The following links will take you to short video clips illustrating the correct signage of some commonly used law enforcement dialogue, in American Sign Language.
The intent of this project is to see whether a resource such as this is of use to Police Officers, State Troopers and other potential first responders who may need to attempt to converse with a Deaf ASL-user before the arrival of a qualified sign language interpreter. Under the best of circumstances, a considerable amount of time passes before an interpreter arrives at the scene of an emergency, time during which a responding law enforcement officer or other first responder might be able to have a rudimentary exchange of information with a Deaf ASL user if they could understand some basic signs.
The hope is that by studying some of these clips, a law enforcement officer could familiarize him/herself with some commonly used signs and incorporate them into communications with Deaf ASL users.
THESE CLIPS ARE NOT INTENDED TO REPLACE - OR SUBSTITUTE FOR THE PRESENCE OF - A QUALIFIED AMERICAN SIGN LANGUAGE INTERPRETER IN ANY INTERACTIONS WITH DEAF CITIZENS.
We are very interested in hearing from police officers and law enforcement personnel whether these clips are of value to you and, if so, whether you have suggestions on how we could make them more effective and useful for the stated purpose of improving short-term communication during emergency situations.
Please send us an email for feedback. Please be sure to include your full name, and which law enforcement agency you are associated with.
Only e-mails from law enforcement personnel and other first responders will be replied to.
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An Ambulance Is Coming (High Speed)
file size 12MB
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Dialup
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An Interpreter Will Be Arriving Shortly (High Speed) file size 16MB
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Dialup
)
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Are You Hurt? (High Speed) file size 9MB
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Dialup
)
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Are You on Medications? (High Speed) file size 16MB
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Dialup
)
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Did He (She) Hit You? (High Speed) file size 12MB
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Dialup
)
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Do You Have A TTY Number We Can Call? (High Speed) file size 20MB
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Dialup
)
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Do You Have Friends or Family to Notify? (High Speed) file size 21MB
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Dialup
)
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Do You Have Guns, Knives or Sharp Objects on You? (High Speed) file size 31MB
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Dialup
)
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Do You Need a Tow Truck? (High Speed) file size 13MB
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Dialup
)
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Do You Need an Ambulance? (High Speed) file size 10MB
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Dialup
)
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Do You Need Help? (High Speed) file size 12MB
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Dialup
)
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Get Back In The Car (High Speed) file size 12MB
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Dialup
)
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Have You Been Drinking? (High Speed) file size 12MB
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Dialup
)
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Have You Been Taking Drugs? (High Speed) file size 17MB
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Dialup
)
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I Am Giving You a Ticket (High Speed) file size 15MB
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Dialup
)
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I Am Giving You a Warning (High Speed) file size 15MB
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Dialup
)
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I Am Placing You Under Arrest (High Speed) file size 13MB
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Dialup
)
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I Don't Understand You (High Speed) file size 12MB
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Dialup
)
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I Understand (High Speed) file size 9MB
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Dialup
)
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I Want a Lawyer (High Speed) file size 11MB
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Dialup
)
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I Want an Interpreter (High Speed) file size 12MB
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Dialup
)
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Is She Your Wife? (High Speed) file size 12MB
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Dialup
)
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Is That Your Child or Children? (High Speed) file size 24MB
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Dialup
)
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Is That Your Husband? (High Speed) file size 13MB
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Dialup
)
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License and Registration (High Speed) file size 10MB
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Dialup
)
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No (High Speed) file size 6MB
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Dialup
)
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Please Step Out of the Car (High Speed) file size 16MB
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Dialup
)
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Show Your Hands (High Speed) file size 8MB
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Dialup
)
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Stop (High Speed) file size 8MB
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Dialup
)
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We Have Called For an Interpreter to Come (High Speed) file size 17MB
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Dialup
)
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We Would Like to Ask You Some Questions (High Speed) file size 16MB
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Dialup
)
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Yes (High Speed) file size 6MB
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Dialup
)
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You Are Free to Go (High Speed) file size 12MB
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Dialup
)
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You Cannot Drive With an Expired Registration (High Speed) file size 24MB
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Dialup
)
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You Went Through a Stop Sign (High Speed) file size 17MB
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Dialup
)
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You Were Driving Erratically (High Speed) file size 15MB
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Dialup
)
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You Were Speeding (High Speed) file size 10MB
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Dialup
)
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Your Registration Has Expired (High Speed) file size 18MB
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Dialup
)
This information is provided by the Massachusetts Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing.