Tyree Talley speaks out against Austin Police violence
Tyree Talley, a Black Deaf man from Austin who was seriously injured by riot control munitions that was shot by Austin Police Department officers during a Black Lives Matter protest on May 31, 2020, and has since filed a federal lawsuit against the city of Austin, spoke out about the incident during a press conference hosted by the Austin Justice Coalition (AJC) on Monday that demanded more accountability for police misconduct. A Deaf activist, Cesar Rocha, filmed the press conference and here is a clip.
[Video clip by Cesar Rocha]
Tyree Talley: The Austin Police Department is aware that there is a large Deaf community yet they didn’t recognize my deafness. I want to make sure that everyone, deaf or hearing, blind, and those with various races, feels safe around Austin and everywhere else as well. I want justice. I feel they violated my civil rights. I want to make sure they change the system where they can communicate and provide warnings to deaf people in public settings. To make sure it doesn’t happen again. It’s time for someone to take some action and do something about it.
Alex: The AJC is demanding the city of Austin and its police department to name specific officers who fired the projectiles. The press conference took place before the city was set to negotiate its contract with the Austin Police Association on Monday. The AJC said they want to change how the contract allows police records to be kept secret.
Talley’s civil rights attorney Rebecca Webber, who is representing him in the lawsuit, attended the event and provided comments. Here is a video clip.
[Video clip, credit: Cesar Rocha]
Rebecca Webber, via interpreter: I represent several deaf people that were shot by police without warning. They used less lethal ammunition and injured Black Lives Matter protesters in 2020. The City of Austin has not yet identified which officers fired the shots and there’s been no discipline to any of the officers who shot at deaf people without warning because they were protesting the police.
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Alex: I asked Webber about the status of Talley’s lawsuit. She said the suit is still pending and that the City of Austin’s answer to the lawsuit denies that Talley is deaf and that he was shot by Austin police. Webber said this means that they must now prove that Talley is deaf and that he was shot.
I also asked Webber on when we will know an update on the police contract negotiations. Webber said we would know more in June as that’s when the police union will respond to the City of Austin’s proposal for better transparency and accountability.
https://www.facebook.com/cesar.rocha.5686/videos/542206120763388/
https://www.dailymoth.com/blog/black-deaf-man-sues-austin-police-over-injuries-from-summer-protests