Lawsuit filed against NLVPD after deaf woman detained, daughters told to interpret

By Shannon Miller

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    LAS VEGAS (KVVU) — A lawsuit has been filed in federal court against North Las Vegas Police Department for “unlawful and discriminatory practices” in detaining a deaf woman in April and telling her 11-year-old twins to interpret for her while she was handcuffed.

FOX5 first reported the story of the mother Andrea “Dre” Hollingsworth after she livestreamed her interaction on April 7 with North Las Vegas police, drawing outrage in the deaf community and online.

The police were wearing face masks, and she could not read their lips, she said. After police asked Hollingsworth’s daughters to interpret for their mother, police eventually removed her handcuffs and she was allowed to go. But it was not without her daughters experiencing trauma while witnessing their mother being handcuffed and handled by police, she said.

The National Association of the Deaf and McLetchie Law announced the lawsuit on Wednesday on behalf of Hollingsworth and her daughters, seeking the implementation of policy changes in the police department, as well as damages they experienced “when the police created an unnecessarily traumatic encounter.”

“The National Association of the Deaf (NAD) and McLetchie Law, on behalf of Andrea “Dre” Hollingsworth and her eleven-year old twin daughters, filed a complaint yesterday asking a federal judge to order the North Las Vegas Police Department (NLVPD) to cease unlawful and discriminatory practices.

The complaint also asks NLVPD to implement policies and procedures that will ensure effective communication and a meaningful opportunity to participate in and benefit from NLVPD’s services. The complaint seeks damages for the harm Ms. Hollingsworth and her young daughters experienced when the police created an unnecessarily traumatic encounter,” the emailed statement said.

The complaint asserts the NLVPD violated Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, the First, Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments of the U.S. Constitution, and other statutes during an interaction with Ms. Hollingsworth. Ms. Hollingsworth is an African American deaf woman who uses American Sign Language as her primary means of communication.

“Ms. Hollingsworth and her children repeatedly informed Officer Rose that she is deaf and Ms. Hollingsworth requested the use of written notes. Officer Rose was wearing a neck gaiter covering his mouth and much of his face during the entire encounter making it impossible for Ms. Hollingsworth to try to lip read. Even when informed that Ms. Hollingsworth is deaf, Officer Rose proceeded to speak to Ms. Hollingsworth with his face covered and demanded Ms. Hollingsworth respond to his inquiries without providing her with any means to communicate. Officer Rose even complained about Ms. Hollingsworth’s effort to sign with her daughters. At most points during the interaction, Ms. Hollingsworth was unaware that Officer Rose was even speaking to her because she could not see his lips. Officer Rose refused to use pen and paper to communicate with Ms. Hollingsworth and made no attempts to provide a qualified ASL interpreter. Instead, Officer Rose sought to rely on Ms. Hollingsworth’s eleven-year-old daughters and push them to ‘interpret’ for him while they were crying in fear for their mother and themselves.”

– NAD and McLetchie Law

The statement added that the officer’s insistence that the children interpret for their mother caused the situation to “escalate unnecessarily” and that the officer used “unreasonable force.”

“When the children cried in fear and Ms. Hollingsworth repeatedly expressed confusion, Officer Rose responded by yelling at the children when their mother didn’t comply with his commands. Ms. Hollingsworth had no way to understand these commands, particularly because her daughters were not able to sign the majority of Officer Rose’s commands to her. Ultimately, Officer Rose used unreasonable force for a situation he created,” the joint statement said.

“My daughters and I went through a horrible experience at the hands of the North Las Vegas police, especially when they refused to show their lips, tried to force my traumatized young daughters to interpret, and forcefully pulled me out of my car to cuff me. I hope this lawsuit stops them from doing this to anyone else ever again,” Hollingsworth said in the joint statement.

The statement also referenced federal disability rights laws that require the provision of “qualified interpreters” which mandate impartiality and preclude the use of family members.

“Using family members, let alone young children, as interpreters is not appropriate because of their emotional and personal involvement, which affects the ability to interpret effectively and accurately and impartially. Children who are forced to act as interpreters for their parents often feel guilty and responsible when communication goes badly and suffer trauma as a result,” the statement said.

When asked for comment, the North Las Vegas Police Department said the city of North Las Vegas does not comment on pending litigation.

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