March 2013 — The U.S. Department of Justice reached cooperative settlement agreements with the cities of Englewood and Arapahoe, Colorado Sheriff’s Offices under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Complaints were filed with the Justice Department in regard to officers of the Sheriff’s Offices not providing qualified sign language interpreters and additional assistive resources and services to victims, arrestees, and witnesses that were deaf or hard of hearing. Under the settlements, $35,000 will be paid to the plaintiffs by both the city of Englewood and Arapahoe County. In addition, each county will take the following measures to prevent the occurrences from recurring: enter contracts with sign language interpreters and advertise their availability, educate staff on ADA requirements, provide text telephones and phones with volume control, and offer hearing aid and cochlear implant processor batteries in detention facilities.
ADA Settlements with Colorado Law Enforcement for People with Hearing Loss
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The Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center for Wireless Technologies is sponsored by the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research (NIDILRR) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services under grant number 90RE5007-01-00. The opinions contained in this website are those of the Wireless RERC and do not necessarily reflect those of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services or NIDILRR.