Deaf man attacked, robbed
By Danny Gallagher, [email protected]
Saturday, June 18, 2011
McKINNEY – Police are looking for the man who attacked and robbed a
hearing-impaired man on Tuesday.
The unidentified black male struck and robbed 20-year-old Zackary Evan
Fisher on South Murray Street and made off with the cash in his wallet,
according to McKinney police reports.
The robbery occurred sometime before 6:15 p.m. Tuesday in the 800 block of
South Murray Street. Fisher told responding police officers that he was
jumped and struck by an unidentified black male from behind. The suspect
took Fisher’s wallet containing approximately $80 in cash and fled the
scene, McKinney police Deputy Chief Scott Brewer said.
The victim is hearing-impaired and did not hear the suspect as he approached
him on South Murray Street. Even though he was struck hard enough to “cause
pain,” Brewer said he was able to provide police with a brief description of
the suspect.
He described him as a black male with a slender build who was wearing yellow
and black running shoes at the time of the robbery. Brewer said
investigators have not made any official arrests as of Friday and have not
identified any suspects who may be connected to the case.
Fisher did not sustain any life-threatening injuries as a result of the
robbery. Attempts were made to reach Fisher at his home in Denison, but he
could not be reached by presstime for comment.
It is not known if Fisher was targeted due to his disability or if he was
just in the wrong place at the wrong time. Heidi Swan, a deaf advocate,
volunteer and interpreter who works with the Dallas chapter of the Black
Deaf Advocates group said she often sees hearing impaired people who are
victims of crime at the hands of people who know them or see them using sign
language in their neighborhoods.
“It’s a likely chance he could have been targeted,” Swan said, “but robbery
happens to everyone whether they are deaf or blind.”
Brewer said anyone regardless of their disability should take precautions to
maintain awareness of their environment to prevent them from becoming
another crime statistic.
“We encourage everyone to always be fully aware of their surroundings,”
Brewer said. “In this case, it’s extremely unfortunate that the victim has a
handicap where they were unable to speak or hear and that made him much more
vulnerable in this set of circumstances.”
If anyone has any information regarding this incident or the suspect or
suspects who may have been involved, they are asked to contact the McKinney
Police Department at 972-547-2700.
Source:
http://www.courier-gazette.com/articles/2011/06/18/mckinney_courier-gazette/news/9731.txt