Victim said he was attempting to tell officers that he was deaf

Four members of the Hawthorne Police Department are being sued after tazering a man who was picking up boxes from a friend's house

It all started last week when a concerned neighbor saw Jonathan Meister loading some boxes into his car.

The caller is believed to have read recent reports about brazen daytime burglaries, they said, and called the PD to report what looked like suspicions activity.

When the officers arrived, they saw the alleged suspect loading items into his trunk and ordered him to stop.   Meister, who is deaf, didn't hear their demands.

One officer then proceeded to grab him, and Meister tried to use sign language to let officers know he was deaf.

Police interpreted sudden movement as resisting arrest

That, according to Meister, is when they knocked him to the ground and tazered him.   Not only was he beaten until he was unconscious, he was arrested and charged with assaulting an officer.

The victim said his injuries were so severe he needed to be treated at a local hospital.

The assault charges, he said, have since been dropped.

His attorney reportedly said they've already filed a lawsuit based on civil rights violations and feel the Hawthorne PD is at fault for not providing adequate training on how to communicate with deaf people.