High school student teaches Mansfield police sign language

A high school student has been teaching Mansfield police sign language to help officers communicate in a way some never have been able to before.

"She approached us with this. There has always been a need for it," said Lt. Roy Bain.

Catherine Fitzgerald is a senior at Southeastern Regional Vocational Technical High School in South Easton.

As part of an externship in recent weeks, Fitzgerald not only taught officers sign language, she made a pocket guide for police to have on them while responding to calls.

"I'm in the criminal justice program and every senior has to do a project as kind of, like, their mark on the school," said Catherine Fitzgerald.

"The project she has worked on is going to go well beyond her," said Lt. Bain.

Fitzgerald is passionate about this because she was born with profound hearing loss.

"No one in my family is like me. It's just me, but I don't really use that as a crutch or anything. It's actually helped me to be able to do things like this," said Fitzgerald.

Catherine Fitzgerald tells NBC 10 she is attending Curry College after high school graduation and she plans to major in criminal justice.

"She'll always have a home here. What she has shown here is really what any police department would be looking for in an employee," said Mansfield police Lt. Roy Bain.