IUPD cadet training at IU Bloomington on Wednesday, May 28, 2025. (Photo by Chris Meyer/Indiana University)
The Indiana University Police Academy recruits have received formal training in Deaf culture awareness and American Sign Language to improve communication and interactions with deaf and hard-of-hearing individuals. The recruits from all of IU’s campuses gathered May 28 for the training.
In Indiana, there are at least over 400,000 individuals who are deaf and hard-of-hearing, according to the Indiana Association of the Deaf.
The training was initiated by part-time IU Police Department officer and IU Maurer School of Law graduate student Brennan Cox. He took ASL classes as an undergraduate and found a lack of Deaf culture training for officers.
“It opened my eyes to maybe a lot of ways that law enforcement maybe aren't serving their community in the best way, and how we can do better as a profession in that way, and how there's a need for this training,” Cox said.
The almost three-hour training consisted of a two-hour panel discussion with IU ASL faculty on different elements of Deaf culture like how to behave and interact and preferred modes of communication, Cox said. Cadets also watched an ASL video that taught them different signs such as “police,” “help,” “hurt” and “death.”
For the last half hour of training Cox discussed tactical considerations such as handcuffing deaf or hard-of-hearing individuals in the front if it’s safe to do so, and the usage of visor cards deaf or hard-of-hearing individuals may have in their vehicles.
“Handcuffing is a big issue with the Deaf community, because handcuffing them behind the back pretty much is taking away their only form of communication,” Cox said.
Cox hopes continue to expand and incorporate the training each year and be able to share it with other police academies and agencies throughout the state and nation.
This is the first year the IU Police Academy recruits have received formal Deaf culture and ASL training, though for the past couple years tactics have been implemented.
