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 Later, though, the man who accused him of the theft said he'd found the device and rescinded his accusation.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.



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Deaf Footy Fans Claims AFL Discrimination

Deaf News: Deaf footy fans claims Australian Football League discrimination.



MELBOURNE, AU -- The Age: The email came from a woman in Adelaide. "You moron, are you stupid? Are you paying for the interpreter or is the taxpayer paying for it? There are bigger issues in the world then a f--king interpreter".



Ramas McRae smiles, and shrugs his broad shoulders.



The Deaf community advocate has become the target of abusive messages after his public push to get the Australian Football League to provide Auslan (Australian sign language) translation at the Grand Final.



But when you're born with a disability, you learn to grow a thick skin, the Hawthorn fan says, signing to me through an interpreter, Mark Quinn.



A Hawthorn fan, McRae asked the league to provide a translator for the entertainment and ceremonies during the Grand Final this year, including the anthem. But the AFL refused, saying the closed caption system on TV was appropriate.



So McRae has lodged a complaint with the Australian Human Rights Commission, claiming the AFL have discriminated against him on the basis of his disability, and also launched a change.org petition. He is supported by a range of groups, including Deaf Australia and Deaf Victoria.



With the AFL promoting awareness of the women's league, and LGBTI recognition through its Pride game, McRae wants it to extend this inclusion to Deaf people (at the cost of a few hundred dollars).



"The Deaf community, and Deaf football fans, have the right to be a visible part of this huge sporting event," McRae says. "As citizens, we also have the right to see the national anthem in our preferred language."



Closed captions often have a 30-second to one-minute time lag on them, and require a screen, which means people who are at the game will not be able to see them, he says. Auslan is a language with its own syntax and grammar, which is quite different to English.



Internationally, particularly in the United States, sign language is commonly used at sporting events, including at the grand finals of the National Football League and National Basketball Association.



"For Deaf Americans it's very normal. People are often quite surprised internationally that Australia lags so far behind."



Some sporting codes are keen on the idea. Melbourne Racing Club's head of racing, Jake Norton, contacted McRae after he heard about his request. The club would like to introduce interpreters at major race meets, he said.



The AFL believes an on-ground interpreter would not be seen by the crowd, because of the distance from the seating to the arena, a spokesman said in a statement.



And because the broadcast coverage moves around the crowd and arena – and rarely focuses on the announcer – an interpreter would not often be seen, he said.



Having an interpreter shown in a separate box in one corner of the television screen would still be difficult to see clearly, and would impact on the wider broadcast, he said.



The words of the anthem could be displayed on LED signage during the pre-game period, and the AFL is discussing this possibility, he said.



SOURCE

CODA Woman Adopts Deaf Puppy 'Evie'

Deaf News: Deaf puppy finds forever home with loving couple.



VANCOUVER, BC -- Vancouver Sun: Evie, a playful husky-German shepherd cross, will never hear someone call her a good girl.



But the intuitive white puppy with one blue and one brown eye does know her owners think she’s special and have given her a second chance at a great life despite being completely Deaf.



Three months ago, Marisa Nielsen and fiancé Desmond Kumar were walking by the SPCA in east Vancouver when, on a whim, they went in to see the dogs up for adoption.



The two had been struggling after the death of their beloved dog Oliver in January, and decided to take a walk through the kennels even though they had no intention of adopting a dog at that moment.



But there, right before them was the match they knew was too perfect to pass up.



Nielsen, 27, is from a home in which both parents are Deaf, and Kumar works as a sign-language interpreter.



While they know how to communicate with Deaf humans, they were ready to jump through hoops to give Evie the extra attention needed for her puppy training.



“She barks when she wants to play,” Nielsen said of their new family member. “She has no idea how loud she sounds.”



While both can fully communicate in sign language, Nielsen admits it was a daunting task when they began to train Evie. “When we first got her it was a two-person job training her,” said Nielsen.



One of the toughest things at the start of the training was to keep the dog from looking off and losing focus, so one person held her head while the other would give her the hand signals.



Along the way, the couple have had some help with the training, mostly from people in the Trinity Lutheran Church for the Deaf congregation where her father David Nielsen is a pastor.



One member of her father’s church group in Surrey has a Deaf dog and Nielsen said they got some great tips. “We were told the most important thing to focus on was to get her onto as many signs as possible while she is young.”



“They love her out there,” added Nielsen.



Evie was originally bought on Craigslist as a small puppy by a young couple, but once they found out she was Deaf and would require a different training regime they sent her off to the SPCA in Vancouver.



Growing up in a family with both parents Deaf helped in the training process, said Nielsen. “Having that background was so helpful in understanding why her behaviour was different than other dogs,” she said.



Once they were able to make strides in the puppy training, Nielsen said few could tell Evie was Deaf.



“She is such a cute puppy,” said Nielsen. “She is a very calm little dog. She walks well on the leash and is very friendly with other dogs.”



Once Evie gets older, the couple plan on getting a vibration collar for her and take her to agility classes. “She is so smart and always wants to please,” Nielsen said of their prized pooch.



The BC SPCA’s Lorie Chortyk thinks the couple and the dog are a perfect fit. “For us the important thing is getting the right match,” said Chortyk. “In this case when we have an animal with special needs we work to get them matched up with the right owners.”



She warned people about buying pets off the internet. “That can be where they often sell dogs from puppy mills,” said Chortyk. “Go to a reputable breeder or go to a shelter to get a dog. There are so many great animals in shelters.“



A reputable breeder will have the history of the pup’s parents, she noted.



“We certainly do get dogs (at the shelter) that are Deaf,” said Chortyk. “Our philosophy is there is a right match for every dog that comes to us, and in this case that is what happened.”



She added that a deaf dog can have a great life, with few barriers once they are trained.



“You have to have some precautions, but they can live a long, happy life,” she said.



SOURCE



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