Deaf Man Beaten, Tasered and Choked by Police

Deaf News: California Deaf man beaten, tasered and choked by police for not understanding commands awarded $55,000 settlement.



LOS ANGELES, CA -- PINAC News: After mistaking a Deaf man for a thief, beating him, tasering him and choking him because he was unable to understand their commands, the Hawthorne Police Department in southwest Los Angeles has settled a lawsuit for $55,000. The settlement was approved by the City Council on Tuesday in California.



The Deaf man identified as Jonathan Meister and co-plaintiff Greater Los Angeles Agency on Deafness Inc. will receive the settlement on the basis of civil rights violations under the Federal Americans with Disabilities Act.



Meister was at a friends house in February 2013 gathering items from his vehicle when a neighbor called police thinking he was a car thief, according to NBC Los Angeles.



Although there were four officers that responded to the call, Officers Jeffrey Salmon and Jeffrey Tysl were identified as the aggressors.



Once on scene, they yelled out to Meister and he in return motioned that he was Deaf.



The officers motioned for Meister to come towards them, which he did, but then they grabbed his wrists and placed his hands behind his back – a very uncomfortable position for Meister given the fact that he is Deaf and uses his hands to speak.



The lawsuit, which can be read here, describes how officers Salmon and Tysl got close to Meister and roughed him up. Amidst the miscommunication, Meister ran away from the officers who gave chase, only to catch him, fight with him more and taser him.



The officers pushed Meister up against the wall. Officer Salmon put Meister in a choke hold and subsequently kneed him twice in the abdomen.



Officer Tysl then punched Meister in the face repeatedly.



That was when Salmon shot Meister with a Taser X-26 which brought Meister careening to the ground. Officers kicked and elbowed Meister repeatedly while another officer shocked him a second time with the taser.



After a second choke hold and third Taser shock, Meister lost consciousness.



According to the suit, the officers, “shot taser darts into Mr. Meister, administered a number of painful electric shocks, struck him with fists and feet, and forcibly took him to the ground.”



“They ended up grabbing his arms and turning him around, and if you do that to a deaf person, it’s like gagging them. It would be like if I put my hand over your mouth if you try to tell me something,” says Meister’s lawyer John Burton.



Meister was arrested, taken to the hospital, and then into custody at the county jail, but officials dropped the charges at the jail due to the circumstances.



The suit claims Meister suffered, “extreme physical pain and suffering, humiliation, hardship, anxiety, and indignity, and severe mental and emotional anguish pain.”



Meister is a graduate of the University of Ohio and holds a Masters degree in Architecture. In a recollection of events, Meister’s wrote:



“I didn’t mean to resist — it’s ultimately my responsibility. But, with claustrophobia, logic gets pushed down a bit! I did not mean to resist, only to put space between myself and the officers so I could communicate.”



Per the settlement, the Hawthorne Police Department has pledged to change its communication and use of force policies regarding Deaf civilians. The new policy includes providing qualified interpreters to jailed deaf suspects, a booking video and transcript to describe the arrest process, and a video or TTY phone.



Just a few months ago in Charlotte, NC a Deaf man was shot and killed by a state highway patrol officer. The man lead officers on a brief high speed chase. When the chase came to an end, the Deaf man exited his vehicle charging at the officer on foot who in return fatally shot the man after repeated verbal commands to stop.



The North Carolina Highway Patrol officer has not yet been charged with a crime because the investigation is still pending.



SOURCE

Deaf Immigrant Awarded $250K Settlement

VIDEO [CC] - Deaf News: Deaf Man receives $250K settlement after being jailed with no access to interpreter in Virginia.



ARLINGTON, VA -- NBC4 Washington: A Deaf man will receive a $250,000 settlement from the Arlington County Sheriff's Office after it failed to provide a sign language interpreter for him while he was jailed, the U.S. Attorney's Office announced Friday.



The man, Abreham Zemedagegehu, has said he spent part of his six-week stay at the Arlington County Detention Facility in 2014 unaware of the charges against him. The Justice Department launched an investigation into Zemedagegehu's claim last year.

NBC News covered a story about Abreham Zemedagegehu and his experience in jail without an interpreter.



"I felt like I was losing my mind," Zemedagegehu said through an interpreter in an interview at his lawyer's office. "I thought Virginia would give me an interpreter and they said no. That's why I felt lost."



Zemedagegehu also said the jail failed provide a communications device to help him communicate with his lawyer and performed medical procedures on him without explaining them or getting his consent.



A native of Ethiopia, he can communicate in American Sign Language but is largely unable to communicate in written English.



Zemedagegehu sued the sheriff's office in federal court, saying his treatment failed to meet the standards of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).



Among the concerns raised in his lawsuit was the jail's reliance on teletypewriter devices to allow Deaf inmates to communicate with people outside the jail. The sheriff's office has defended its use of the TTY machine, but Zemedagegehu's lawsuit said the device is useless for someone who can't read English and obsolete because videophones are now used predominantly in the Deaf community.



Zemedagegehu's ordeal began Feb. 2, 2014, when he was arrested after being accused of stealing another man's iPad. He said he pleaded guilty to the charge because a plea bargain offered him a sentence of time served. Later, though, the man who accused him of the theft said he'd found the device and rescinded his accusation.



Under the settlement, the sheriff's office will pay $250,000 to Zemedagegehu, and must take steps to comply with the ADA. This includes appointing an ADA coordinator, providing ADA training to its staff, and ensuring that auxiliary aids and services are provided. The Justice Department said the sheriff's office has taken several steps to improve its ADA compliance even before finalizing the settlement agreement.



"People who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing must be able to communicate clearly with law enforcement officials," said Tracy Doherty-McCormick, First Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, in a statement Friday. "Through this settlement agreement, the Arlington County Sheriff has taken important steps to ensure that the operations of the Arlington County Detention Facility are in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act."



Source: Deaf Man Receives $250K Settlement After Being Jailed With No Access to Interpreter in Arlington | NBC4 Washington.



Follow us: @nbcwashington on Twitter | NBCWashington on Facebook



Related:

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Deaf Teacher Discriminated at Alberta School

Deaf News: Edmonton Public Schools must pay $15,000 for discriminating against an Alberta School for the Deaf teacher who is Deaf, a recent Alberta Human Rights tribunal decision says.

EDMONTON, AB -- Edmonton Journal: The school district breached human rights law in its dealings with teacher Gail Lidkea when her new service dog prompted them to move her to a small, isolated classroom and limit the dog’s movement around the school, human rights tribunal chairman William Johnson ruled last month.



Lidkea, who has profound hearing loss, had been teaching for 17 years when, in 2009, she became eligible for a service dog from the Lions Foundation of Canada, the ruling said. During training in Ontario, she discovered her new Labrador/golden-retriever cross, Widget, was supposed to stay with her most of the time and should not be left alone for more than three hours.



When her co-workers at the Grade 1-12 school found out Widget would come to the building daily, some raised concerns about their allergies and the possibility medically sensitive students in Lidkea’s class might be affected.



On the advice of a district administrator, the school’s principal put Lidkea on paid leave for three weeks while the school decided how to accommodate the dog and people sensitive to its dander.



“I was very anxious because I didn’t understand what was going on,” Lidkea testified at a human rights hearing. “I was upset. I was hurt and disappointed because I was hoping for a smooth transition, which wasn’t happening.”



The principal and district’s then-director of staff relations, meanwhile, were questioning Lidkea’s need for the service dog, according to emails exchanges submitted as exhibits to the commission.



Then-principal Sandra Mason wrote to her superior that although Lidkea’s dog was for safety and security, the school was purposefully designed for Deaf and Hard of Hearing students and staff.



“Am I, as the principal, going to be ‘set up’ for every other staff member to want to explore the same thing? (This may be a stretch but it is a concern for me and I can see this becoming an issue),” Mason wrote.



Without consulting Lidkea, the district assigned the teacher new classes in two small rooms in a remote part of the building. In an email to the principal, Lidkea said she was “heartbroken about losing the students I am so close to.”



The teacher was told to leave her dog in her classroom when she went to school events or made photocopies in the office. One time, she and her dog were told to stand in the doorway during a staff meeting to keep the dog away from an allergic co-worker.



“I feel alienated from my colleagues and the students. I feel anxious and uncertain when it becomes necessary to go to other locations in the building and I must leave Widget behind … I can’t help feel, however, that a certain amount of over-reaction is happening,” Lidkea wrote in a January 2010 letter to the school.



Lidkea continued to teach for two years in rooms she described as cramped, inappropriate for students with behavioural issues and full of safety hazards for students, Widget and herself. The isolation continued nearly two years after the school had ruled out allergies as a concern.



What happened after 2012 is unclear from the document. Lidkea could not be reached for comment.



The human rights tribunal chair said the school district could have found a more appropriate space for Lidkea to work, and failed to properly assess the health effects of the dog on other staff and students in the school.



Edmonton Public Schools did not provide a response to questions by Thursday evening.



Lidkea’s lawyer said he has not received any notice of appeal from the school district.



Johnson’s Oct. 14 ruling awarded Lidkea $15,000, plus interest from December 2009, for “mental anguish, injury to dignity and injury to self-respect.”



SOURCE



Related: #Deaf Canadians

McDonald's Refuses Interview Deaf Applicant

Deaf News: McDonald's pays up $56,000 to the EEOC after manager refuses to interview Deaf applicant in Missouri.



BELTON, MO -- (AP) McDonald's will pay a $56,500 settlement after a southeast Missouri restaurant manager refused to interview a Deaf job applicant.



The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission on Tuesday announced the settlement with McDonald's Corp. and McDonald's Restaurants. A message seeking comment from the Oak Brook, Illinois-based company was not immediately returned.



The EEOC says a young man who can't hear or speak applied online in 2012 to work at the McDonald's in Belton, Mo. He had previous experience as a cook and cleanup team member at a McDonald's restaurant in another state.



A lawsuit filed by the EEOC says that when the restaurant manager learned the applicant needed a sign language interpreter for his interview, she canceled the interview, even though the applicant's sister volunteered to interpret.



SOURCE



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Ignoring Deaf Customer Cost Cab Company $42K

Deaf News: New Jersey's Passaic Cab Company accused of ignoring Deaf customer must pay $42K.



PATERSON, NJ -- Patch: Nicole Perkins contacted the company 3 times while waiting in heavy snow but was hung up and told to stop calling, officials said.



A Passaic County company who ignored and hung up on a Deaf woman's attempts to get cab during a snowstorm in 2014 was hit with a $42,000 judgement, state Attorney General Christopher S. Porrino announced Monday.



Superior Court Judge Thomas J. LaConte ruled that Clifton Taxi and Limousine Inc. violated the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination and unlawfully denied service to Nicole Perkins, who is Deaf.



Perkins, of Jamaica, New York, contacted the company three times through a telecommunications relay service during a state of emergency and snowstorm in January 2014. Perkins was waiting for a bus that was delayed in Clifton and called the company, according to the complaint the state Division of Civil Rights filed against Clifton Taxi.



The relay service allows Perkins to make calls by sending text messages from her cell phone to a relay operator.



An operator called the company, advising them that she was assisting a Deaf Caller, but was hung up on twice. On the third call, someone at Clifton Taxi picked up and allegedly responded, "Please stop calling" and then hung up, the complaint said.



The company must pay Perkins $6,000 for emotional distress, $20,000 in penalties, and $16,000 in attorney fees.



Under federal law, all telecommunications providers are required to provide telecommunications relay services. Through these services, an individual who is Deaf, Hard of Hearing or has a speech disability can communicate in real time by telephone.



“Setting aside for a moment the egregious nature of the circumstances - a deaf woman being hung up on three times as she sought a ride to escape an oncoming blizzard - the fact is that businesses and other places of public accommodation can’t simply ignore a Deaf or Hard of Hearing person trying to communicate through a relay service,” Attorney General Porrino said in a statement. "This is an important outcome, because it puts service providers and other businesses on notice that we’re serious about protecting the rights of persons with hearing and other disabilities, and that we will hold accountable anyone who fails to follow the law.”



SOURCE

Deaf Woman Refused Service At Dunkin Donuts

VIDEO [CC] - Deaf News: Massachusettsians show support after Deaf woman is refused service at Dunkin Donuts drive-thru.



FRAMINGHAM, MA -- A Deaf woman who was outraged by the way a Dunkin Donuts employee treated her is getting support from her community.



Jessica Sanzillo said she's a frequent customer at a Framingham Dunkin Donuts and uses a texting app to order through the drive-thru.



But when she drove up one day, she was refused service because she wouldn't use the speaker. On Sunday, Sanzillo and several others went through that drive-thru and ordered like a Deaf person would.



They hope this sends a message to others.

To activate this feature, press the "CC" button.

"To see, to get them the experience of people that work at Dunkin Donuts. To know what it's like for when a Deaf person is going to come through the drive-thru and how to approach that better in the future,” Sanzillo told FOX25 through an interpreter Friday.



Hearing people and other who have Deaf families members came out to the rally as well.



"As a parent of a Deaf child, I would never want William to be excluded from anything and so thinking of him wanting to get a cup of coffee later in life and being told he couldn't go through the drive thru like everybody else really upset me,” one parent said.



Dunkin Donuts did apologize for that initial incident and said the employee involved has been fired.



SOURCE



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Deaf Movie Fans Sues Celebration! Cinemas

VIDEO: Deaf News - Celebration! Cinemas sued for failing to accommodate Deaf, Hard of Hearing in Michigan.



BENTON HARBOR, MI -- FOX News: West Michigan movie fans who are Deaf and Hard of Hearing are suing Celebration! Cinemas for discrimination, alleging their Benton Harbor theater fails to provide widely available captioning accommodations.



Graham Forsey, 23, a St. Joseph resident who is Deaf, alongside the National Association of the Deaf filed a lawsuit Monday against Loeks Theatres, Inc., also known as Celebration! Cinemas. Forsey says he asked the Benton Harbor theater multiple times in writing to provide captioning and Celebration! Cinemas failed to accommodate, according to the lawsuit.

Read the full lawsuit here.



“It’s about access," said Mary Vargas, an attorney representing the plaintiffs. "It’s about Mr. Forsey and members of the National Association of the Deaf being able to go to the movies.”



A non-profit representing more than 137,000 Michiganders who are Deaf and Hard of Hearing, the NAD is suing Celebration! Cinemas with Forsey stating this failure to provide captioning technology violates a basic civil right as specified under the Americans with Disabilities Act among other laws. Meanwhile, Forsey says he is forced to drive about an hour to another movie theater which accommodates him.



Celebration! Cinemas responded to FOX 17 Monday and confirmed their Benton Harbor theater does not have any captioning accommodations, releasing this statement:



"We’re fully aware of the issues surrounding this complaint and new technologies will help resolve it very soon.



The National Association of Theatre Owners (NATO) has been working actively with advocacy groups to clarify updated standards for supporting the Deaf community. These standards are currently being reviewed by the Department of Justice, and we expect a ruling from them in the very near future.



Celebration! Cinema is committed to continuing to improve services for all of our guests, and we are looking forward to the approval of these standards so we can continue to invest in closed captioning technology. Currently, we have assisted listening devices in all locations and closed captioning in our Grand Rapids and Lansing, MI markets. Benton Harbor and other locations will receive captioning equipment in the coming months upon the adoption of the new standards.



Technological solutions for visually and hearing impaired guests are evolving at a rapid rate. We look forward to working collaboratively with NATO and advocacy groups both locally and nationally on this topic.



Steve VanWagoner, VP of Marketing & Public Relations, Celebration! Cinema"



Closed captioning technology is readily available at other movie theaters. It ranges from open captioning an entire audience would see, to captioning glasses, or individual devices that fit onto a theater seat.



"It's frustrating because it’s been so many years since this was a legal requirement for theaters," said Vargas. "There are roughly 137,000 people in the state of Michigan who are Deaf and Hard of Hearing, and guess what? They’re just like everybody else. They like to go to the movies.”



SOURCE

Deaf Woman Sues Taco Bell Over Drive-Thru

VIDEO [CC] - Deaf News: Deaf New Jersey woman sues Taco Bell over drive-thru orders.



TRENTON, NJ -- A Deaf Atlantic City woman who primarily communicates in sign language is suing Taco Bell, saying she found it difficult, if not impossible, to order two tacos at the fast-food chain's drive-thru window.



Gina Cirrincione said in her federal lawsuit that on Jan. 11, she wrote her order on a slip of paper and handed it to an employee at the drive-thru pickup window at a Taco Bell in Pleasantville, New Jersey.



Her video of the exchange, provided to The Associated Press by her lawyer, showed an employee trying to explain that orders are placed at the start of the drive-thru.

To activate this feature, press the "CC" button.

"I will do it this one time," he then said. "I want you to understand me, one time. After that, no more. After that, no more. Come inside. OK, is that fair?"



On March 15, Cirrincione said, she wrote her order on a slip of paper and handed it to a drive-thru employee at a Taco Bell in Atlantic City. The note was returned and the window was shut without the order or an explanation, she said. She said she entered the store and was ignored.



Also see more: Taco Bell Complains About Deaf Customers



Taco Bell's drive-thru system requires a customer to hear and speak, making it inaccessible to the Deaf in violation of the Americans With Disabilities Act, the lawsuit claims.



Taco Bell spokeswoman Laura Nedbal said in a statement Friday to the AP that the California-based company had not yet received the lawsuit so could not comment on it. However, she added, "Taco Bell has a fundamental policy to respect all of our customers and employees, and we are committed to maintaining an environment free of discrimination or harassment."



Cirrincione wants Taco Bell to develop a policy to consider the needs of Deaf customers and to train employees about their rights. She also is seeking punitive and compensatory damages.



"With today's technology and the sophistication of Taco Bell, there is no excuse that their drive-thrus cannot be accessible," said attorney Eric Baum of The Eisenberg & Baum Law Center For The Deaf and Hard of Hearing, who is representing Cirrincione.



SOURCE



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Deaf/Blind Teen Brutally Beaten By TSA Agents

VIDEO: Deaf News - TSA sued for brutal beating Deaf, partially blind teen girl recovering from brain surgery at the Memphis Airport.



MEMPHIS, TN -- A teen just released from brain surgery was beaten by Transportation Security Administration (TSA) agents inside the Memphis International Airport last year, a recent lawsuit alleges.



The TSA is listed as a defendant in a suit accusing them of injuring a mentally disabled teen after she was unable to understand or comply with orders at a security checkpoint.



Newly surfaced photos show the aftermath of the June 30, 2015 incident, in which agents roughed up 19-year-old Hannah Cohen leaving her bloodied and bruised.

“They wanted to do further scanning; she was reluctant. She didn’t understand what they were about to do,” her mother Shirley Cohen told WREG.



The lawsuit claims before Hannah had brain tumor surgery at St. Jude’s hospital, she already had “a physical and mental impairment that substantially limit one or more of her life activities.”



“More particularly,” the lawsuit continues, “Hannah has damage from radiation and removal of a brain tumor that substantially limits her ability to speak, walk, stand, see, hear, care for herself, learn and work, think, concentrate, and interact with others.”



“This substantial limitation is obvious upon sight and was obvious” on the day of the incident, the lawsuit filed in US District Court states.



“She’s trying to get away from them,” Hannah’s mother described, “but in the next instant, one of them had her down on the ground and hit her head on the floor. And I looked and there’s blood everywhere.”



All the while Shirley was kept from being able to help her daughter, causing her “extreme emotional injury as she watched the personnel assault her daughter,” according to court documents obtained by Infowars.



The Memphis International Airport Police Department is also included as a defendant in the suit for “arresting her for no cause.”



“Hannah was arrested, booked and on the night she should have been celebrating the end of her treatment, she was locked up in Jail East,” reports WREG.



“Here we were with nowhere to go, not even a toothbrush, our bags had gone to Chattanooga,” Shirley said.



TSA did not comment on the case, but referred travelers with special accommodations to call their TSA Cares hotline. The Cohens’ are asking for $100,000 in damages.



SOURCE

Deaf Pregnant Woman Sues Florida Hospital

EXCLUSIVE VIDEO: Deaf woman suing for interpeter in delivery room.



WPTV BOYNTON BEACH - Margaret Weiss is due to have her second child in less than a month. The Boynton Beach mother is Deaf and wants a real life interpreter in the delivery room with her, but she says her hospital is refusing to provide that.



"They're discriminating against me," explained Weiss, with the help of a certified sign language interpreter. She explained the fear she has about going into the delivery room at Bethesda Hospital. "It's really serious. What if there was something life-threatening that happened during the delivery?" said Weiss.

Weiss has filed a lawsuit against Bethesda for denying her request for a live interpreter to be in the room with her. The hospital provides the hearing impaired with VRIs or Video Remote Interpreting.



Weiss says this is not effective communication for a woman giving birth and ultimately a violation of the Americans Disabilities Act.



"No one can sit there in labor and just watch a fixed screen," said Weiss. "You can't do that. It's much better to have a live interpreter that's mobile and can move around. It's a lot more comfortable. They can lean over. They can get in a different spot." Weiss says on top that, in her experience, the VRIs do not work all the time.



Weiss said she had to go to Boca Raton to deliver her first daughter in order to have a live interpreter... Read more: wptv.com/news/region-s-palm-beach-county/boynton-beach/hearing-impaired-pregnant-woman-sues-hospital-wants-interpreter

Deaf Football Lawsuit For Discrimination

VIDEO: Family of Deaf child sues football association for discrimination in Minnesota.



MINNEAPOLIS, MN - A Fridley family filed suit this week against the Spring Lake Park Panther Youth Football Association over their Deaf son’s participation in the league. They believe the nonprofit should’ve paid for interpreters and allowed the family to use a special drum to signal the start of play.



Nine-year-old Dov Nathanson says he loves to play football. “I just think it’s cool. I love to tackle people it’s exciting,” he said.



Dov and and his brother Galvin are both Deaf, and they’ve played football with hearing children for years. But last year, the football association said he and his brother Galvin could no longer use a special drum that helps them know when the play is starting.

“Without it, I couldn’t feel it i couldn’t feel the vibration,” Dov said. “I was never ready for the play.”



Parents David and Gloria Nathanson are also upset that the association said they wouldn’t pay for an interpreter for their son’s last year. They say it’s the association’s responsibility.



“We were very frustrated nobody would listen,” David Nathanson said. “It was like we didn’t have a voice.”



Phil Richard, President of the Spring Lake Park Panther Youth Football Association, says the drum made it interfered with the game for other players, and that the family should be responsible for providing their own interpreter.



“It really just comes down to funding. It’s expensive,” Richard said. “We finished out year with $4,000. The cost of an interpreter is double that, and the law, we feel, protects us from that.”



Both Dov and Galvin plan to register for football again this year. The family says they want the policy changed–to allow Deaf players fair play.



“We’re just hoping that in the future that we will feel included,” Gloria Nathanson said.



Also mentioned in the lawsuit is a claim that David Nathanson was denied the opportunity to coach either of his sons teams last year, which he believes is because he’s also Deaf. He had coached three previous years. SOURCE

Deaf Man Jailed With No Access To Interpreter

VIDEO: Deaf News - Deaf immigrant jailed for stealing iPad that wasn't stolen and no access to interpreter service in Virginia.



ARLINGTON, VA -- He knew he was in jail, but he didn't know why. Eventually, Abreham Zemedagegehu learned that he'd been accused of stealing an iPad, an iPad whose owner later found it. He spent the next six weeks in jail, unable to communicate with his jailers because he is Deaf. He described a frightening, isolated experience in which medical procedures were performed without his consent and he feared for his safety.



Zemedagegehu sued the Arlington County sheriff last month in federal court, saying his treatment failed to meet the standards of the Americans with Disabilities Act.



"I felt like I was losing my mind," Zemedagegehu said through an interpreter in an interview at his lawyer's office. "I thought Virginia would give me an interpreter and they said no. That's why I felt lost."

Zemedagegehu, who is homeless, is a U.S. citizen who was born in Ethiopia. He grew up using Ethiopian Sign Language. He has learned American Sign Language, but he has never learned more than rudimentary written English.



Maj. Susie Doyel, a spokeswoman for the sheriff's office, which runs the jail, declined to comment on the specific allegations. She generally defended the jail's ability to handle Deaf inmates and others with disabilities, and said several deputies in the jail are proficient in sign language.



But she also acknowledged that communication with a Deaf inmate is more problematic in cases where the inmate can't communicate in written English.



In court papers filed Monday, lawyers for the sheriff ask a judge to dismiss the case, arguing that even if Zemedagegehu's allegations are true, they fail to show intentional discrimination because they attempted various different ways to communicate with him, including handwritten notes.



And even if the discrimination were intentional, the lawyers write that it would not violate federal law because there is a rational basis for the discrimination: "it takes extra resources and creates additional security considerations to bring in an ASL interpreter," they write... Read More - ABC News.



Related:

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$5.75 Million Settlement Awarded To Deaf & Blind Students

VIDEO: $5.75 Million Settlement Awarded to Deaf and Blind Students Sexually Assaulted by Gang at Hawaii Public School.



HONOLULU - A young girl is forced to perform oral sex on an older boy while he films her with his cell phone camera and students at their school look on, another young girl becomes pregnant after she is raped by a male student at her school, a young boy is sodomized in the bathroom by an older student, but school administrators don’t penalized the perpetrator, another child is sexually assaulted by five boys on campus, and nothing is done to stop them or punish them after the fact.



These are not scenarios from an NBC’s Law and Order: Special Victims Unit episode, they are actual events that parents say took place at the Hawaii School for the Deaf and Blind, the state’s only public school for children with these disabilities.

For more than a decade, some of the school’s administrators and students covered up a terrible secret young children between 12 and 16 years old were being terrorized - robbed, raped, sodomized and even gang raped on campus and on the school buses – not by employees, but by other children. There are just 80 children enrolled in the school, which is located on the edge of Waikiki, Hawaii’s main tourism hub, and just across the street from the Honolulu Zoo.



One student heading a gang calling themselves the “Ringleaders” orchestrated the attacks, and students were ordered to participate as attackers or retaliated against.



Michael Green is one of five attorneys who successfully secured a $5,750,000 settlement last week from the state and a school counselor. ... Read more: http://www.hawaiireporter.com/5-75-million-settlement-awarded-to-deaf-and-blind-students-sexually-assaulted-by-gang-at-hawaii-public-school/123



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Deaf Community Sues Welfare For Lack Of Interpreters

Deaf Pennsylvanians lawsuit welfare for lack of interpreters: U.S. judge eyeing deal to aid state's Deaf, intellectually disabled human service system clients.



HARRISBURG - A federal judge is being asked to approve a settlement of a class-action lawsuit that would ramp up the state's responsibility to individuals who are Deaf and intellectually disabled.



A key provision of the proposed deal U.S. Middle District Chief Judge Yvette Kane is weighing would require the state Department of Public Welfare to hire sign language interpreters and other specialists to improve communications with Deaf and intellectually disabled clients in the human services system.



About 250 such clients have been identified so far in the state's system of group homes and other service providers, according to filings in the case. Also, DPW would have to pay $450,000 to the Disability Rights Network of Pennsylvania, which filed the lawsuit against DPW in 2010 on behalf of a disabled client identified in court papers only as Harry M.



In seeking approval of the settlement, the rights network stated that DPW officials also have signed off on the proposed deal. The rights network claimed in its lawsuit that the state is not properly helping intellectually disabled Pennsylvanians who are Deaf, because service providers often cannot effectively communicate with them.



Clients who would be affected by the settlement receive services from their home counties through the state-funded Home and Community-Based Waiver, also known as the Consolidated Waiver program. ... Read more: http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2013/02/us_judge_eyeing_deal_to_aid_st.html

Deaf Gay Man Sues D.C. Jail For Mistreatment

VIDEO: Deaf gay man alleges mistreatment at D.C. jail.



WASHINGTON, DC - A former inmate in the District of Columbia correctional system is suing the city for alleged mistreatment. The D.C. man is Deaf, and the lawsuit claims he was unable to effectively communicate during his period of confinement. It also alleges his treatment got worse when he complained.



44-year-old William Pierce is profoundly Deaf. He wound up with a 60-day sentence in the city's correction system after an altercation with his partner resulted in a conviction for simple assault.



At the order of the judge, Pierce actually wound up in the Correctional Treatment Facility to get help. The CTF adjoins the city jail.

Arthur Spitzer, an attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union of the Nation's Capital, said in an interview: "There was no interpreter there for [Pierce] at intake, or at any of his medical appointments, he had some medical problems or at any of his classes. He was taking an anger management class, and he didn't know what was going on. He didn't know what people were saying. He couldn't participate in the group discussion(s)."



The lawsuit says, under the Americans with Disabilities Act, accommodations for the Deaf must be made so inmates can communicate. Things got worse for William Pierce when he complained, according to his attorney. ... Read more: http://www.myfoxdc.com/story/20943928/deaf-man-alleges-mistreatment-at-dc-jail#axzz2KD4UbjPN



Washington Blade - Gay Deaf man sues city for mistreatment.



WASHINGTON, DC - In a lawsuit filed in federal court on Feb. 1, a former D.C. jail inmate who’s Deaf and gay, accuses the city’s Department of Corrections of engaging in disability-related discrimination by refusing to provide him basic services required by the Americans with Disabilities Act.



William Pierce, 44, who was sentenced to two months in a city jail for an assault conviction, charges in the lawsuit that jail officials repeatedly refused to provide a sign language interpreters as required by law and retaliated against him for complaining about his conditions by placing him in solitary confinement.



Pierce, who has HIV, was given only three of the four HIV medications he had been taking at home and was unable to understand why prison doctors changed his medication regimen because of the lack of a sign language interpreter, the lawsuit says.



It says the emotional distress Pierce suffered due to the alleged discriminatory treatment was heightened when jail guards handcuffed him shortly before his mother arrived for a visit, preventing him from communicating with her in sign language.



“The District of Columbia needs to be held accountable for its outright discrimination and reminded that people with disabilities cannot just be locked away and ignored,” said Arthur Spitzer, legal director of the ACLU of the Nation’s Capital, which filed the lawsuit on Pierce’s behalf in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.



Spitzer said most of the alleged discriminatory actions against Pierce took place at the D.C. Jail’s Correctional Treatment Facility. The CTF is operated by the Corrections Corporation of America, a private company under contract with the city.



“D.C., in turn, needs to hold the Corrections Corporation of America accountable for its continued disregard for the wellbeing of the individuals the city has placed in its care,” Spitzer said in a statement. ... Read more: http://www.washingtonblade.com/2013/02/06/gay-deaf-man-sues-city-for-mistreatment/

Sex Assaults Lawsuit Involving Deaf & Blind Students

VIDEO: Settlement reached in lawsuit involving Deaf and Blind students in the capital of Hawaii.



HONOLULU - A multi-million dollar settlement has been reached in a sex assault lawsuit involving Hawaii Center for the Deaf and Blind. It's been a year and a half since the State was sued by a group of students at the school. The students alleged they had been sexually abused by other students.



Friday, the attorney representing the group announced that a multi-million dollar settlement has been reached. A spotlight was cast on the Hawaii Center for the Deaf and Blind in the Kapahulu area in 2011, after police started investigating allegations of widespread sex abuse between classmates.



In August 2011, Honolulu attorney Michael Green filed a lawsuit against the state, on behalf of 50 to 60 students.

"What we found out was, and I never thought about this, that we had children who were the aggressors, we're talking about sodomizing boys, boys on boys, boys on girls, girls on girls, in the bathroom, on school buses, in the bushes, that because no one seemed to care it seemed like it was okay. So people who were victims became aggressors. And you know that part that maybe affected me the most aside from the fact it's happening to young people, and people that have disabilities is that if you cry out who can hear you? If you have blind students who can see it?" said Green.



The State has now agreed to pay $5M to settle the lawsuit - money that'll go to the victims, and to pay for counseling and treatment... Read more: http://www.khon2.com/news/local/story/Settlement-reached-in-lawsuit-involving-deaf-and/qEdZ6YT6_EuWYDo6tVhRPg.cspx

Deaf Lifeguard Be ‘Qualified’ Under The ADA ?

Deaf News: The Deaf lifeguard be ‘Qualified’ under the Americans with Disabilities Act ?



OAKLAND COUNTY, MI -- What would you do if you were hiring a lifeguard for a community wave pool and the applicant was Deaf, but he was also certified as a lifeguard? A new court ruling this month shows how mistakes made in assessing the applicant's medical condition can leave an employer drowning in litigation.



Case in Point: Nicholas Keith, 22, was born Deaf and communicates using sign language. He also uses a cochlear implant that helps him detect noises, such as whistles and people calling for help. Keith received his junior lifeguard certification and then successfully completed lifeguard training. (A Michigan county provided a sign-language interpreter to relay verbal instructions to Keith during both training programs.)



Keith then applied for a lifeguard position at the county's wave pool, requesting that a sign-language interpreter be present to relay verbal directions during staff meetings. The county offered Keith the job, conditioned on his passing a pre-employment physical. The doctor failed him, citing his inability to hear. Plus, the county’s safety and risk management consultants expressed concerns over Keith being unable to do the job, despite numerous accommodations the county was offering. So the county rescinded the job offer... Read More.



Deaf Lifeguard's Disability Claims Against Oakland County Go To Jury.



The Sixth Circuit has reversed the decision of a lower court and held that a Deaf individual should be permitted to proceed to trial on his claim that a prospective employer discriminated against him on the basis of disability by failing to hire him as a lifeguard. Keith v. County of Oakland, (6th Cir. Jan. 10, 2013).



In reviving the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) claim, the Court found that a jury should be permitted to determine whether the individual was otherwise qualified to be a lifeguard, with or without accommodation, that is, whether hearing is an essential function of the job and, if so, whether reasonable accommodations could have been made... Read More.