Gay Deaf Man Sues D.C. Jail For Mistreatment

VIDEO: FOX 5 - Deaf 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

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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/

Settlement Reached In Lawsuit Involving Deaf & Blind Students

Video: KHON2 - Settlement reached in lawsuit involving Deaf and Blind students.



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.

Video by KHONNewsHawaii



"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

Would A Deaf Lifeguard Be ‘Qualified’ Under The ADA ?

Would a Deaf Lifeguard be ‘Qualified’ Under the ADA ?



Oakland County - 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: http://www.businessmanagementdaily.com/34432/would-a-deaf-lifeguard-be-qualified-under-the-ada

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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: http://www.mondaq.com/unitedstates/x/217724/employment+litigation+tribunals/Deaf+Lifeguards+Disability+Claims+Against+Oakland+County+Go+To+Jury

Cop Kicks Legally Deaf Man in the Face During Arrest

COLD LAKE, AB. - Raw Video: Cop Kicks Legally Deaf Man in the Face During Arrest in Cold Lake, Alberta.



A YouTube video of an Alberta RCMP officer kicking Richard Claybert in the face has sparked an investigation and caught the attention of the province.



According to a statement released by RCMP, three officers from the Cold Lake detachment responded to complaints of a noisy party in a parking lot of a community hall early Saturday, Sept. 22. While responding, one of the party organizers asked for police assistance in clearing the crowd. An intoxicated man refused to leave and two officers began the process of putting the man under arrest while the third officer continued crowd control. According to Metro Edmonton, it was the third time police were called to the hall that night.



RCMP have identified the man being arrested as 21-year-old Richard Claybert.



In the grainy, shaky footage posted to YouTube, Claybert appears face-down on the ground while two officers attempt to handcuff him. Onlookers taunt and yell at the officers and you can hear one man shouting "Seven-11 for the rest of your life, man. Seven-11," although it is not clear whether it is coming from a bystander or an officer...

Read more: http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2012/09/26/richard-claybert-kicked-in-face-cold-lake-rcmp_n_1916888.html



Video source Laurie Herve