Police Pays $25K Settlement With Deaf Man

Woonsocket Police Department reaches civil rights settlement with Deaf man who was arrested in Rhode Island.

PROVIDENCE, RI -- The Providence Journal: The City of Woonsocket has reached a settlement with a Deaf man police arrested and held overnight without providing him with a sign language interpreter or other communications assistance.

The Rhode Island affiliate of the American Civil Liberties Union and the Rhode Island Disability Law Center filed suit against the city and its police department on behalf of David Alves, a 25-year-old North Smithfield man who is profoundly Deaf. He accused the city of violating his rights by arresting him for allegedly making an obscene hand gesture.

In reaching the terms, the city did not admit fault but agreed to pay Alves $25,000 in damages and legal fees. In addition, it struck down a city ordinance that allowed police to charge an individual with disorderly conduct for using abusive or obscene language or making obscene hand gestures.

The city, too, agrees to put in place a policy and train staff to offer communications devices to people who are hearing impaired. Alves relies on American Sign Language to communicate.

According to the lawsuit, Alves was celebrating a friend's birthday in July 2015 at the City Side Club when a confrontation with a bouncer ensued. Two officers arrived and directed Alves to leave the club. The bouncer laughed as Alves started to leave, to which Alves responded by giving him the sign language version of "bull[expletive]." The sign entailed holding up his hand with his index and pinky fingers out and the middle two fingers held down with his thumb - a sign police mistook as giving them the finger.

Police officers David B. Wahl and other officers grabbed Alves, placed him in handcuffs and took him to the police station. He was charged with disorderly conduct for allegedly making an obscene gesture. He requested a sign language interpreter, which the police did not provide.

When a friend went to check on his status, an officer wrote a note back saying, "These things happen, he just needs to take it as a learning experience."

The next morning they released him and issued a summons to appear in Municipal Court. His father requested an interpreter at the hearing. Court employees refused to provide such services until being called by the Disability Law Center. The court dismissed the charge.

Plaintiff David Alves said in a statement: "This settlement will help send a very clear message to all law enforcement in the State of Rhode Island that they cannot violate anyone's civil rights. I hope this settlement will encourage other police departments across the state to also adopt effective communication policies for all who are Deaf and Hard of Hearing."

"I am pleased we were able to settle this case and vindicate the important principle that individuals have the power to challenge police practices that undermine basic constitutional rights," V. Edward Formisano, representing the ACLU, said.

SOURCE - The Providence Journal

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Deaf Man Beaten, Tasered and Choked by Police

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

LOS ANGELES -- 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

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Deaf Immigrant Awarded $250K Settlement

Deaf Man receives $250K settlement after being jailed with no access to interpreter in Virginia.

ARLINGTON, Virginia -- 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

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Deaf Students Abused By Priests Win $30-Million

Deaf News: Deaf students abused by priests at Clercs de St. Viateur win record $30-million settlement in Quebec, Canada.

MONTREAL, PQ -- For the 150 victims, Deaf and severely traumatized, it took decades to come forward with their accounts of sexual abuse at the hands of the Clercs de Saint-Viateur.

But they finally named the 33 priests and religious staff and five lay people who they say abused them at the Montreal Institute for the Deaf, a boarding-school for young boys run by the Clercs, and on Wednesday they were awarded $30 million – by far the largest settlement for sexual assault in Quebec history.

At the top of the list is Father Anthime Paiement, accused of sexual assault by 24 young boys at the Institute. Most of the boys were around 10 or 11 years old at the time; some were as young as seven. Paiement’s obituary in 1998, at the age of 91, said he devoted his entire life to the Deaf, as a teacher and chaplain at the Institute, among other places.

Then came Brother Philippe Paquette, who 10 victims said repeatedly assaulted them, in the dormitory or the classrooms or priests’ quarters, where he lived from 1949 to 1984.

According to his obituary, his tasks included teaching the “little ones,” surveillance, cinema, and discipline. He died in 2009 at the age of 82.

Brother Gérard Barrette, meanwhile, was accused by seven plaintiffs in the class action suit of anal rape, among other things. Perhaps he is still alive.

The abuse spanned from 1940 to 1982. Some of the victims were abused over the Christmas holidays. Some were abused throughout their first year at the school on St-Laurent Blvd. in Villeray in 1962. Others were assaulted on a regular basis, over their entire stay – up to seven years’ time.

The list of abusers also includes the director of the institute, the nurse, the dormitory supervisor, and the priest at the confessional. According to one victim, the boys soon stopped going to confession. Another said he was abused by a priest, and when he sought help at the infirmary, he was assaulted there too.

For Robert Kugler, who has represented the victims since the class action lawsuit was launched in 2010, the amount of the award reflects the extent of the abuse and the vulnerability of the victims.

“All the victims were handicapped – they were Deaf and had difficulty communicating. They were stuck,” said Kugler, of the firm Kugler Kandestin. “It’s simply tragic.”

While no amount of money can replace what the victims lost in their lives, Kugler continued, it can help them move forward, get therapy and improve the rest of their lives.

The Clercs de Saint-Viateur du Canada will pay $20 million, while the Institut Raymond-Dewar – the new name for the Montreal Institute for the Deaf, as of 1984 – will pay $10 million.

If divided equally among the 150 victims, the $30 million would amount to $200,000 each.

But Kugler expects more victims will likely come forward, now that they have reason to believe it will lead to compensation. And an adjudicator, former Court of Appeals Judge André Forget, will be tasked with interviewing the plaintiffs, in private, to determine whether they deserve the base amount of compensation, 25 per cent more, or 50 per cent more, depending on the gravity of the abuse, and the gravity of the consequences of the abuse.

In 2011, the Congrégation de Sainte-Croix accepted to pay $18 million to former students who were sexually abused between 1950 and 1991 by members of the order in various schools, including Notre-Dame College in Montreal.

Read The Full Story.

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Sex Assaults Lawsuit Involving Deaf & Blind Students

Settlement reached in lawsuit involving Hawaiian Deaf & Blind students.

HONOLULU, Hawaii -- 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 The Full Story.

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Deaf Lifeguard Be ‘Qualified’ Under The ADA?

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

OAKLAND COUNTY, Michigan -- 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 The Full Story.

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 The Full Story.