Update on our Rally march

Our Rally Day was successfully completed! It consisted of about 100 members of the Deaf communities including Deaf parents, hearing parents of deaf people, Deaf/hearing advocates for the Deaf/Hard of Hearing, a Deaf lawyer, Deaf/hearing teachers for the Deaf, interpreters for the Deaf, Deaf/hearing counselors for the Deaf, Deaf senior citizens, Deaf college students, a minister for the Deaf/Hard of hearing, CODAs, Deaf Youth, Deaf/hearing service providers for the Disabled, hearing supporters of the Deaf communities, and other Deaf people from several different counties and cities such as Brazoria (Alvin, Pearland, Angleton, Lake Jackson), San Jacinto (Livington), Harris (Houston, Spring) , Fort Bend (Sugar Land) and Travis (Austin).

A reporter of Houston Chronicle and a Fox 26 cameraperson/reporter came to interview with several of rally-participants including "Esparanza" from Alvin, Deaf advocate for the Deaf/Hard of Hearing, and other Deaf citizens whose rights were violated by law enforcements through Brazoria County and surrounding counties including Fort Bend and Harris. A local chief police got put on the spot, but was very encouraging.

We all marched around the courthouse several times carrying posters "Communication Access Now". We shouted "Communication Access Now" and "No effective communication = no justice". What a great team work from the C.A.N. Team!!!!!

UPDATE - 05/29/07: We are sorry, but we got informed that Fox 26 cancelled their air of our protest on TV because they wanted it exclusive only.

We all wanted to thank those of you who came to join us even though Angleton was so far away and also wanted to thank those who interpreted very much for our rally.

- The C.A.N. Team


By the way,..........IRONICALLY - there was something happened to other Deaf people in Alvin, where Esparanza's rights were violated, on the same day as our Rally. Read below:

3 Men Flee after Attacking 2 Deaf Women in Alvin
Last Edited: Thursday, 24 May 2007, 4:52 PM CDT
Created: Thursday, 24 May 2007, 4:52 PM CDT
HOUSTON -- Two deaf women were attacked outside their Alvin home early Thursday.
Officers with the Alvin Police Department told FOX 26 News that the two women were sitting outside their home in the 1600 block of Rice Street when three men dressed in black approached them.
The men attacked one of the women. Neighbors told police they saw the other woman trying to escape the man. She was able to get away without injury.
LifeFlight transported the woman who was attacked to Memorial Hermann Hospital. Her condition was not released but hospital officials said she could be released as early as Thursday night.
Alvin police said they do not have a motive for the attack or any suspects.
Detectives said they had difficult communicating with the women because they were using a slang-form of Spanish sign language."

Incident in Video-ASL

Here is the incident (story) in a video- ASL - click here: www.deafsociety.blogspot.com (under the title of "Tragedy Story: not in 1700's or 1800's. It happened today")

A map for Brazoria County Courthouse in Angleton, Texas

On Thursday, May 24 at 1pm, our rally will take place at Brazoria County Courthouse located at 111 E. Locust St., Angleton, Texas, 77515.

Click the map link: Brazoria County courthouse map

If you have any questions, email at CommAccessNow@yahoo.com or CommAccessNow2@yahoo.com.

For those who are afraid to participate in a protest

For those who are afraid to participate in a protest,

That's ok to be afraid, but please remember that our rights to speech is one of our American constitution amendments.

If we don't want to protest because of our fear to be arrested, nobody will take notice. What's more, we will not be arrested if we do not intervene anything and we protest in a peaceful way. Remember, our constitution allows us to speech freely for our rights.

The law enforcements or other agencies would think that we are solid afraid and let them oppress us. Therefore, they would continue violating the Deaf's rights again and again. Want that? Also, it might happen to every Deaf individual. Of course, we thank the police departments to guard us, but two things they ridiculiously miss are a knowledge of Deaf culture and their compliance with ADA. By protesting, the county will take notice, and they would enfore all the police departments throughout the county to follow ADA and to increase their cultural sensivitity toward the Deaf/HH individuals. Also, the protest will be loudly telling the Alvin police department and other law enforcements that what they did to Esparanza and other Deaf individuals was totally unacceptable.

Protesting in a peaceful way will get Brazoria County's attention and maybe even the nation's attention. This will increase law enforcements' communication accessibilty to Deaf/hh individuals and our rights will be correctly honored.

We needed more Deaf/Hard of Hearing people to get involved in the protest. It's URGENT!!!!!!

Fear is a great opportunity to grab, but it gives us a choice.....to use it as a fuel or to surrender to it. By using it as a fuel, Brazoria County's taking notice will be totally successful.

Please come join us and make a difference!


PS - If you are working on that day, you can request for getting that day off from work ( or 1/2 day).

Esparanza - her public name

The victim's public name (not real name for her protection) is Esparanza.

In Spanish, Esparanza means hope.

Contact the Alvin Police Department

As per one's request, the phone numbers are below:

Alvin Police Department: 281-388-4370

Brazoria County Sheriff's Department: 979-849-2214

Call in the Alvin Police Department for what they had done.......multiple violations of Esparanza's civil rights. The more pressure, the more calls they will take notice.

Is it a Crime to be Deaf?......in Brazoria County, Texas

Is it a Crime to be Deaf?....in Brazoria County, Texas

May 1, 2007

To Whom It May Concern:

I hope that you can/will assist us in stopping the mistreatment of deaf people by various local law enforcement officers/agencies. It has been brought to our attention that many deaf citizens experience similar challenges with officers We need your assistance in conveying to the law enforcement and to the deaf community that they do have civil rights and should speak out about such encounters. If you’re interested, we would like to discuss these and others issues with you in detail. If you have any questions, feel free to contact us.We are requesting a full investigation of the law enforcement agencies/officers involved in the following situation. This client remains devastated and believes that a number of her Constitutional and Civil rights have been violated.

· Failure to provide effective communication

· Sexual abuse/harassment· Unlawful imprisonment

· Misuse of authority· Cruel and unusual punishment

· Failure to assist during an Emergency

A 19 year old Hispanic deaf woman who was assaulted by her brother who was drunk. She uses sign language to communicate and does not speak. She tried to summons help by calling 911. As indicated by the police report, she was crying when she dialed 911, then hung up the phone.

Shortly after, PD arrived. Her brother told officers that "she is crazy. " He told officers that she tried to stab him with a knife. The client was still crying her bedroom. When the officer came into her room, she tried to communicate what happened to her. Meanwhile, the brother was yelling that "she is crazy", and said she tried to stab him. She began motioning to the officer to get her an interpreter so she could explain. The officers did not try to communicate with her, they believed her brother (who is on probation and previously ID by the police as a member of several gangs). The officers cuffed her hands behind her back. She was charged with assault with a deadly weapon. She said she became more frantic and tried more vigorously to communicate, but could not because her hands were behind her back.

She was taken to the police station. Once there, she said she kept trying to indicate to them she needed an interpreter but no one would communicate with her. She said she was stripped naked in the presence of 3 male officers and one female officer. While the female officer straddled her body and retrained her hands. The older male officer performed a cavity search. The client said that he put on a glove and inserted his fingers into her vagina. She became very upset.

She was then moved to the County Jail, again she tried to convey to them that she needed an interpreter, but no one addressed her communication needs. police Officers reported to jail staff that she (the client) is crazy. She says her clothes were taken from her. She remained naked in a jail cell where there was no bed and she had to sleep on the floor. three days later, she was moved from the isolation cell and placed into another cell with a bed.

When I met with this client on Thurs. April 12, 2007, she was very depressed. She said on Wed. the 11th, a psychiatrist came to talk to her with an interpreter. She says has been asking jail staff for an interpreter, but no one will call one. One trustee has minimal "finger-spelling" skill and is very difficult to understand. When I asked her what she spends most of her time doing in jail, she says she tries to think of different ways to kill herself. She appeared to be very depressed. She indicates that she is very hurt and angry. She said she called 911 so they could come to help her, but instead, she was arrested and put in jail.

She says that its been one week since her arrest and detention and she still has not been provided effective communication, nor has she ever been given an explanation as to why she was arrested and does not know when she will get out. As she explained her situation to me, she showed me the bruises on her arm from where she had carpet burns as a result of her brother throwing her on the floor. I asked if she had shown the bruises to the officers when they responded to the 911 call. She said they would not listen to her, therefore, she did not have an opportunity to show them the bruises. She asked me how long she had to stay in jail. I told her I would find answers for her.

Shortly after I left the Jail, I called the social worker for people with disabilities, at the jail. I asked if I had understood the deaf client correctly: “was she naked and placed in isolation from Thursday to Sunday?” She said yes I had understood correctly. When I asked why, she said it is because "she has psychiatric issues." I asked how was that determined, she said the police told her. When I asked if she had spoken with the client, she said no she had not---the deaf clients' detention is on what police reported about the client. The social worker quickly added, "last time she was here, we kept her in isolation for 5 days." I asked her why, she said because the client refused to talk with her. I asked if she (the social worker) knew sign language, she said no. I asked if she tried to communicate with the client using a sign language interpreter. She said they didn't need an interpreter because ---at that time there was an inmate who knew some sign language and they used her....and the client still refused to communicate. She added that they now have a staff person who signs.

That same afternoon, I met with the District Attorney (who requested my assistance in seeking resources for this client). I asked how long the client would be in jail. She said she had no idea, but the client had been appointed an attorney. I informed her that no one from the police department or the County Jail had ever spoken to the deaf woman about why she called 911, nor has she ever been provided effective communication. After discussing these issues with the District attorney, I suggested the charges be dismissed based on my 3 hour conversation with the client. She agreed. Again, I asked when she would be released. She said not until she had a place to go. I asked if all women were detained in jail until they had a place to live. She said no. I reminded her that she could not be detained in jail because she will not be returning home and happens to be deaf. The next morning the charges were dismissed and the client was dismissed from jail.

Detra Stewart

Advocate for the Deaf/Hard of Hearing
CommAccessNow2@yahoo.com
VP - 713-807-1176

Brian Determan
Deaf Advocate for the Deaf/Hard of Hearing
CommAccessNow@yahoo.com
VP -713-807-1176