Settlement Agreement Secures More Training for Communication with Hearing Impaired Persons
ALBUQUERQUE, NM—Today, the American Civil Liberties Union of New Mexico (ACLU-NM) announced that it has reached a settlement agreement with the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office (BCSO)  to expand officer training on communication with hearing impaired persons. The settlement is a result of a lawsuit brought by the ACLU-NM in 2009 on behalf of a hearing impaired woman who was not provided a sign language interpreter during an encounter with BCSO deputies.
“Law enforcement work places officers in situations in which they must interact with many different kinds of people. Some of those people have special communications needs,” said ACLU-NM Executive Director Peter Simonson.
Under the terms of the settlement, the Board of County Commissioners for the County of Bernalillo agrees to take the following steps:

• The Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Department will distribute the United States Department of Justice Pamphlet entitled “Communicating With People Who Are Deaf or Hard of Hearing” to all personnel assigned to the Sheriff’s Department. BCSO will also ensure that the county personnel assigned to the Emergency Communications Department are provided with information and procedures concerning the manner in which a certified Sign Language Interpreter may be contacted when necessary.
• Within one year, BCSO will provide refresher training to all supervisory and dispatch personnel concerning standard operating procedures for communicating with persons who are deaf or hard of hearing.
• Within one year, BCSO will collaborate with a local advocacy group for the hearing impaired to obtain information and materials to incorporate into the training curriculum at the BCSO law enforcement academy.

The additional training provided to deputies and support staff will help ensure that BCSO remains in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act and that the rights of the hearing impaired continue to be respected.
“We are extremely pleased that we are able to collaborate with the sheriff’s office to improve officer training,” said Simonson. “BCSO has reaffirmed their commitment to serving the hearing impaired community.”
ACLU-NM Cooperating Attorney George Bach of Bach & Garcia, LLC represented the plaintiff in this case.

By Micah McCoy, Communications Specialist
Two weeks ago Las Vegas Police Chief Gary Gold announced that that Tasers would no longer be used in his department. ACLU-NM applauds this principled move on the part of the Las Vegas, NM Police Department, and in honor of their decision, we’d like to take a moment to talk a bit more about why other cities and counties should reexamine their policies on the use of this weapon as well.
Tasers are projectile weapons that use compressed nitrogen gas to propel two darts that deliver a 50,000 volt electric shock into the body of a target, causing temporary loss of muscle control and disablement. These weapons are marketed as a “less than lethal” alternative for police officers and armed security guards to incapacitate a dangerous individual. However, there is a growing body of evidence that puts this “less than lethal” brand in serious question.
Just for starters, Amensty International estimates that more than 350 individuals have died after being shocked by these “less than lethal” devices since 2001. They also warn that we know dangerously little about the probable health risks associated with Taser use:

Medical studies so far on the effects of Tasers have either been limited in scope or unduly influenced by the weapons' primary manufacturer. No study has adequately examined the impact of Tasers on potentially at-risk individuals -- people who have medical conditions, take prescription medications, are mentally ill or are under the influence of narcotics. Rigorous, independent, impartial study of their use and effects is urgently needed to determine what role Tasers may have played in the 351 deaths and to determine appropriate guidelines for future Taser use.

In 2005, the ACLU of Northern California published an extensive study of Taser use in California entitled “STUN GUN FALLACY: How the Lack of Taser Regulation Endangers Lives,” which paints a compelling picture of how Tasers are used inappropriately and excessively in law enforcement. The report examines the deceptive marketing practices by the manufacturer (Taser International), lack of proper law enforcement training on the weapon’s use and a general lack of acknowledgement of the associated medical risks:

In light of these concerns and the rising death toll associated with Taser use, the ACLU of Northern California (“ACLUNC”)has conducted a thorough survey of 79 law enforcement agencies throughout northern and central California to determine how Tasers are being used. A close review of thousands of pages of policy and training materials used by departments reveals that, despite the growing number of deaths, increasing concern from medical and other experts about Taser safety, and extensive media coverage of problems associated with Taser use, the weapon remains largely unregulated. Of the 79 departments surveyed, 56 have added Tasers to their weapons arsenals. Of those, 54 provided their Taser-use policies and/or training materials to the ACLU-NC, which concluded the following:

• Only four departments regulate the number of times an officer may use a Taser on an individual. The others place no restriction on the number of times a suspect can be shot. This is particularly troubling considering that several of the targets in California died after being jolted multiple times.
• Only four departments created any of their own training materials for their officers. The rest relied exclusively on materials produced by Taser International.

• The training materials produced by Taser International and relied on by local law enforcement grossly exaggerate the safety of Tasers, downplay their risks, and misrepresent medical studies on their effects.

Tasers are certainly a legitimate alternative to conventional firearms in a life-threatening situation, but according to Amnesty International, 80% of the time they are used against people who are unarmed. Like the 14-year-old girl who was shot in the head with a Taser in Tucumcari, NM last year,  sending 50,000 volts directly into her brain. Or someone like 72-year-old great grandmother Kathryn Winkfein, who was tasered by a Texas constable after refusing to sign a traffic ticket. Or like Anastasio Hernandez Rojas who died on May 28^th after U.S. Border Patrol agents shocked him multiple times even though he was already restrained in handcuffs.
If you would like to ask your local police or sheriff’s department to stop using Tasers or to reexamine their Taser use policies, you can sign this petition courtesy of the petitionsite.com.

TRAVEL ALERT
American Civil Liberties Union of New Mexico
PO BOX 566
Albuquerque, NM 87103


ACLU Travel Alert for
STATE OF ARIZONA

June 30, 2010
The American Civil Liberties Union of New Mexico (ACLU-NM) alerts New Mexico residents to potential threats to the constitutional rights and civil liberties of individuals planning to travel or stay in Arizona. On April 23, 2010, Arizona enacted a state racial profiling law, SB 1070, that has generated fear and confusion among the public about the treatment and rights of Americans in the State of Arizona. Although the law is not scheduled to go into effect until July 29, 2010, and multiple lawsuits have already been filed to prevent it from taking effect at all, a history of rampant racial profiling by law enforcement officials in Maricopa County, Arizona (which includes the cities of Phoenix, Glendale, Mesa, and Scottsdale) and a stated policy of “attrition through enforcement” adopted by lawmakers in the state give credible reason to be concerned even before the date SB 1070 is supposed to go into effect.
The law will require police officers to demand papers proving U.S. citizenship or immigration status from any individual whom they stop, detain, or arrest, based on an undefined “reasonable suspicion” that the individual is in the country unlawfully. It invites discrimination against and pretextual stops and arrests of Latinos, other racial minorities, and individuals believed to look or sound “foreign,” based on their race, ethnicity, or national origin. The law expressly provides that even suspected infractions of city or town ordinances – such as jaywalking, excessive noise, or having an overgrown or untidy lawn – can and should lead to immigration questioning. If individuals are unable to prove to the police officer that they are permitted to be in the United States, they may be subject to warrantless arrest without any probable cause that they have committed a crime.
Since 2007, the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO) has systematically engaged in selective enforcement of minor traffic laws to target Latino motorists for stops and investigation of their U.S. citizenship or immigration status. The U.S. Department of Justice has initiated an investigation into the practices of the MCSO, and there are at least two pending civil rights lawsuits challenging this activity in the federal courts.
The increased risk that individuals and motorists will be stopped, questioned, detained, and arrested because of their race, ethnicity, or national origin makes it imperative that New Mexico residents understand their rights when encountering law enforcement authorities in Arizona.
The ACLU has prepared an informational card for the public entitled, “What to Do if You’re Stopped by Police, Immigration Agents or the FBI.” While the card provides information that applies throughout the United States in any encounter with law enforcement officials, New Mexico residents are particularly advised to download and read this card before traveling to Arizona. A copy is available at https://www.aclu-nm.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/ACLU-bust-card-2010_final.pdf.
Key information that applies to all New Mexico residents considering travel through Arizona includes the following:

• If you travel through the state of Arizona and encounter law enforcement officers, remember that all persons within the boundaries of the United States, regardless of immigration status, are protected by the U.S. Constitution.

• Racial and ethnic profiling is illegal. An officer cannot stop you because of physical features or English ability. The officer must be able to articulate a reason for a “lawful stop or detention.”

• If you are stopped for questioning:

Stay calm. Don’t run. Don’t argue, resist or obstruct the police, even if you are innocent or police are violating your rights. Keep your hands where police can see them. If you are driving a car, stop the car in a safe place as quickly as possible. Turn off the car, turn on the internal light, open the window part way and place your hands on the wheel.
Ask if you are free to leave. If the officer says yes, you have the right to calmly and silently walk away. If you are under arrest, you have a right to know why.
You have the right to remain silent and cannot be punished for refusing to answer questions. If you wish to remain silent, tell the officer out loud. However, under state law in Arizona and some other states, you must give your name if asked to identify yourself. If you are the driver of a vehicle, upon request, show police your driver’s license, registration, and proof of insurance. Both drivers and passengers have the right to remain silent. If you are a passenger, you can ask if you are free to leave.  If the officer says yes, sit silently in the car or calmly leave. Even if the officer says no, you have the right to remain silent.

You do not have to consent to a search of yourself or your belongings, but police may “pat down” your clothing if they suspect a weapon. You should not physically resist, but you have the right to refuse consent for any further search. If you do consent, it can affect your rights later in court. If you are the driver of a vehicle and an officer or immigration agent asks to look inside your car, you can refuse to consent to the search. But if police believe your car contains evidence of a crime, your car can be searched without your consent.

• If you are questioned about your immigration status:

You have the right to remain silent and do not have to discuss your immigration or citizenship status with police, immigration agents or any other officials. You do not have to answer questions about where you were born, whether you are a U.S. citizen, or how you entered the country.  (Separate rules apply at international borders and airports, and for individuals on certain nonimmigrant visas, including tourists and business travelers.)

If you are not a U.S. citizen and an immigration agent requests your immigration papers, you must show them if you have them with you. If you are over 18, carry your immigration documents with you at all times. If you do not have immigration papers, say you want to remain silent.

Do not lie about your citizenship status or provide fake documents.

• If you feel your rights have been violated, write down everything you can remember, including officers’ badge and patrol car numbers, which agency the officers were from, and any other details.  Get contact information for witnesses.

• Residents of Hawai’i, New Mexico, and Washington should be aware that, because the driver’s licenses of their states do not require proof of legal residence for issuance, they may not satisfy Arizona criteria for identification under the new Arizona racial profiling law.

New Mexico residents who are subjected to racial or ethnic profiling or other rights violations are encouraged to report these concerns to:

www.aclu-nm.org >> Submit a Complaint

ACLU of New Mexico
PO BOX 566
Albuquerque, NM 87103