and wore a hearing aid to assist him. He was approached by plainclothed officers after people called saying that they feared Miller because he was yelling. The officers believed that he was "brandishing a weapon." They perceived a threat, shot and killed him. Miller's 25-year-old son saw everything and apparently yelled at the officers to inform them that Miller could not hear them. They shot anyway. He was shot six times while sitting in his car.

These are only a few of the officer related shootings of deaf persons. These three resulted in the death of innocent men. There have been multiple incidents as well where deaf persons have been brutalized by police officers unjustly.

In order to combat these incidents, it is imperative that ASL is taught in public schools and that law enforcement officers are trained in the basics of ASL as well.

Nyle DiMarco has been deaf since he was born. DiMarco won America's Next Top Model as well as Dancing With The Stars. He and his foundation advocate for the wider accessibility of ASL for deaf children, as language acquisition is imperative to their success.

Actress Marlee Matlin, who happens to be married to a police officer, teamed up with the ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union) and HEARD (Helping Educate to Advance the Rights of the Deaf) to produce a video explaining the vitality of ASL for police officers to avoid harming deaf people unjustly. She stars in the video and demonstrates vital signs for police officers and other law enforcement officers as well as signs for the deaf that have to interact with those officers.

Below are some resources to teach yourself ASL:

Lifeprint: Personally, I have been using this site for years. It has helped me tremendously.

Bill Vicars Youtube Channel: He is the creator of Lifeprint

ASL Pro: Another website that I have used and enjoyed.

Marlee Signs: an app curated by Marlee Matlin to teach ASL, available for iOS.