Deaf activist sues over jail stay

From the Minneapolis-St. Paul Star-Tribune:

Deaf activist Douglas Bahl was held in jail for three days without any means to communicate with family members or to seek legal advice after he scuffled with police during a routine traffic stop, according to a lawsuit filed in Ramsey County District Court.

Bahl, 57, ultimately was convicted of a misdemeanor crime in connection with the 2006 incident in St. Paul, but he and his wife now are suing the city, county and the Sheriff's Office to ensure that deaf and hearing-impaired people have the same access to communication as a hearing person, their attorney said Aug. 1.

They also are seeking damages "in excess of $50,000" from the Police Department and the Sheriff's Office, the lawsuit said.

Sheriff Bob Fletcher said that they have worked with Bahl to improve their procedures since the incident and that he thought they had met his concerns.

City Attorney John Choi said that from the city's vantage point, it was Bahl, not the police, who acted inappropriately.

But Rick Macpherson, Bahl's attorney, said this is not an isolated incident. "There are a number of cases around the country where deaf people are held in jail and not provided with any means to communicate with people on the outside. They're lost; they get lost."

"It's something that's well known in the deaf community, something people are afraid of happening to them."

Bahl's arrest in November 2006 raised an Internet outcry. He was pulled over Nov. 17 while on his way to visit his girlfriend -- now his wife, Susan Kovacs-Bahl -- at a Minneapolis hospital.

Macpherson said Bahl tried to communicate in writing but the officer refused. There was a scuffle, and Bahl was sprayed with a chemical irritant and pulled from his vehicle. After being treated for his injuries at Regions Hospital in St. Paul, he was booked into the county jail.

Neither police nor jail personnel provided Bahl with a sign-language interpreter or any other communication device that would have him to communicate with Kovacs-Bahl or other family members, who grew increasing worried about him, Macpherson said.

Fletcher said Aug. 1 that the incident was investigated thoroughly but there were no sustained complaints because there were conflicting versions of what happened. Some said Bahl had declined to use a TTY device, the sheriff said.