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</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]--></head><body lang=EN-US link="#467886" vlink="#96607D" style='word-wrap:break-word'><div class=WordSection1><h2><a name="_Hlk205792930"></a><a name="_Hlk217889384"><span style='mso-bookmark:_Hlk205792930'>Ohio’s 1st deaf police officer breaks barriers in Highland Hills<o:p></o:p></span></a></h2><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:115%'><span style='mso-bookmark:_Hlk217889384'><span style='mso-bookmark:_Hlk205792930'><b>19 News<o:p></o:p></b></span></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:115%'><span style='mso-bookmark:_Hlk217889384'><span style='mso-bookmark:_Hlk205792930'><b>August 5, 2026<o:p></o:p></b></span></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:115%'><span style='mso-bookmark:_Hlk217889384'><span style='mso-bookmark:_Hlk205792930'>HIGHLAND HILLS, Ohio (WOIO) - A Northeast Ohio village has sworn in a police officer who spent 18 months and faced more than 150 job rejections before earning his badge, becoming Ohio’s first deaf police officer in the process.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:115%'><span style='mso-bookmark:_Hlk217889384'><span style='mso-bookmark:_Hlk205792930'>Officer Carl DeForest is one of only seven Deaf officers in the entire country. He is also the first deaf cadet to graduate from the Cleveland Heights Police Academy and the first Black Deaf officer in the nation.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:115%'><span style='mso-bookmark:_Hlk217889384'><span style='mso-bookmark:_Hlk205792930'>Officer DeForest, who grew up in Beachwood, said his interest in law enforcement began in elementary school when a teacher brought a police canine into class.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:115%'><span style='mso-bookmark:_Hlk217889384'><span style='mso-bookmark:_Hlk205792930'>“As a young kid, I went to the school of Beachwood Elementary. There was a teacher that brought in a canine, and that’s what I fell in love with,” Officer DeForest said.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:115%'><span style='mso-bookmark:_Hlk217889384'><span style='mso-bookmark:_Hlk205792930'>After graduating from the Cleveland Heights Police Academy in June 2023, Officer DeForest spent 18 months and faced more than 150 job rejections before securing a position.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:115%'><span style='mso-bookmark:_Hlk217889384'><span style='mso-bookmark:_Hlk205792930'>“It took me 18 months to land a job. I never gave up. I actually have a team, a sponsor that kept me motivated,” he said.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:115%'><span style='mso-bookmark:_Hlk217889384'><span style='mso-bookmark:_Hlk205792930'>Officer DeForest worked security at Beachwood Mall before the Village of Highland Hills hired and swore him in November 2024. He credited an organization called </span></span><a href="https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/OHOOD/bulletins/40800a0" target="_self" title="https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/OHOOD/bulletins/40800a0"><span style='mso-bookmark:_Hlk217889384'><span style='mso-bookmark:_Hlk205792930'>Opportunities for Ohioans with Disabilities</span></span><span style='mso-bookmark:_Hlk217889384'><span style='mso-bookmark:_Hlk205792930'></span></span></a><span style='mso-bookmark:_Hlk217889384'><span style='mso-bookmark:_Hlk205792930'> with supporting him throughout the process.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:115%'><span style='mso-bookmark:_Hlk217889384'><span style='mso-bookmark:_Hlk205792930'>“They done tremendous things from the start of the Academy all the way up until today. They helped supported the payment from the Academy or even with the equipment as I’m using today,” DeForest said.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:115%'><span style='mso-bookmark:_Hlk217889384'><span style='mso-bookmark:_Hlk205792930'>Officer DeForest uses a device called “Roger On” to communicate over police radio. The device connects via Bluetooth to his hearing aids.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:115%'><span style='mso-bookmark:_Hlk217889384'><span style='mso-bookmark:_Hlk205792930'>“So, all I have to do is turn it on and it pairs up to one of my hearing aids and all I have to do is use the cord and plug it in and hook it up to the mic and I can hear whatever the conversation going on the radio,” he said.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:115%'><span style='mso-bookmark:_Hlk217889384'><span style='mso-bookmark:_Hlk205792930'>For traffic stops citizen encounters, Officer DeForest reads lips and communicates directly. He said he has accepted his speech impairment since childhood.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:115%'><span style='mso-bookmark:_Hlk217889384'><span style='mso-bookmark:_Hlk205792930'>“They might ask me to repeat myself. I don’t mind. I know I have a speech impairment and I’m okay with that. I accept who I am since I was a little boy. Other people that might have never experienced with people with speech impairment, it’s a learning from the other people from the outside and they’ll have to pick up and understand how I say certain words,” DeForest said.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:115%'><span style='mso-bookmark:_Hlk217889384'><span style='mso-bookmark:_Hlk205792930'>Officer DeForest said he hopes his career encourages other Deaf individuals and the agencies that may be hesitant to hire them and loves seeing other deaf officers achieve their dreams.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:115%'><span style='mso-bookmark:_Hlk217889384'><span style='mso-bookmark:_Hlk205792930'>“It’s actually wonderful that the Deaf people that want to be a police officer showing the agency that they can have the opportunity to prove the world that they can do anything so Deaf can achieve,” he said.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:115%'><span style='mso-bookmark:_Hlk217889384'><span style='mso-bookmark:_Hlk205792930'>He also had a direct message for departments still reluctant to accommodate cadets with hearing loss.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:115%'><span style='mso-bookmark:_Hlk217889384'><span style='mso-bookmark:_Hlk205792930'>“If you believe in chances, give that person an opportunity to prove to the world that they can achieve or make their dream come true,” DeForest said.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:115%'><span style='mso-bookmark:_Hlk217889384'><span style='mso-bookmark:_Hlk205792930'>His reach has extended beyond the badge. After his story became known, a teacher at Lakewood Elementary School contacted him about a young deaf girl who wanted to become a police officer. Officer DeForest visited the school to meet with her.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:8.0pt;line-height:115%'><span style='mso-bookmark:_Hlk217889384'><span style='mso-bookmark:_Hlk205792930'>“Last year I went to Lakewood Elementary School. One of the girls wanted to become a police officer. So, one of the teachers emailed me and asked if I could come there to their school if I had some free time to go there. So, I went down there and met with the young girl. She looked up to me and I’m looking forward to see her become a police officer one day,” he said.</span></span><span style='mso-bookmark:_Hlk205792930'></span><span style='mso-bookmark:_Hlk217889384'></span><o:p></o:p></p></div></body></html>