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Showing posts with label Deaf Woman. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Deaf Woman. Show all posts

Saturday, February 27, 2016

Deaf Woman Sues NYPD For Wrongly Arrested

Deaf News: Deaf woman denied interpreter by cops who arrested her after car accident sues city and NYPD.



NEW YORK CITY -- A Deaf woman was mocked and wrongly arrested by New York City Police Department cops after a minor car accident - all because they refused to get an interpreter to hear her side of the story, a new Manhattan federal lawsuit alleges.



Tanya Ingram's alleged ordeal began around 3:15 p.m. on Feb. 26, 2013, when she and another car collided at the intersection of Second Ave. and E. 120th Street.



The other driver got out of her car and rushed toward Ingram, apparently angry and shouting, the suit claims.



Ingram felt threatened by the other driver’s behavior so she "picked up a small metal pipe that she had in her car and exited the car, gesturing to (the other driver) to back away with her free hand. At no time did Ms. Ingram swing the pipe, nor did she ever attempt to strike (the other driver)," the suit states.



The cops who arrived on the scene some 45 minutes later spent considerable time speaking with the other driver in the accident, the suit says.



They refused to provide Ingram with the means to communicate, however - though she repeatedly pointed to her ear and shook her head to show her hearing impairment, she says.



One of the responding officers asked Ingram for her keys and opened the trunk. He then made several gestures to indicate a pipe, and she retrieved it from the car.



As the officers mulled about the scene of the accident, an EMT dispatched to the intersection approached Ingram. She explained that she was Deaf through gestures, and he gave her a piece of paper and pen so that she could speak with him. The officer who had opened her trunk was 10 feet away.



"You did not understand me. That's not right. I know she's lying to you. How can I tell you my story? I want my rights. Call interpreter," the note stated.



Ingram, 51, tried to show him the note, and while he glanced at it, the cops "expressed visible annoyance" and ignored her.



She then saw several officers speaking with each other and they "appeared to be mocking her use of gestures."



When the cops moved to arrest her, Ingram had no idea what was happening and became "extremely frightened and utterly bewildered as to the reason for her arrest began crying and repeatedly tried to audibly shout, 'Why?,'" her lawyers maintain.



Ingram was ultimately detained for 24 hours and never received an interpreter as required by law, she alleges.



She had been charged with four misdemeanors menacing, criminal possession of a weapon, harassment, and resisting arrest but all charges were dropped in July 2013, the suit contends.



Ingram is seeking unspecified damages.



Asked about the lawsuit, a city Law Department spokesman said that: "The complaint will be reviewed."



Ingram’s lawsuit is one of several recent false arrest claims in which Deaf individuals allege they were denied an interpreter.



Also Thursday, Susan Herman, NYPD Deputy Commissioner of Collaborative Policing, said the department is hosting an outreach event for the Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing this March at the former police academy building on E. 20th Street.



At the event, they hope to distribute visor plaques for the Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing so they can better communicate with police officers, she said.



These plaques would say that the driver is Deaf or Hard-of-Hearing and the driver's preferred method of communication, as well as various symbols and words, to explain things such as why an officer has stopped the driver.



Deaf and hard-of-hearing drivers will also be able to indicate whether they're having a medical emergency, Herman says.



The NYPD will soon launch a pilot program in three precincts to increase access to in-person and tablet-based American Sign Language translation. The department also worked with the Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing community to create a roll call training video, she told The News. SOURCE



Related:

Deaf Woman Sues NYPD For Wrongly Arrested & Assault

Deaf Woman Sues NYPD For Denying Interpreter

Monday, February 22, 2016

Deaf Woman Allegedly Raped By Two Irish Men

Deaf News: Profoundly Deaf woman allegedly raped by two men in caravan through a social media site in Belfast, Northern Ireland.



BELFAST -- A profoundly Deaf woman was allegedly raped by two men in a caravan after arranging a meeting over social media, a court heard today.



Police claimed one of the pair had manipulated and coerced her into getting a taxi to the traveller site in west Belfast. The woman has also alleged her drink may have been spiked during the incident on the Glen Road early last Friday.



David Spence, 18, and Francis Gavin, 23, appeared before magistrates in the city accused of carrying out the sex attack. Both men deny charges of rape, insisting all contact with the woman in her thirties was consensual.



Spence, a trainee joiner from Ardcaoin Avenue in the Dunmurry area, was granted bail on conditions that include a ban on accessing computers. But Gavin, of Glen Road Heights in Belfast, remains in custody while checks are carried out on proposed addresses.



A judge was told the woman had been in contact with Spence through a social media site before a meeting was arranged. Describing her as vulnerable, an investigating detective said she made it clear that she was not interested in having sex at the encounter.



The officer claimed Spence had ignored requests to come to her house, instead arranging for a taxi to bring her to the Glen Road traveller encampment. Following the alleged attack he said she left the caravan and walked a quarter of a mile down a lane in the dark before reporting the incident at the first house with lights on.



Defence barrister Tom McCreanor, for Spence, put it to the officer that his client and the woman had "intimate and suggestive" social media exchanges before meeting.



The detective replied: "She does mention she likes sex. However, she is saying that's within a long-term relationship." Photographs were also sent between her and Spence, the court heard. Asked if the woman's vulnerability related to a hearing issue, the officer said: "This lady is profoundly Deaf."



He also claimed: "From the content of text messages there was bit of manipulation or coercion." But Mr McCreanor argued that his client had been in "consensual and encouraged communication" with the woman.



He told the court she willingly got a taxi to the caravan and was never prevented from leaving.



Granting bail for Spence to return to court in four weeks, District Judge Fiona Bagnall ordered him to live with his parents under curfew. He was banned from using mobile phones, computers and accessing social media sites, and must not go near either the alleged victim's home or the traveller site.



Gavin also faces unrelated charges of common assault, criminal damage to a window and possession of a knuckle duster over an incident on January 25.



Defence solicitor Eamon O'Connor stressed his client is not accused of making any of the arrangements to meet the alleged rape victim.



"He was at the site when the alleged injured party arrived," Mr O'Connor said. "He made the case in ten interviews that any contact between himself and this lady was entirely by consent."



During cross-examination the detective confirmed the woman claimed her drink may have been spiked. Forensic tests are still being carried out to establish if there is any substance to her concerns. But with police claiming Gavin has used six addresses in the last five years, his bail application was adjourned for further checks on where he might live if released. Source

Friday, January 29, 2016

Deaf Woman Killed After Driver Suspected Of DUI

VIDEO [CC] - Deaf News: Woman who was killed in horrific crash on Spring Mountain at Rainbow was Deaf.



LAS VEGAS, NV -- A Deaf woman was killed in Wednesday's horrific crash involving a suspected drunk driver. She worked as an Uber driver.



Family and friends say Jenio Eugenio was driving home from work, just four weeks on the job when she never made it home.



Despite being Deaf Eujenio didn't let her disability get in the way of her goals.



Through a Deaf Interpreter, her family expresses outrage. Her loved ones devastated and in tears after learning Eugenio was killed by a suspected driving under the influence driver, 3 a.m. Wednesday.



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"You murderer, you murderer why did you kill my friend," says girlfriend, Maja Valdez.



Police believe Victor Sandoval was driving under the influence when he ran through several red lights before slamming into Eugenio's car.



"I miss her a lot I miss her so much," says Eugenio's friend, Rose Andaya.



Maja Valdez lived with Eugenio for more than a decade. She describes her partner as a sweet and supportive person.



"I lost my soulmate. We use to always be together and care for each other, now that she's gone. I'm alone. I'm alone now in this big house by myself." says Valdez.



Tonight friends are left with more heartbreak than answers.



"Why did you murder my friend? Why were you driving? Why were you looking for trouble? My friend was innocent and she was deaf just why," says Andaya.



According to law enforcement, Sandoval remains hospitalized. Police say charges against him are pending. Source KSNV News3LV

Monday, January 11, 2016

Deaf Woman Helps Two Boys By Texting 911

VIDEO [CC] - Deaf woman helps 2 boys left in car in Georgia by texting 911.





ALPHARETTA, GA -- A Deaf woman in Georgia helped two boys she found alone in a car by texting 911. Lisa Collins said she knew she could report what she saw because she was in Alpharetta, one of four police agencies in Georgia that provides texting access to 911.



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"Our 911 dispatcher was able to text back with her," said George Gordon, from the Alpharetta Department of Public Safety. Gordon said this is the first time anyone had texted 911 since they started the service in late 2014.



Collins texted to 911, "Someone left two young kids in the car, they're about two and five, I think...," and gave police the location where she was.



"I have two children of my own and I didn't think it was right to do that," said Collins. "I was thrilled when the 911 operator answered my text."



Gordon said having texting access to 911 is very beneficial.



"It could be domestic violence, whatever it is, where you don't have to speak, you text in anything to the 911 center now in our city."



In this case, police said a babysitter left the children in the car briefly and they handled the situation without arresting her. Source

Deaf Woman A Brilliant Artist - Diana Hirwa

VIDEO [CC] - Meet Diana Hirwa, a brilliant artist who is Deaf from Rwanda.



KIGALI -- After highlighting the story of a Deaf shop attendant employed at one of the biggest retail stores in the region, Kenya Television Network’s resident reporter in Kigali, Rwanda, Eugene Anangwe brings us the story of Diana Hirwa who can neither hear nor speak but is a brilliant artist that uses sign language.



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Kenya Television Network (KTN) Stop Describing the Deaf as 'Dumb'



Deaf YouVideo does not appreciated regardless of the 'Deaf and Dumb' stereotypes from the Kenya Television Network on "Meet Diana Hirwa, a brilliant artist who is deaf and dumb" which a video showing an inappropriate as labeled "dumb" and it seems NOT the inspirational message to the community as well.



Diana Hirwa is Deaf and uses sign language to communicate, and the way the Kenya Television Network has chosen to portray her is quite revealing. Major news outlets from KTN to the media all decided to utilize the outdated terms 'Deaf and Dumb' in their stories about the woman. Dear ignorant media, question: What do you call Deaf people ? Answer is HERE. Educated this one, before press the media.



Reacts to the KTN's social network regardess 'Deaf and Dumb'

Twiiter http://twitter.com/ktnkenya

Facebook - http://facebook.com/ktnkenya



Related Post: @Deaf Africans

Saturday, January 9, 2016

Deaf-Blind Woman Surfer Rides California Waves

VIDEO [CC] The incredible moment a Deaf-Blind woman learns to surfing at the beach in California, 'I'm not afraid to get in the water, try something new'





SAN DIEGO, CA -- A 27-year-old Deaf-Blind woman decided to challenge herself this weekend when she learned to surf in San Diego, California.



Haben Girma, who was born Blind and Deaf and is now a disability rights attorney, took to the waves on Saturday at Swami's Beach with help from a surf instructor.





'One of the biggest barriers facing people with disabilities are negative attitudes, people assuming that someone who's blind can't do something, or assuming that someone that uses a wheelchair can't do something, but anything's possible,' Girma, from Berkeley, told CBS 8.



So Girma, the first Blind and Deaf Harvard Law School graduate, has decided to keep challenging herself.



'I've decided to explore the question, 'Can I learn to surf?',' Girma said.



Girma was named a White House Champion of Change and has given a TEDx talk on disability advocacy and public-service lawyers.



Her surf instructor, coach Matt Allen of the Maui Surf Academy, was worried about communication, but they persevered and used physical queues to get their timing in sync.



'It's obviously going to be tough to communicate as well as we normally can,' he told CBS 8. 'There's nothing i'd rather do than help someone's dreams come true.' ... Read More.

Sunday, December 20, 2015

Deaf Woman Sues NYPD For Denying Interpreter

VIDEO [CC] - Deaf woman sues NYPD for denying sign language interpreter for nearly 24 hours after she was arrested, locked up.





NEW YORK CITY -- A Deaf woman who is also speech-impaired has sued the New York City Police Department for denying her a sign language interpreter for nearly 24 hours after she was arrested and locked up overnight, according to papers filed in Manhattan Federal Court.



Opal Gordon was arrested Sept. 21 as she left Manhattan Family Court for allegedly violating an order of protection. She was at court for a custody case about her daughter.



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Gordon, of Manhattan, who is “profoundly Deaf and speech-impaired,” said cops didn’t tell her why she had been arrested nor did they provide her with an interpreter. They also didn’t read her Miranda rights, she said.



Police brought Gordon, 53, to the 45th Precinct stationhouse in the Bronx and held her there for two hours, she said. “The boss who runs the precinct signed to me and asked if I am Deaf. I said ‘Yes,’” she told the Daily News. But none of the officers called for a sign language interpreter or gave her anything that would help her communicate with them, she said.



“Not even a piece of paper,” Gordon added.



The officers brought her to a holding cell in Bronx Central Booking and she was held overnight, according to her lawsuit. Gordon claims she repeatedly tried to communicate her need for a sign language interpreter but was ignored.



“No one would listen to me,” she said.



It took the NYPD 21 hours to get a sign language interpreter to help Gordon, her lawsuit said.



The city’s Administration for Children’s Services visited Gordon’s home in October as part of its Manhattan Family Court case. Even though ACS knew Gordon was Deaf, the agency didn’t bring an interpreter upsetting Gordon because the visit, part of a court-ordered investigation, could affect her custody case.



“This is nothing new for the city,” said Gordon’s lawyers Eric Baum and Andrew Rozynski, who represent many Deaf clients.



Deaf Woman Sues NYPD For Wrongly Arrested



Their law firm said the NYPD has a 2009 consent decree with the Justice Department to improve its treatment of the Deaf community. But the city and the NYPD continue to violate the civil rights of Deaf people, according to the lawyers.



The city Law Department didn’t comment on the pending litigation. “We will review the suit and respond accordingly once we are served,” a spokesman said. Source



Related: @Lawsuit
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