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Disability Discrimination
Monthly Law
Joural Article: Police
Interactions with Deaf Persons, 2009 (3) AELE Mo. L. J.
101.
Monthly Law Joural Article: Police
Interactions With Autistic Persons, 2009 (7) AELE Mo. L. J. 101
Monthly Law Joural Article: Police
Accommodation of Mentally Impaired Persons Under the Americans with
Disabilities Act (Part One), 2015 (9) AELE Mo. L. J. 101.
Monthly Law Joural Article: Police
Accommodation of Mentally Impaired Persons Under the Americans with
Disabilities Act (Part Two), 2015 (10) AELE Mo. L. J. 101.
County reserve deputies went to a home after a 29-year-old man suffering from paranoid schizophrenia called 9-1-1 and requested help. Two deputies stated that upon their arrival, the man came outside, walked toward them, and pulled a 10-inch knife out of his pocket. The deputies drew their guns and yelled at him to stop and drop the knife. He disregarded these commands and ran toward a deputy with the knife in his left hand, his left arm raised. When he was approximately eight feet away, the deputy fired one shot, which was fatal. A knife, which the man’s father identified as from the kitchen, was recovered from near the decedent’s left hand. An examination of the knife did not reveal any latent fingerprints. The man’s father filed, claiming that the decedent was never violent, even when suffering a psychotic episode, and arguing that the bullet trajectory, the lack of fingerprints, and the fact that the decedent was right-handed, undermined the deputies’ account. He further asserted claims under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Rehabilitation Act for disability discrimination. A federal appeals court upheld the rejection of the claims on summary judgment. Substantial testimonial and physical evidence supported the deputy’s version of events, with no concrete evidence rebutting it. The plaintiff's claim that the officers shot the decedent for no reason and planted a knife on him after the fact did not rise above speculation or conjecture. Disability discrimination claims failed because if the decedent was denied access to medical services, it was because of his behavior, not because he was mentally disabled. King v. Hendricks County Commissioner, #19-2119, 954 F.3d 981 (7th Cir. 2020).
A couple asserted claims arising from a School Resource Officer’s (SRO) treatment of their eight-year-old autistic son. Their claims were for disability discrimination under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 or the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Their son, a second grader, was diagnosed with autism, oppositional defiant disorder, and separation anxiety disorder. He weighed approximately 87 pounds, and was about 58 inches tall. He received Special Education services. The child was serving an in-school suspension in the principal’s office and became visibly upset, using obscenities, crumpling papers, and throwing items on the floor. He referred to a weapon in his backpack and produced what he referred to as “home-built nunchucks,” which actually consisted of a jump rope provided by the school as part of a “Jump Rope for Heart” program. He twirled the jump rope and attempted to hit the principal, and threw a cup of coffee against the wall, before running into the hallway with his jump rope. An SRO arrived, handcuffed the boy, and took him back to the principal’s office. The officer allegedly sat face-to-face with the boy, screamed at him, called him names, including “punk” and “brat,” mocked him, and laughed at him. He allegedly continued antagonizing the boy and aggravating the situation until the parents arrived. When his mother asked the officer if he realized handcuffing a child with autism would traumatize him, he replied: “You know what? You're right, I don't know that. I'm not a psychologist.” He also said, You know what, he has no sign on his head that says, ‘I have autism, I hit people.’ You can't do that in a free society.” He then continued to laugh and make comments such as “Great parenting!” The parents and child were told by the officer to leave the school, and he filed various criminal charges against the boy. An internal affairs investigation found that the officer’s actions were “unprofessional and unreasonable,” as well as “demeaning, berating and antagonizing.” He was terminated by the city as a result. A federal appeals court overturned the grant of the defendants’ motion to dismiss or alternatively for summary judgment, finding that there were material disputes of fact and that this case was distinguishable from Hainze v. Richards, #99-50222, 207 F.3d 795 (5th Cir. 2000), a case involving an officer shooting a mentally disturbed suicidal man armed with a knife, because there were no exigent circumstances in the present case. The court ruled that a jump rope in the hands of an eight-year-old child was not a weapon, and was not capable of inflicting the same injuries or damage as a real weapon, even if he called the jump rope his “nunchucks.” At a minimum, the court stated, whether an eight year old twirling a child’s jump rope created a danger of physical harm or a potentially life-threatening situation was a dispute of material fact requiring further proceedings. Wilson v. City of Southlake, #18-10342, 2019 U.S. App. Lexis 26069 (5th Cir.).
A man suffering from severe mental illness committed suicide during an interaction with police. His long-time girlfriend sued, claiming that the police department failed to accommodate mentally disabled individuals in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act, 42 U.S.C. 12101-12213. He was depressed, and had broken into a friend’s home and obtained a handgun. Officers arriving at the apartment where he was suggested setting up a perimeter and asking the state police to send crisis negotiators. Others suggested asking the girlfriend to help communicate with the man. An officer who had obtained a warrant for the man’s arrest rebuffed those suggestions, calling the other officers “a bunch of f[—]ing p[—]sies,” declaring his intention to immediately go to the apartment, because “[t]his is how we do things in Nazareth.” He did as he said, knocked on the door of the apartment, and identified himself as a police officer. The man then promptly went into one of the bedrooms of the apartment and turned the stolen gun on himself. A federal appeals court overturned dismissal of the lawsuit. The plaintiff asserted a plausible claim that the police department was “deliberately indifferent” in failing to enact policies accommodating mental disabilities. The complaint asserted that the department’s officers and its chief routinely encountered “mentally challenged individuals,” including two named persons and that officers often responded with verbal abuse and harassment, performing arrests without accommodating the persons’ disabilities. Because of a number of such events, a named officer, relying on his personal mental health training, police department procedures, and consultation with mental health professionals, drafted a proposed policy to guide interactions with disabled individuals. In drafting that policy, the officer allegedly identified the grave risks to mentally challenged persons as a result of the department continuing to operate without proper policies and procedures for the accommodation of mentally disabled persons, but the department failed to adopt that or any other accommodation policy. Haberle v. Borough of Nazareth, #18-3429, 2019 U.S. App. Lexis 26247 (3rd Cir.).
After their son was shot and killed by police, two parents sued for excessive force. The incident occurred when officers responded to a call about the decedent acting erratically while brandishing a pair of scissors. He eventually charged in the officers' direction while holding the scissors above his head and the officers shot him. A federal appeals court held that the facts were such that a reasonable jury could conclude that the decedent was not an immediate threat to the officers, but nonetheless the officers were entitled to qualified immunity because existing precedent did not clearly establish, beyond debate, that the officers acted unreasonably under the circumstances. Because a reasonable jury could find that officers violated the decedent’s Fourth Amendment rights, it was appropriate to remand the plaintiffs' conspiracy claims and Monell municipal liability claims; and the defendants were not entitled to summary adjudication of the plaintiffs' disabilities claims under the American with Disabilities Act and the Rehabilitation Act. Vos v. City of Newport Beach, #16-56791, 892 F.3d 1024 (9th Cir. 2018).
A man who sometimes lived with his long-time girlfriend and their children suffered a serious mental health episode, told her that he was suicidal, took a handgun while breaking into a friend’s home, and went to his cousin’s apartment. The girlfriend contacted police, and an officer obtained a warrant for the man’s arrest, going to the cousin’s apartment with other officers. The other officers suggested getting state police crisis negotiators or asking the girlfriend to communicate with the suspect. The first officer allegedly told the other officers that they were “a bunch of f[---]ing pussies.” He knocked and identified himself as an officer. The suspect immediately shot himself and died. The girlfriend sued, claiming that the officer unconstitutionally seized the decedent and that his suicide was the foreseeable result of a danger that the officer created, and a violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act, 42 U.S.C. 12101-213 by failing to modify the municipality’s policies and procedures to ensure that disabled individuals would have their needs met during police interactions. A federal appeals court upheld the dismissal of Fourth Amendment claims. All the officer did was merely knock on the door and announce his presence, which was not enough to violate the Fourth Amendment. Even if there had been a seizure, it would have been pursuant to a valid warrant and not unlawful. The officer’s actions did not “shock the conscience” or constitute a state created danger. The appeals court remanded to allow the plaintiff to amend her ADA claim to allege facts showing that the municipality was deliberately indifferent to the rights of disabled persons who were arrested, Haberle v. Troxell, #16-2074, 2018 U.S. App. Lexis 6926 (3d Cir.).
A man who suffered from schizoaffective disorder and paranoid delusions stopped taking his medication and then began exhibiting signs of mental decompensation. He entered a state of excited delirium one evening when his wife was out of town, taking destructive actions against the family’s condominium and then throwing a flower pot through the window of a neighbor woman’s condo. She called 911, reporting that he was acting “crazy.” Deputies arrived and found the man naked except for a t-shirt, screaming no and something about water while holding a garden hose with a metal nozzle. They tried to subdue him after he charged at them, physically struggling with him and unsuccessfully attempting several times to use a Taser in both dart and stun mode against him. They finally physically restrained him and handcuffed him, but he kept kicking. He stopped breathing and died, which the coroner said was a natural death resulting from his excited delirium. A federal appeals court upheld summary judgment for the deputies on excessive force claims and for the county on civil rights and disability discrimination claims. Despite the decedent’s apparent diminished capacity, he had committed a series of property crimes, was a threat to his neighbors, and to the deputies, and was actively resisting arrest. A reasonable officer on the scene could have concluded that the use of force was necessary based on the totality of the circumstances. The relevant caselaw did not clearly establish that the deputies violated the decedent's Fourth Amendment rights Roell v. Hamilton County Board of Commissioners, #16-4045, 870 F.3d 471(6th Cir.).
A
seven-year-old second grade student in a public school received special
education services because of autism. One morning, he disrupted his class, ran
away from the staff, kicked a social worker, and kicked and shot rubber bands
at a school security officer. To protect the student and others, the security
officer handcuffed the child to a chair. Before doing so, the officer called
the child's mother, who granted her permission to restrain him, and repeatedly
warned the child to calm down. The officer was aware of the child's disability.
Afterwards, the child's parents sued the school system under the Americans with
Disabilities Act, arguing that it denied the child a protected benefit of
education and discriminated against him on the basis of disability. A federal
appeals court upheld summary judgment for the defendant, agreeing that the
plaintiffs had failed to show disability discrimination either by showing
denial of a protected benefit, the implementation of a policy that imposed a
disparate impact on the disabled, or failing to act on a request for reasonable
accommodation. J. V. v. Albuquerque Public Schools, #15-2071, 813 F.3d 1289
(10th Cir. 2016).
A woman living in a
group home for the mentally ill started to act erratically and threatened to
kill her social worker. Two officers were sent to the home to escort her to a
facility for temporary evaluation and treatment. When they entered her room,
she grabbed a knife, threatening to kill them. They retreated and closed the
door, but later reentered, concerned about what was going on within the room,
and allegedly without considering if they could accommodate her disability. She
again confronted them with the knife, and after pepper spray failed to subdue
her, they shot her multiple times. She sued the city for alleged disability
discrimination in arresting her without accommodating her disability, and the
two officers for allegedly violating her Fourth Amendment rights. A federal
appeals court ruled that the Americans with Disabilities Act applied and that
the issue of whether the plaintiff's disability should have been accommodated
should be decided by a jury. It also held that the officers were not entitled
to qualified immunity, since it was clearly established that, in the absence of
a need for immediate entry, officers cannot forcibly enter the home of an
armed, mentally ill person who has been acting irrationally and threatened
everyone who entered. The U.S. Supreme Court granted review, but
dismissed its review of the issue of whether the ADA "requires law enforcement
officers to provide accommodations to an armed, violent, and mentally ill
suspect in the course of bringing the suspect into custody" as
"improvidently granted." A review of this issue was based on the
assumption that the city would argue that the ADA does not apply when officers
face an armed and dangerous person. Instead, the city argued that the plaintiff
was not "qualified" for an accommodation because she posed a direct
threat to others, a threat which could not "be eliminated by a
modification of policies, practices or procedures, or by the provision of
auxiliary aids or services." Since the court below had not addressed the
issues in that context, review by the U.S. Supreme Court was not proper. The
Court also noted that the parties in the case had also failed to address the
related question of whether a public entity such as the defendant city could be
vicariously liable for damages under Title II of the ADA for an arrest made by
its officers. The Court did hold, however, that the two individual defendant
officers were entitled to qualified immunity on the Fourth Amendment claims.
They did not violate the plaintiff's Fourth Amendment rights when they opened
her door the first time, and could, without a doubt, also have opened her door
the second time if she had not been disabled. Their use of force in response to
her threats with the knife was reasonable. So the only remaining question was
whether they violated her Fourth Amendment rights when they opened her door the
second time rather than attempting to accommodate her disability. As there was
no clearly established law on that issue, they were entitled to qualified
immunity. City and County of San Francisco v. Sheehan, #13-1412, 135 S. Ct.
1765, 2015 U.S. Lexis 3200.
Under current security procedures imposed by the
Transportation Security Administration (TSA), some passengers cannot pass
through some security checkpoints without submitting to a pat-down that
includes security personnel touching areas around the groin and breasts to
search for concealed metallic and non-metallc weapons. A woman whose job
required her to fly frequently, had a metallic joint replacement and was often
subjected to such searches. She sued the TSA, claiming that its standard
pat-down constituted an unreasonable search in violation of the Fourth
Amendment, as well as violating federal disability discrimination law,
specifically the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. A federal appeals court rejected
both claims. The TSA could conduct pat-downs to search for weapons on passengers
who triggered walk-through metal detector alarms just as it did for passengers
who declined to pass through advanced imaging technology scanners. The security
procedures did not discriminate against persons with metallic joint
replacements as the plaintiff could not point to any government benefit,
service, program, or facility to which the TSA's screening denied her
meaningful access on the basis of a disability. Ruskai v. Pistole, #12-1392,
2014 U.S. App. Lexis 24350 (1st Cir.).
A mentally ill delusional man left his house
naked, beat houses in the area with a stick, returned home and told his mother
that he was God and that she must worship him. She went to a neighbor's home to
call 911. When police arrived, she told them she was afraid her son was going
to kill her. She also informed them that there was a gun in the house. The man
briefly emerged from the house naked, claiming to be God, and went back inside,
before again emerging. He would not obey orders, initially lying down, but then
rising to a standing position with clenched fists. A Taser was fired in the
dart mode because of fear that the man would attack officers, and it was
activated for six full five-second cycles and an additional two-second cycle. A
second officer then also fired his Taser in the dart mode and activated it for
four five-second cycles. The man continued to be combative and to ignore
commands, kicking and otherwise resisting. He later went into cardiac arrest
and died. Product liability claims against the Taser manufacturer were
voluntarily dismissed. The trial court found that the officers' uses of their
Tasers were reasonable under the circumstances, as the man was uncooperative,
combative, and believed to be dangerous. The court also rejected a claim that
the city was liable under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) for failing
to accommodate the man's mental impairment during his arrest. A federal appeals
court upheld the trial court's rulings, finding that even if the repeated use
of the Taser was found to be excessive force, such rights were not clearly
established on July 7, 2008, the date of the incident. The court noted that the
decedent continued his violent and aggressive behavior at the time and was
non-compliant. The officers were entitled to qualified immunity. De Boise, Sr.
v. St. Louis County, Missouri, #13-2742, 2014 U.S. App. Lexis 14276 (8th Cir.).
A woman suffering from a mental illness and
resisting officers' attempts to take her to a mental health facility claimed
that the officers violated her rights by entering her residence without a
warrant and shooting her five or six times when she threatened them with a
knife. The officers were justified in the initial entry into the home under the
emergency aid exception to the warrant requirement because they had an
objectively reasonable belief that she was in need of assistance. There were,
however, triable issues of fact as to whether the officers violated the Fourth
Amendment in forcing a second entry and thereby allegedly provoking a near fatal
confrontation, leading to an unnecessary use of deadly force that could have
been avoided. The appeals court also held that federal disability
discrimination statutes apply to arrests, and that there was a triable issue as
to whether the officers failed to reasonably accommodate her disability when
they forced their way into her room, arguably failing to take her mental
illness into account or to utilize generally accepted law enforcement practices
fo peacefully resolving such a confrontation with a mentally ill person.
Sheehan v. City and County of San Francisco, #11-16401, 2014 U.S. App.
Lexis 3321 (9th Cir.).
Officers arrived at a man's home after his mother
called 911 to report that he was having a psychotic episode and had attacked a
family member. The officers were told that he might have a knife or a
screwdriver. He was uncooperative with orders to lie down. A struggle ensued,
during which officers claimed that he reached under a pillow and pulled out a
knife that he swung at an officer. An officer fired six shots from his gun,
hitting him several times. In a lawsuit, the man denied attacking officers with
a knife. A federal appeals court found that the officers were entitled to
qualified immunity on disability discrimination claims as there was no clearly
established law that the officers had a duty to accommodate the arrestee's
disability of schizophrenia while trying to secure him and take him into
custody. The officer who fired the shots, however, was not entitled to
qualified immunity, as there was a disputed issue of fact as to whether the
arrestee at that time posed an objectively reasonable threat of violence
towards the officers. The court rejected a failure to train claim against the
city. Roberts v. City of Omaha, #12-3426, 2013 U.S. App. Lexis 15624 (8th
Cir.).
A mentally retarded adult man was interrogated by
a police investigator and was subsequently charged with misdemeanor lascivious
conduct with a minor after making statements in response to allegedly leading
questions. He was later ruled incompetent to stand trial. A federal appeals
court found that the police investigator's conduct did not violate the man's
substantive due process rights as the investigation and charging decision did
not "shock the conscience." Indeed, the investigator had altered his
style of questioning, more fully explained the Miranda warnings, and placed the
man in a "less intimidating" room for the interrogation. No
reasonable jury could find that the investigator or city failed to make reasonable
accommodations for the man's disability. Folkerts v. City of Waverly, #12-1083,
2013 U.S. App. Lexis 3847 (8th Cir.).
A deaf man arrested in a domestic violence
situation involving him and one of his deaf children stated a viable disability
discrimination claim. He asserted that handcuffing him in the back prevented
him from writing notes in order to communicate with the deputies. "The
injury is the failure to make communication as effective as it would have been
among deputies and persons without disabilities." The deputies were
entitled to qualified immunity from liability, however, based on the exigent
circumstances involved in a domestic violence situation. With the deputies
concerned about their own safety and the safety of the man's family, it was
reasonable to try to accommodate his disability by calling an American Sign
Language trainee to assist in communication, and by attempting to use his
father as an interpreter, even though those accommodations were not the best
practices. Seremeth v. Board of County Commissioners Frederick County,
#10-1711, 2012 U.S. App. Lexis 5105 (4th Cir.).
Simply confiscating the cell phone from a hearing
impaired arrestee during his brief 24-hour detention did not constitute
disability discrimination by the county. The plaintiff failed to show that he
was denied services or reasonable accommodation on the basis of his disability.
The county sheriff, as an arm of the state under Georgia law, was entitled to
Eleventh Amendment immunity on Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) claims,
while no ADA claims were possible against individual officers, since the ADA
only prohibits disability discrimination by a public entity. Rylee v. Chapman,
#08-15036, 2009 U.S. App. Lexis 5056 (Unpub. 11th Cir.).
Mother failed to establish claims that a
caseworker and police investigator violated the due process rights of her and
her children by allegedly suppressing evidence of physical and sexual abuse of
the children by their father and providing false or misleading testimony about
the mother's actions during custody hearings. The federal civil rights claims
were barred since they involved issues that had been decided in the custody
proceedings by state courts. The mother could not, acting as her own lawyer,
pursue disability discrimination claims on behalf of one of her children, who
has a speech disability, based on the alleged failure of the defendants to
provide assistance from a qualified speech therapist for the child during their
interviews concerning possible sexual abuse. Shaw v. Lynchburg Dept. of Social
Services, #6:08CV00022, 2009 U.S. Dist. Lexis 6659 (W.D. Va.).
Federal appeals court rejects claim that police
officers failed to properly reasonably accommodate, under the Americans with
Disabilities Act (ADA), a mentally ill man holding a woman hostage in his
apartment. Even if there was such a duty of reasonable accommodation, which the
court did not decide, the defendants would have satisfied it by their actions
of seeking information which confirmed that the suspect had a mental illness,
and calling in a hostage negotiator. There was no evidence that they did
anything to escalate the situation, and they tried to calm the situation down
by trying to speak with the suspect, and even waited two hours before entering
the apartment and shooting and killing the suspect, who came towards them
swinging what appeared to be a scythe and brandishing what looked like a knife.
The accommodations proposed by the plaintiffs, which included summoning mental
health professional and the suspect's family and administering medication, were
not reasonable under the circumstances. Waller v. City of Danville Virginia,
No. 072099, 2009 U.S. App. Lexis 2853 (4th Cir.).
In a disability discrimination lawsuit brought by
three deaf arrestees, a deaf girlfriend, and a deaf husband, a county provided
public "services" to non-detained individuals by enabling arrestees
to contact them, so that the husband and girlfriend stated viable disability
discrimination claims under federal and Minnesota state law based on the
alleged failure to provide communications assistance accommodating their
deafness. Bahl v. County of Ramsey, Civil No. 08-5001, 2009 U.S. Dist. Lexis
10946 (D. Minn.).
Two arrestees and a relative, all of whom are
deaf and mute, sued a police department and a county, claiming that officers
who carried out the arrest after a domestic disturbance call and the county
violated their rights under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), 42
U.S.C. Sec. 12101 et seq. by failing to provide them with a sign language
interpreter during the arrest, at an initial appearance, and at a dispositional
hearing, as well as in failing to give them access to a teletypewriter phone
during their detention. The court rejected these claims, noting that the two
arrestees were taken into custody not because they were disabled but because
they assaulted the officers, and other individuals, or attempted to interfere
with a lawful arrest. The defendants did not intentionally discriminate against
the plaintiffs on the basis of their disability, and the relay operators and
written communications provided were reasonable accommodations under the
circumstances, permitting them a means of effective communication. Further, one
of the arrestees voluntarily served as an interpreter at a hearing on the other
arrestee's criminal charges. The arrest, the court also reasoned, did not
constitute a "service, activity, or program" to which the protections
of the ADA applied. Tucker v. Tennessee, No. 06-6208, 2008 U.S. App. Lexis 18618
(6th Cir.).
The state of Pennsylvania was not entitled to
Eleventh Amendment immunity against claims asserted by a deaf mother and her
deaf son contending that their rights under the Americans with Disabilities Act
(ADA), 42 U.S.C. Sec. 12131, and the Rehabilitation Act, 29 U.S.C. Sec. 794,
were violated by the failure to provide them with a qualified sign language
interpreter during their arrest or while they were incarcerated at a county
prison. Congress abrogated any such immunity that the state might have in
connection with these claims. Gonzales v. Pennsylvania, No. 07-2901, 2008 U.S.
App. Lexis 13514 (Unpub. 3rd Cir.).
Six Muslim Imams sued an airline and an airport
commission for alleged violations of their federal civil rights in having
airport commission police remove them from an airplane after boarding, and
arresting them and questioning them for several hours, after three of them had
allegedly prayed together at the gate prior to boarding. Their lawsuit also
claimed that the airline refused to rebook them after clearing them of any
wrongful actions. A federal trial court found that the plaintiffs adequately
asserted Fourth Amendment and equal protection claims, based on an alleged lack
of probable cause and alleged motivations of race and religion for their
arrest. The court rejected, however, a state law false arrest claim against the
airport commission, while finding that such a claim was possible against the
airline. The court further found that a viable claim was stated for intentional,
but not negligent, infliction of emotional distress against the airline under
Minnesota state law. The court rejected a claim by one of the Imams, who is
blind, for disability discrimination, ruling that the Air Carrier Access Act,
49 U.S.C. Sec. 41705, does not provide for private lawsuits for such
discrimination. Shqeirat v. U.S. Airways Group, Inc., No. Civ. 07-1513, 2007
U.S. Dist. Lexis 85881 (D. Minn. 2007).
When police officers reasonably believed that
they were facing a potentially violent hostage situation in which an individual
was in danger, they had no obligation under the Americans with Disabilities Act
to provide a reasonable accommodation for an allegedly disabled mentally ill
suspect. In a previous decision, officers were held not liable for
shooting and killing the suspect, who had threatened the life of an officer,
and who they perceived was holding a knife and a large metal pipe with a hook
at the end, and kept advancing towards them despite orders to stop and drop his
weapons. Because the officers, under these exigent circumstances, had no duty
to reasonably accommodate the suspect's mental illness, it was irrelevant
whether or not the police department had effectively trained its officer in
providing such accommodations to mentally ill hostage takers. Waller v. City of
Danville, Virginia, Case No. 4:03CV00039, 2007 U.S. Dist. Lexis 73582 (W.D.
Va.).
Even if, as the arrestee claimed, deputies
falsified certain information in applying for an arrest warrant, there was
still sufficient information left supporting a finding of probable cause, so
that the deputies were entitled to qualified immunity in a subsequent false
arrest lawsuit. Further proceedings were ordered, however, on whether the
arresteee, who was deaf, was subjected to violation of his rights under Title
II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), 42 U.S.C. Sec. 12132 following
his arrest. Robertson v. Las Animas County Sheriff's Dept., No. 06-1027, 2007
U.S. App. Lexis 21706 (10th Cir.).
Federal appeals court upholds dismissal of HIV
positive person's lawsuit claiming that police engaged in disability
discrimination under federal and Florida state law by allegedly refusing, after
he was a victim of a crime, to investigate it, and by denying him access to services
after he reported the officers' alleged refusal. Under state law, the decision
to make an arrest was discretionary, so that police were entitled to immunity
on the state law claims for negligent investigation, supervision and retention.
A state statute mandating no discrimination against HIV-infected individuals
required written notice of his claim, which the plaintiff failed to provide.
The plaintiff failed to adequately plead claims under either the Americans with
Disabilities Act (ADA) or the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. Albra v. City of Fort
Lauderdale, No. 06-14544, 2007 U.S. App. Lexis 9376 (11th Cir.).
Estate of paranoid schizophrenic shot and killed
by police who came to his house in response to a 911 call from his family
requesting assistance failed to show that more adequate training as to how to
respond to incidents involving mentally disturbed persons would have resulted
in a different result. The court found that the officers did not create the
dangerous situation. Thao v. City of St. Paul, No. 06-2339, 2007 U.S. App.
Lexis 7553 (8th Cir.).
Failure to provide an interpreter during a drunk
driving arrest of a deaf arrestee was not disability discrimination. It was not
a reasonable modification of normal procedures to wait for an oral interpreter
before making a deaf motorist take field sobriety tests. The arrestee was able
to read lips and did respond to the officer's directions. The court found that
effective communications between the officer and arrestee was established.
Bircoll v. Miami-Dade County, No. 06-11098, 2007 U.S. App. Lexis 5269 (11th
Cir.).
Disabled man's claim that his rights under the
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) were violated because no handicapped
parking space was created for him next to his parents' residence rejected,
since the ADA gave him no right to park his vehicle somewhere that he would not
be able to park if he were not disabled. Douris v. Newtown Borough, Inc., No.
06-2015, 2006 U.S. App. Lexis 30154 (3rd Cir.). [N/R] ]
Officer acted properly in shooting a man who
ignored orders to show his hands, and instead backed his car into a security
guard's vehicle, followed by accelerating down an alley towards other police
officers in his path. The officer's actions were aimed at trying to prevent him
from injuring the other officers, and were reasonable under the circumstances,
even if the suspect was then experiencing a bipolar episode. Because of this,
there was also no violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
Sanders v. City of Minneapolis, Minn., No. 06-1356, 2007 U.S. App. Lexis 1396
(8th Cir.). [N/R]
Officer was not entitled to qualified immunity on
claim that he used excessive force in shooting and killing a mentally ill youth
as he walked toward the officer while screaming because, if the facts were as
alleged, it was not reasonable to shoot an unarmed person under these
circumstances. The court rejects, however, a claim for violation of Title
II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), 42 U.S.C.S. §§
12131-12165, holding that it does not apply to a police officer's actions in
response to reported disturbances. County's 16-hour training course teaching
officers how to relate to mentally ill persons, combined with the lack of any
incidents in which county officers violated the rights of such persons,
precluded success on a claim for inadequate training. Rada v. Miami-Dade
County, Florida, Case No. 05-23126, 2006 U.S. Dist. Lexis 89510 (S.D. Fla.).
[N/R]
Shooting and killing of mentally ill man inside
home, after he stabbed one of two deputies who came there to check on him, did
not violate Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The
administrator of his estate failed to show that the decedent was denied
governmental services "by reason" of his disability of mental
illness. Officers were also entitled to qualified immunity for their entry into
the home because they had a reasonable belief that their entry was lawful.
Buchanan v. State of Maine, No. 06-1466, 2006 U.S. App. Lexis 28352 (1st Cir.). [N/R]
Arrestee failed to show that an officer used
excessive force against her in handcuffing her, and the failure to show that
any officer violated her rights barred any claim against the city for alleged
inadequate training as to how to handcuff disabled arrestees. The record in the
case also showed that the county's policies regarding the
booking/fingerprinting procedures for disabled arrestees was adequate. Calvi v.
Knox County, No. 06-1843, 2006 U.S. App. Lexis 30276 (1st Cir.). [N/R]
Simply because there was no violation of the
Fourth Amendment in shooting and killing a suspect that an officer reasonably
could have believed was armed and was holding a person against her will did not
mean that the appeals court could say that there were no set of facts from
which the plaintiff could establish a claim for either violation of the
Americans with Disabilities Act, 42 U.S.C. Sec. 12131-12134, based on the
suspect's mental illness or for race discrimination. The appeals court,
therefore, ordered further proceedings on both claims. Waller v. City of
Danville, Virginia, No. 06-1107, 2006 U.S. App. Lexis 30799 (4th
Cir.). [N/R]
Brother of mentally ill man shot to death by
officers inside his home failed to show that the officers used excessive force
or violated his rights under Title II of the Americans with Disabilities
Act (ADA), 42 U.S.C. Sec. 12131-12165 by failing to reasonably accommodate his
mental illness. The officers only entered the home to check on the mentally ill
man's welfare and safety, and he was only shot after he had repeatedly stabbed
one of the two officers present. Under these circumstances, the officers were
reasonable in believing that their actions were legal, and the lawsuit failed
to show that the decedent had been denied governmental services "by reason
of" a disability. Buchanan v. State of Maine, No. 06-1466, 2006 U.S. App.
Lexis 28352 (1st Cir.). [N/R]
Transporting a man with ALS to a hospital against his
will at a time when he was no longer in imminent danger, and despite his
"non-verbal" protests, if true, could constitute disability
discrimination and a violation of his Fourth Amendment rights. Green v. City of
N.Y., No. 04-1006, 465 F.3d 65 (2d Cir. 2006). [2006 LR Dec]
Arrest of a deaf motorist for driving under the
influence (DUI) did not violate his right against disability discrimination
under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), 42 U.S.C. Sec. 12131, or the
Rehabilitation Act, 29 U.S.C. Sec. 794, since the basis of the arrest was not
his disability, but rather probable cause, based on observation of his driving,
and the smell of alcohol on his breath, to believe that he was in fact
intoxicated, along with failure of a roadside sobriety test. Bircoll v.
Miami-Dade County, No. 05-20954-CIV, 410 F. Supp. 2d 1280 (S.D. Fla. 2006).
[N/R]
Police officers' shooting and killing of homeless
mentally ill man sitting in a car was not excessive force when they acted after
he raised a gun and did not know, until later, that the weapon was a BB gun.
Under the circumstances, it was reasonable for them to believe that their lives
were at risk. Court also rules that the officers did not engage in disability
discrimination when they called on a SWAT team to extract the man from his car
after the shooting, causing a delay in medical treatment. The officers could
reasonably do this to ensure the safety of themselves and others at the scene.
Ali v. City of Louisville, No. Civ. A. 3:03CV-427, 395 F. Supp. 2d 527 (W.D.
Ky. 2005). [N/R]
State of Maine was not liable for the death of a
mentally ill man shot and killed by police as he was attempting to stab an
officer with a knife in his residence. The state's alleged inadequate provision
of mental health services, if proven, did not have a disparate impact on the
decedent, in violation of the American with Disabilities Act (ADA) provisions
prohibiting discrimination on the basis of disabilities by public entities, 42
U.S.C. Sec. 12132, as he was not denied any public service available to able
members of the public. Buchanan v. Maine, No. CIV.04-26, 366 F. Supp. 2d 169
(D. Me. 2005). [N/R]
Parents of mentally ill man who died, allegedly
of positional asphyxia, after being taken into custody by police officers,
stated a claim for violation of his civil rights by asserting that the
officers, who transported him to a hospital, handcuffed and hog-tied, in a
face-down position, had noticed his irregular breathing, but failed to adjust
his position at that time. Court also finds a possibly viable claim for
disability discrimination under the Americans with Disabilities Act, 42 U.S.C.
Sec. 12132, based on alleged failure to provide adequate training for officers
in handling encounters with mentally ill persons. Arnold v. City of York, No.
4:CV-03-1352, 340 F. Supp. 2d 550 (M.D. Pa. 2004). [N/R]
State police practice of recording, for internal
purposes, mental health detentions as arrests did not violate equal protection
of law, or federal disability discrimination statutes. Disability Advocates,
Inc. v. McMahon, No. 03-7834, 674 (2nd Cir. 2005). [N/R]
Wheelchair bound woman failed to show that city
police engaged in intentional disability discrimination in stopping her or
arresting her for riding her wheelchair in the street, even though she did show
that the city violated federal accessibility requirements in failing to provide
proper curb cuts on the streets. She was not entitled to an award of attorneys'
fees as a "prevailing party," because she failed to obtain any
specific relief from the trial court. Dillery v. City of Sandusky, No. 03-3465,
2005 U.S. App. Lexis 2882 (6th Cir.). [2005 LR Apr]
Police officers' actions in shooting and killing
a deaf man armed with a rifle in a parking lot who intended to protest
discriminatory treatment of disabled people did not constitute disability
discrimination under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The shooting
occurred because the decedent's actions threatened others, not because of his
disability. Vincent v. Town of Scarborough, #02-239, 2003 U.S. Dist. Lexis 20910;
confirmed, 2003 U.S. Dist. Lexis 22934 (D. Me. 2003). [2004 LR Sep]
U.S. Supreme Court rules that states may be sued
for damages under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) for acts of
disability discrimination which allegedly interfere with the constitutional
right of access to the courts, and that such claims are not barred by Eleventh
Amendment immunity. Court does not provide a clear answer about whether similar
lawsuits against governmental employees for damages are proper in other circumstances
of alleged disability discrimination in the providing of public services or
programs. Tennessee v. Lane, #02-1667, 2004 U.S. Lexis 3386. [2004 LR Jun]
City found to have intentionally discriminated
against group home for recovering alcoholics and drug addicts by failing to
reasonably accommodate it in relation to exempting it from certain zoning
regulations in violation of Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), 42 U.S.C.
Sec. 12131(2), and in enforcing housing policies and fire code in a discriminatory
manner against disabled residents of home. Tsombanidis v. West Haven Fire
Dept., #02-7171(c), 352 F.3d 565 (2nd Cir. 2003). [N/R]
Commissioner of Minnesota state Department of
Public Safety was entitled to official immunity against lawsuit by disabled
individual claiming that fees which are charged for a disabled parking permit
violated a state disability discrimination statute. Podruch v. State Department
of Public Safety, No. A03-809, 674 N.W.2d 252 (Minn. App. 2004). [N/R]
Officers did not violate the Fourth Amendment
rights of a woman with Down Syndrome or subject her to disability
discrimination by making a warrantless entry into her apartment in response to
her 911 call, seizing her, and involuntarily taking her to be hospitalized in a
psychiatric unit. Anthony v. City of New York, #01-7987(L), 339 F.3d 129 (2nd
Cir. 2003). [2003 LR Nov]
Brain-damaged motorist who claimed that a police
officer used excessive force against him in arresting him on suspicion of
driving while intoxicated failed to establish a pattern of the use of excessive
force against disabled suspects or inadequate training sufficient to support a
claim against the municipality. Officers were trained on how to deal with
persons with physical and mental disabilities and an explicit policy prohibited
the excessive use of force. Pahle v. Colebrookdale Township, 227 F. Supp. 2ed
361 (E.D.Pa. 2002). [N/R]
Hearing-impaired criminal complainant could pursue
disability discrimination claim under the Americans with Disabilities Act
(ADA), 42 U.S.C. Sec. 12132 et seq. against city based on allegation that
officer acted with deliberate indifference towards her hearing disability in
refusing to provide her with a qualified interpreter during a discussion
concerning the crime, despite her repeated request to do so. Center v. City of
West Carrollton, 227 F. Supp. 2d 863 (S.D. Ohio 2002). [N/R]
Federal appeals court upholds $230,000 disability
discrimination award to severely hearing-impaired arrestee for county's failure
to take his disability into account during the process of arresting him for
driving while intoxicated. Court finds that the evidence was sufficient to find
that the county intentionally discriminated against him by failing to find a
more effective method than verbal communication to explain things to him.
Liability could be imposed on county without showing an official policy or that
the deputy who arrested the motorist was a policymaker. Delano-Pyle v. Victoria
County, Texas, #00-41038, 302 F.3d 567 (5th Cir. 2002). [2003 LR Feb.]
Deaf arrestee could not recover damages against
"unnamed" or "John Doe" officer defendants for alleged
violation of Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), 42 U.S.C.
Sec. 12101 et seq., in connection with failure to attempt to communicate with
him during his arrest through "auxiliary aids and services." No
claims for damages may be brought under Title II against defendants in their
individual capacities. Kennington v. Carter, 216 F. Supp. 2d 856 (S.D. Ind.
2002). [N/R]
337:4 Officer's shooting and
killing of mentally disturbed man who came towards him armed with two machetes
did not constitute disability discrimination; if disturbed individual was
"denied access to medical services," it was because of his violent,
threatening behavior, not because he was mentally disabled. Thompson v.
Williamson County, Tenn., No. 99-5458, 219 F.3d 555 (6th Cir. 2000).
332:117 It was disabled mentally disturbed man's
own behavior in attempting to assault others with a knife at a convenience
store, rather than a police officer's reaction in shooting him which resulted
in his injuries; police officer's use of deadly force under the circumstances
was not disability discrimination. Hainze v. Richards, No. 99- 50222, 207 F. 3d
795 (5th Cir. 2000).
335:167 Officers' actions in detaining an
autistic youth for questioning after he reportedly acted strangely while
trespassing in a homeowner's garage was a proper investigatory stop; ensuing
confrontation with youth and his subsequent arrest for assaulting an officer
were not a violation of either the Fourth Amendment or federal disability
discrimination statutes. Bates v. Chesterfield County, Va., #99-1663, 216 F.3d
367 (4th Cir. 2000).
326:21 Police department's action of purchasing
patrol wagons without safety nets and using them to transport detainees did not
constitute deliberate indifference to a substantial risk of serious harm; no
federal civil rights liability for injuries detainee suffered when thrown about
by vehicle motions after being placed in wagon with his hands cuffed behind his
back. Spencer v. Knapheide Truck Equipment Co., #98-3717, 183 F.3d 902 (8th
Cir. 1999).
323:165 Failure to provide interpreter to deaf
woman before officers arrested her was not disability discrimination; officers
had probable cause to make the arrest, did not arrest her because of her
disability, adequately conveyed Miranda warnings with a written statement, and
did not subject arrestee to custodial interrogation. Patrice v. Murphy, 43
F.Supp. 2d 1156 (W.D. Wash. 1999).
323:164 Family of paranoid schizophrenic man shot
and killed by police officer as he smashed car windows could not assert claim
that police action was disability discrimination in violation of the Americans
With Disabilities Act. Gohier v. Enright, #98-1149, 186 F.3d 1216 (10th Cir.
1999).
321:133 City's action in giving parking citations
to disabled motorist who parked in disabled spaces but only had another state's
disability parking permit was not a violation of the Americans With
Disabilities Act (ADA). Lai v. N.Y.C. Government, 991 F.Supp. 362 (S.D.N.Y.
1998), reported in Liability Reporter No. 309, p. 132 (September 1998). Lai v.
N.Y. City Government, #98-7273, 163 F.3d 729 (2nd Cir. 1998).
315:39 Federal appeals court rules that Americans
with Disabilities Act (ADA) prohibition on discrimination in government
services and programs applies to claim that police department failed to provide
patrol wagon with wheelchair lift or wheelchair restraints for transporting a
paraplegic arrestee with a spinal cord injury. Gorman v. Bartch, #97-4323, 152
F.3d 907 (8th Cir. 1998).
315:38 City could not be held liable for damages
for defects in 911 system which made it more difficult for deaf persons to make
emergency calls in absence of a showing of intent to discriminate on the basis
of disability. Ferguson v. City of Phoenix, #96-17350, 157 F.3d 668 (9th Cir.
1998).
309:131 Disabled motorist with disability parking
permit from another state was not subjected to disability discrimination when
she was given parking tickets that would not have been issued to a New York
City resident with a city disability parking permit. Lai v. N.Y.C. Government,
991 F.Supp. 362 (S.D.N.Y. 1998).
308:117 Unanimous U.S. Supreme Court rules that
Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA). applies to state prisons, based on
"unambiguous" text of statute; Court does not address question of
whether applying ADA to state prisons was a constitutional exercise of authority
by Congress; ruling expected to result in many more ADA lawsuits by prisoners.
Penn. Dept. of Corrections v. Yeskey, No. 97-634, 118 S.Ct. 1952 (1998).
Editor's Note: In one example of how this may
impact on local law enforcement, in an ADA suit brought in state court, the
judge refused to dismiss a suit, brought by a paraplegic inmate against a
sheriff and others, for transporting him in a van that was not wheelchair
accessible. Davis v. Mak, 1997 WL 133410 (Conn. Super. 1997).
307:101 Deaf motorist who failed field sobriety,
breath test and chemical test could not sue for disability discrimination based
on failure of county to provide "auxiliary aids and services" for
communicating with deaf arrestees; plaintiff failed to allege any injury resulting
from this failure. Rosen v. Montgomery County Maryland, 121 F.3d 154 (4th Cir.
1997).
302:21 Deputy's shooting and killing of mentally
disturbed man was not disability discrimination in absence of showing that
decedent was a "qualified individual with a disability" or that he
was somehow "denied public services" because of such a disability.
Thompson v. Williamson County, 965 F.Supp. 1026 (M.D. Tenn. 1997). 301:7
Arrestee could recover damages for disability discrimination against officers
if they knew he was deaf but refused to attempt to communicate with him in a
way he could understand (in writing). and then arrested him for failure to obey
verbal commands that he could not hear and understand. Lewis v. Truitt, 960
F.Supp. 175 (S.D. Ind. 1997).
{N/R} Federal appeals court overturns $50,000
disability discrimination award to deaf passenger based in part on transit
police officer's alleged refusal to supply an interpreter; officer instead
communicated by writing notes on a notepad. Burkhart v. Washington Metropolitan
Area Transit Authority, 112 F.3d 1207 (D.C. Cir. 1997).
290:20 Jury awards transit patron with impaired
hearing $100,900 in damages in suit claiming transit authority inadequately
trained police officers as to how to treat disabled patrons Burkhart v.
Washington Metro Area Transit Auth, U.S. Dist. Ct., 1196 U.S. Dist Lexis 18575,
DDC, No 1:95CV00812 (JHG/DAR), Mar 15, 1996, 39 ATLA L. Rep.281 (Sept 1996).
Editor's Note: In Gorman v. Bishop, 919 F.Supp. 326 (WD Mo 1996), the trial court
found that a police chief was entitled to qualified immunity from liability for
injuries that a wheelchair-bound arrestee suffered while being transported to
jail in a police vehicle that was not equipped with wheelchair lifts or
restraints
287:167 Federal trial court denies summary
judgment to town on legally blind man's claim that police chief's revocation of
his permit to carry a pistol constituted disability discrimination in violation
of the federal Rehabilitation Act Penney v. Town of Middleton, 917 F.Supp. 87
(DNH 1995).
287:168 Arrestee who was receiving psychological
treatment at VA Hospital and was perceived as a "drunk" stated a
claim for disability discrimination under the Americans With Disabilities Act
when he alleged that deputy who arrested him denied him proper police
protection and fair treatment due to his psychological and alcohol problems
Barber v. Guay, 910 F.Supp. 790 (D.Ms 1995).
Deaf man mistakenly arrested as bank robber
awarded $100,000 because of city's alleged negligence in failing to provide him
with a sign language interpreter after arrest Koth v. City of Los Pasadena,
Cal, Los Angeles County Super Ct, No C 698 065, Apr 2-, 1992, 35 ATLA L.
Rep.329 (Nov 1992).