U.S. Department of Justice

                                   Civil Rights Division

                                   Coordination and Review Section

                                    P.O. BOX 66118
                                    Washington, D.C.  20035-6118
XX
XX                            JAN 23 1995
XX

      RE: Complaint Number  XX

Dear Mr.  XX  :

      This letter constitutes the Department of Justice's Letter
of Findings with respect to your complaint against the Cottonport
Police Department (Police Department), alleging a violation of
Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA).
You alleged that the Police Department did not provide you with
an appropriate auxiliary aid to ensure effective communication
with you when it detained you. Title II prohibits discrimination
against qualified individuals with disabilities on the basis of
disability in the programs and activities of State and local
government entities, including enforcement agencies.

      Based on a review of information supplied by you and by the
Police Department, we have determined that the Police Department
has not violated Title II with respect to your allegations.

      The evidence indicates that on April 8, 1992, at about
11:25 p.m., an officer of the Cottonport Police Department
observed your vehicle travelling across the center line into the
opposite lane. When the officer turned on his top bar lights and
pulled you over to the side of road, the officer observed that
you drove your vehicle onto the shoulder and across the sidewalk
before stopping. When he approached you, he smelled alcohol on
your breath and observed that your eyes were bloodshot and
glassy. The officer also observed that you could hardly walk.
The officer asked you for your driver's license, but you did not
have it. The officer then called by radio to the Avoyelles
Parish Sheriff's Department to ask for a check on your driving
record. The Sheriff's Department advised the officer that you
were driving with a suspended/revoked license. The officer then

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advised you by writing on a tablet that you were going to be
arrested for these charges. At that point, the officer put
handcuffs on you and called the Louisiana State Police. The
officer also called the Sheriff's Department to ask for an
officer who knew sign language to come to the scene. The
Sheriff's Department officer came and used sign language to
advise you that, due to the nature of the charges against you,
you were to be transported to the Avoyelles Parish Jail. The
State Police officer came, arrested, and transported you to the
Jail.

      Under section 35.160(a) of the Title II regulation, a public
entity must take appropriate steps to ensure that its
communications with individuals with disabilities are as
effective as communications with others. Section 35.160(b)
requires the public entity to furnish appropriate auxiliary
aids and services where necessary to ensure effective
communication. For individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing,
auxiliary aids and services include, but are not limited to,
qualified interpreters and writing on note pads (section 35.104).

      If an individual without a hearing impairment would have
been stopped or arrested on probable cause, then an individual
with a hearing impairment in the same situation does not need to
be provided with an interpreter prior to an arrest. However, a
qualified interpreter may still be required subsequent to the
arrest if an officer is unable to convey to the arrestee the
nature of the charges by communicating on a note pad or by using
another means of communication. If an interpreter is required,
the arresting officer or the transporting officer can convey the
necessary information through the interpreter either at the scene
or at a facility where the arrestee is to be held.

      The investigation disclosed that the Police Department does
not arrest individuals on felony or driving while intoxicated
(DWI) charges, and that individuals detained on felony or DWI
charges will be detained until the Avoyelles Parish Sheriff's
Department and/or State Police Department arrive, at which time
these agencies actually make the arrest. The investigation also
showed that a police officer has no obligation under State or
local laws to inform or advise you of your rights before making a
call to the State Police for an arrest. The facts show that the
Police Department advised you by writing on a tablet that you
would be arrested for driving while intoxicated with a
suspended/revoked license. The Sheriff's Department's officer,
at the Police Departments request, advised you in sign language
of what had happened and what would occur. These facts show that
the Police Department took appropriate steps to ensure that the
Police Department's communication with you was as effective as
communications with others.

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      Based upon these facts, we find that the Police Department
did not violate Title II. We are closing your case effective the
date of this letter. If you are dissatisfied with our
determination, you may file a complaint presenting your
allegations of discrimination in an appropriate United States
District Court under Title II of the ADA.

      You should be aware that no one may intimidate, threaten,
coerce, or engage in other discriminatory conduct against anyone
because he or she has either taken action or participated in an
action to secure rights protected by the ADA. Any individual
alleging such harassment or intimidation may file a complaint
with the Department of Justice. We would investigate such a
complaint if the situation warrants.

      Under the Freedom of Information Act, it may be necessary to
release this document and related correspondence and records upon
request. In the event that we receive such a request, we will
seek to protect, to the extent provided by law, personal
information, which, if released, could constitute an unwarranted
invasion of privacy.

                                     Sincerely,

                                Merrily A. Friedlander
                                    Acting Chief
                            Coordination and Review Section
                                  Civil Rights Division

cc: Gerald J. Mayeux
    Chief Police
    Cottonport Police Department

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