LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — A new lawsuit from the American Civil Liberties Union is accusing the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department of discriminating and "mistreating" incarcerated people who are deaf.
Metro operates the Clark County Detention Center, the largest jail in the state of Nevada, which houses over 70,000 people annually.
The lawsuit alleges that Metro has been violating the Eighth Amendment rights of incarcerated individuals who are deaf by failing to provide them with "qualified sign language interpreters, videophones, or simple modifications to CCDC programs, procedures, and practices."
Since American Sign Language has no written element, the plaintiff — identified as Christopher Jones, a deaf man who was confined at CCDC — claims that CCDC staff only provided him with a "teletypewriter" for communication. Jones, whose preferred primary language is ASL, notes in the lawsuit that he struggled with the device as his ability to read, write, and understand English grammar and syntax is "limited."
"Based upon Jones’ observations, corrections officers who rotated through Jones’ units did not appear to have had experience working with deaf detained people based on the corrections officers’ treatment of Jones," the lawsuit reads.
Jones says he was only able to communicate while incarcerated through "written notes" since interpreter services were not provided. However, writing utensils were also not provided to Jones free of charge during his time at CCDC. He either had to purchase these items from the commissary or was altogether denied these items while in solitary confinement or the psychiatric unit.
Jones was also not provided access to any device comparable to a telephone, allowing for visual communication to speak with family, friends, or anyone outside CCDC for the first eight months of his incarceration.
The lawsuit also claims that officers attempted to communicate with "speech-reading, fingerspelling or ad hoc gestures," which the ACLU notes as "inadequate" ways to communicate with people who are deaf.
Additionally, LVMPD uses only auditory signals for most announcements or alerts at CCDC, meaning that deaf people frequently miss these announcements and alerts. Jones would often miss these announcements and alerts, and any requests for someone to signal to him when these periods occurred would be met for short periods of time, then largely ignored, according to the lawsuit.
"LVMPD is aware of its obligations under law, including the ADA, the Rehabilitation Act, the United States Constitution, and the Nevada Constitution, to provide services and auxiliary aids to deaf people detained at the facility to ensure they have an equal opportunity to benefit from and participate in CCDC’s programs, services, and activities as hearing people," the lawsuit states.
Jones would also allege that he could not meaningfully engage in presentations about COVID-19 safety precautions, group therapy, religious services, or classes provided at CCDC because of the lack of aids. The lawsuit notes that his multiple requests for an interpreter were ignored.
Jones, who is now out of custody on supervised probation, must follow many conditions imposed by a judge at the time of his sentencing. The conditions require him to follow any “directive” of his probation officer, and his “conduct” is required to “justify the opportunity granted to [him],” though the ACLU highlights the fact that these terms are not defined.
These terms include Jones maintaining a place of residence and notifying his probation officer of any changes, barring Jones from owning a "weapon" without defining what a "weapon" is, and Jones submitting himself for random drug testing. Another condition of Jones' release requires him to write a monthly report to his probation officer.
The ACLU alleges that any probation violation, including ones where Jones has not broken the law, would require that he be re-incarcerated at CCDC.
The lawsuit notes, "If not provided the appropriate auxiliary aids and services and reasonable modifications, people who are deaf or hard of hearing are more likely to be penalized under community supervision due to miscommunication with officials who are supervising them and the lack of auxiliary aids and services and reasonable modifications for the programs that they are expected to attend as a condition of release."
LVMPD said in a statement to Channel 13, "The LVMPD does not comment on pending litigation."
