Police officers handcuff Black Deaf mother, forces twin Coda daughters to interpret

Alex (The Daily Moth): On Thursday, April 8, a Black Deaf mother, Andrea “Dre” Hollingsworth, who was with her 11-year-old twins, filmed herself on Facebook Live being detained by North Las Vegas Police officers in a traffic stop. The video showed that the officers ordered her daughters to act as interpreters.

[Dre Hollingsworth starts recording a video while pulled over in her car.]

Andrea “Dre” Hollingsworth: The police pulled me over for no reason. My kids are in the back. I told them I’m Deaf.

[Dre is asked to leave the vehicle. Another clip shows Dre trying to communicate, with police officers looking down at her and seizing her arms.]

Alex: The videos have gone viral in our community and there are versions with captions and an ASL interpreter — they are linked above in the status description or in the transcript.

Why were the officers there? In short, Hollingsworth said she was trying to meet a homeowner to get “rent” money back because she was no longer staying at their home. She said the homeowner called the police on her and accused her of stalking and harassment.

Andrea “Dre” Hollingsworth: I saw the police car pull up, and the cop started speaking to me. I couldn’t understand. They depended on my kids and said they wanted my kids to interpret now. I told them no, they needed to use a pen and paper. I can’t hear you. They kept speaking angrily, and we couldn’t communicate. After that, they pulled me and I was like, what’s happening? Can you explain to me why? What’s happening? They kept speaking with their masks on, and I was frustrated. The kids told me to sit down, but I wanted to know why and what happened. They pinned me to the ground… My kids were crying, they saw it all. I’m like… It’s unbelievable.

I’m not a bad person. I’m not a criminal. I’m just like you. I’m Deaf, so…

Alex: Hollingsworth said there were 8 police officers at the scene. Many people commented that it is a violation of federal laws to use a person’s children as ASL interpreters.

Hollingsworth was already known to many in the deaf community because she was in a Stud Model Project competition and did an interview with Melmira about it in 2019, was a football player, and was recently featured in an Americans Greetings e-card video with her daughters along Marlee Matlin.

I reached out to the National Association of the Deaf about this. They said it was a “horrendous situation.” Here is a statement.

“The NAD is aware of this outrageous mistreatment of Andrea ‘Dre’ Hollingsworth, and, based on the limited information available, we believe that the law enforcement officers failed to provide effective communication as mandated by the Americans with Disabilities Act as well as the Rehabilitation Act. We are investigating this matter and cannot comment further.” — NAD CEO Howard Rosenblum, Esq.

I reached out to the Eisenberg and Baum Law Center for Deaf and Hard of Hearing because they have experience with winning ADA lawsuits or settlements against police officers. I asked if they noticed any potential ADA violations in the video by Hollingsworth.

Andrew Rozynski, Attorney & Co-Director of Deaf Law Center : Yeah, when I saw the video, it's clearly a violation of the ADA. You cannot use children as interpreters. The reason is because the situation is very serious. You can't rely on children for this because it can be traumatizing for the children and the parents. You should have a neutral and qualified interpreter providing full access either through VRI or an in-person interpreter.

Sheryl Eisenberg Michalowski, Co-Director of the Deaf Law Center: It is also important that police and professionals understand that relying on children -- they do not have the capability to translate for any family member. They do not have the vocabulary or are able to explain things properly. This can lead to misunderstandings. It is very risky. So I strongly do not recommend children to be interpreters for family members.

Alex; I asked which specific law was violated when the children were used as interpreters.

Andrew Rozynski: The ADA Title 2 ensures the government and police don't discriminate against deaf people or other disabilities. 28 CFR § 35.160, Section C says that you can’t require a deaf person to bring their own interpreter or rely on a person to use as their own interpreter unless specific exceptions are applicable, but this is more strict with children. The only way you can use children is if it’s an emergency or a life or death situation. Other than that, the law says you can’t use children as interpreters.

Alex: I asked if it made a difference that there is a video.

Andrew Rozynski: It’s very powerful to support your lawsuit.

Sheryl Einsberg Michalowski: Very, very powerful. It also shows the truth. The truth. You can’t muddle the truth.

Alex: Thank you for your time. In 2015, the law firm won a $750,000 lawsuit settlement for a deaf woman named Diana Williams. She is a landlord who was trying to evict a hearing tenant when she felt threatened. Williams called the police through a VRS service, and when the officers showed up, they heard the hearing tenants’ side of the story and then arrested Williams, accusing her of starting a fight. She was jailed for 24 hours without an interpreter. She was released without charges and later filed a federal lawsuit alleging ADA violations. U.S. District Judge Valerie Caproni allowed Williams’ lawsuit to proceed to trial and the city settled the case for $750,000.

An interesting fact — the judge, Caproni, is the same judge that ordered New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo to provide an in-frame ASL interpreter.

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Back to the Hollingsworth story — there is a GoFundMe set up called “Justice for Dre Hollingsworth and Her Twins.” It identified the police officer as Michael Rose. The fundraiser seeks to raise support for Hollingsworth and her family as they get back on their feet and seek legal options. The GoFundMe is also linked in the status description or in the transcript.

So, that’s the story so far. We know that in America, it can be very dangerous for a Black person to be pulled over by the police, and recent news stories show that. I have reached out to the North Las Vegas Police department. We’ll provide updates as they come.

Original Video: https://www.facebook.com/salute.dre/videos/3403493143084723/

Reaction Video: https://www.facebook.com/salute.dre/videos/3403549196412451

Kelly Lynn Interpreted Video: https://www.facebook.com/kellylynn.maxwell.1/posts/10100213079903943

GoFundMe: https://gofund.me/a4b0d69d

HuffPost story about 2015 lawsuit: https://www.huffpost.com/entry/deaf-woman-nypd-lawsuit-settlement_n_5630da6ce4b00aa54a4bfef1

Melmira Interviews Andrea: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uV5_ECBrQm0

DEAF NEWSGuest UserApril 13, 2021