A lawsuit has been filed against Adams County Sheriff Doug Darr that alleges a shocking mistreatment of a deaf prisoner, Timothy Siaki, who was held in jail for 25 days due to a lack of an interpreter. Siaki is deaf.



The ordeal began with someone calling police about hearing weird noises at a local motel on May 14, 2010. It was the sound of the deaf couple verbalizing sounds. Not uncommon among deaf people but the two deputies broke down the door and Siaki’s fiancé could not explain it to the officer because she is also deaf and there was not interpreter.

His lawyer, Kevin Williams, says that Siaki just sat there without knowing what he was being charged with or what was going to happen to him. Saiki cannot read or write. It is shocking that a police department could not secure an interpreter for such a common disability.

Darr is being charged with violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act.

According to various websites, about 2 to 4 of every 1,000 people in the United States are “functionally deaf.”

Source: MSNBC

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