After lawsuit, Whatcom sheriff’s office acts to better communicate with deaf, hard of hearing
While changes made by the Whatcom County Sheriff’s and Public Defender’s offices to better interact with people who are deaf or hard of hearing should help, a co-founder of a local group supporting those with hearing loss cautions that this is not a one-size-fits-all issue.
The U.S. Department of Justice last month announced that it had reached a pair agreements with the sheriff’s office and public defender’s offices to ensure that Whatcom County individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing are able to effectively community with the county’s criminal justice system.
The agreements also resolved multiple complaints against the county regarding violations of the Americans with Disability Act and settled claims that the Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office, Public Defender’s Office and Superior Court did not allow for effective communication with a defendant who is deaf during the investigation, arrest and counsel with the public defender’s office in the event of criminal incidents.
The sheriff’s and public defender’s offices agreed to develop written policies, monitor and log interactions, contract with sign language interpreters and report back to the Department of Justice, according to a news release on the agreements.
“The Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office fully cooperated with the DOJ investigation and continues to work to improve access and our ability to effectively communicate with those who have a disability or impairment,” Undersheriff Doug Chadwick said in a statement emailed to The Bellingham Herald. “Prior to the final agreement, the Sheriff’s Office updated our policy and made the necessary changes to address the deficiencies identified as part of the ADA complaint in order to better serve those in need of interpretation services.”
Some of the sheriff’s office’s changes, Chadwick reported, included:
▪ Adding signs and resources in the sheriff’s and correction’s offices that auxiliary aids and interpretation services were available.
▪ Providing all deputies in the field with a checklist to help assess a person’s preferred communication method.
▪ Ensuring deputies have iPhones to allow for real-time video and audio interpretation services for American Sign Language.
▪ Equipping corrections facilities with iPads to provide video interpretation services and access to in-person qualified American Sign Language interpreters.
Additionally, an American with Disabilities Act coordinator was assigned to ensure compliance with the agreement and address any complaints or concerns limiting effective communication or access to services to assist those in need, according to Chadwick.
“The Sheriff’s Office is committed to ensuring deputies are trained and have access to the equipment that will allow us to better serve members of our community who require various services to effectively communicate with the criminal justice system,” Chadwick’s statement read.
While the moves the sheriff’s office has taken should help the deaf communicate with the justice system, co-founder of the Hearing Loss Association of America, Whatcom County Chapter Charlene MacKenzie told The Herald in an email that she is concerned the moves will not help the hard of hearing (deaf), adding that “the deaf and the deaf (hard of hearing) should really not be grouped together as one entity because the solutions to our hearing disability are quite different and not mutually beneficial.”
While the deaf often rely on American Sign Language to communicate, the hard of hearing (deaf) are people that lose hearing later in life, MacKenzie said.
Rather than using American Sign Language, the hard of hearing (deaf) rely on technology or other accommodations, such as real-time captioning and a wire loop system that allows them to hear through a hearing aid, to help them communicate.
“The hard of hearing have no sense of community, except when there is a support group such as ours,” MacKenzie wrote. “Our disability is invisible; we do not sign. We are lost in the general population, basically unrecognized and underserved.
“While we are hard of hearing and share some of the same challenges as the deaf, we basically are a separate disability group with minimal connection.”
In fact, MacKenzie said the two groups don’t always understand or appreciate the difficulties the other experiences to effectively communicate.
“What I can say about the new accommodations for the deaf is that I am heartened that such ADA compliance will now occur,” MacKenzie wrote. “That might mean that other accommodations might be forthcoming not only from Bellingham city government but from Whatcom County government as well for the rest of us with hearing disabilities — as long as these entities realize one accommodation does not fit all.”
For example, MacKenzie said there are hearing assisting devices available at Bellingham City Council meetings, but none were available when she attempted to attend a trial approximately three years ago.
The agreements by the sheriff’s and public defender’s offices were made after a Whatcom County resident filed a complaint that his rights had been violated under the Americans with Disability Act when he was questioned and arrested by sheriff’s deputies following a dispute with his tenant. An investigation found that deputies knew the man was deaf and needed to communicate via American Sign Language, but they did not use an interpreter, instead relying on hand-written communications, according to the Department of Justice release.
“The ADA states that people with disabilities should be invited to participate in solving their needs for access in public venues,” MacKenzie wrote. “Our chapter is ready to educate and assist in providing communication access for the hard of hearing (deaf). We have offered. Unfortunately, not much action, if any, is taken until lawsuits take place.”
