A legal settlement with a St. Paul activist is forcing Ramsey County to adopt new practices at the Adult Detention Facility to ensure that deaf and hearing-impaired inmates be quickly provided the means to communicate with those inside and outside the jail.
The Ramsey County Board unanimously agreed Tuesday to the settlement, which also requires the county to pay $230,000 to Douglas Bahl, his wife and attorneys. The county does not, however, admit wrongdoing or liability in the 2006 incident that started when Bahl ran a red light and ended with his federal lawsuit claiming violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Bahl, 61, a community leader among the deaf in the Twin Cities, will receive $51,500. His wife and joint plaintiff, Susan Kovacs-Bahl, will receive $6,000. The Minnesota Disability Law Center will get $172,500.
The board considered the settlement in a closed session last week and approved it Tuesday without discussion.
After the vote, board Chairwoman Victoria Reinhardt said the settlement "raises awareness throughout Minnesota and beyond" about the needs of deaf inmates. She noted the sheriff moved quickly to make changes after Bahl's incident and has already adopted many of the requirements stipulated in the settlement.
Bahl was arrested five years ago after he was stopped for running a red light and then scuffled with a police officer.
He claims he told the officer he was deaf and asked to communicate in writing. Instead, he said, he was taken to the jail and for three days was not provided with a sign-language interpreter who could explain the charges and help him communicate. Kovacs-Bahl claimed she was unable to determine Bahl's whereabouts or physical condition during that time.
At a news conference shortly after his arrest, Bahl said that he notified jailers upon being booked that he was deaf and was denied an interpreter or a TTY (teletypewriter) device. He eventually was convicted of a misdemeanor.
