- PURPOSE
It is the policy of this department to ensure that a consistently high level of police service is provided to all members of the community including people who may require special consideration in order to access these services.
- DEFINITIONS
- The term "qualified individual with a disability" means an individual who, with or without reasonable modifications to rules; policies or practices; the removal of architectural, communication, or transportation barriers; or, the provision of auxiliary aids and services, meets the essential eligibility requirements for the receipt of services or the participation in programs or activities provided by a public entity.
- The term "disability" means, with respect to an individual, a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more of the major life activities of such individual; a record of such impairment; or being regarded as having such an impairment.
- VISUAL DISABILITIES
One of the most difficult issues facing people in need who are blind or vision impaired is identifying police officials. Employees should offer detailed information in identifying themselves as members of the Department. If needed, badges may be offered to the individual to verify the officer's identity.
Knowing what not to do is as important as knowing what to do to assist a person who is vision impaired. Employees do not need to raise their voice when speaking. Employees should not grab the person's arm to lead him or her in a particular direction. If needed, the individual will take the officer's arm for guidance.
- MENTAL, EMOTIONAL AND PSYCHOLOGICAL DISABILITIES
The terms "mental illness," "emotional illness," and "psychological illness," describe varying levels of a group of disabilities in thinking, feeling, and relating.
Providing accessibility to police services for people with mental, emotional, and psychological disabilities usually involves providing only general assistance. At times, exceptional police service and safe custodial care may be required.
Employees must ensure that people with mental, emotional, and psychological disabilities are assisted in accessing agency services, which may require time and patience beyond that usually provided. For example, time spent on a call for service may have to be extended in order to reassure the individual, sort facts, interact with family members and others, and bring the call to successful resolution.
If an individual with a mental, emotional, or psychological disability is taken into custody, employees must make reasonable efforts, while taking precautions, to use the least restraint possible and protect the arrestee from self-injury.
Frequently, a family member or friend is of great value in calming an individual exhibiting unusual behavior as a result of mental or emotional impairment. If needed, steps should be taken to gain placement for the individual in an appropriate emergency medical, health care, or shelter facility.
Officers must become familiar with appropriate government agencies, nonprofit agencies, volunteer organizations, and emergency medical services available to provide assistance to people with mental, emotional, and psychological disabilities.
Officers must remain familiar with appropriate emergency commitment/detention procedures to be used when providing shelter care and related support to people with mental, emotional or psychological disabilities.
- MENTAL RETARDATION
Mental retardation encompasses a broad range of developmental disabilities from mild to profound. Mental retardation and mental illness are distinct conditions, with no similarity. The largest percentage of people with mental retardation are in the ranges termed "mild" or "moderate."
Employees should recognize that people who have mental retardation have varied degrees of limited intellectual functioning. In all situations, employees should ask short questions, be patient when waiting for answers, repeat questions and answers if necessary, have individuals repeat the question in their own words, and provide reassurance. In many situations, and particularly when dealing with someone who is lost or has run away, the employee may gain improved response by accompanying the person through a building or neighborhood to seek visual clues.
In responding to the needs of people with severe or profound mental retardation, the aid of family, friends, and teachers is invaluable.
- MOBILITY IMPAIRMENT
Among the disabilities that are the most visibly identifiable are mobility impairments. People with mobility-related impairments include those who have difficulty walking, those who use a wheelchair or other mobility aid, and those who are immobile.
In a critical or emergency situation, employees should be aware of the safest and most rapid methods for assisting people with mobility impairments to avoid causing them unnecessary strain or injury.
- INVISIBLE DISABILITIES
Many disabilities are difficult to notice. A law enforcement officer's failure to recognize characteristics associated with certain invisible disabilities could have serious consequences for the person with the disability. For example, outward signs of a disability such as epilepsy generally do not exist unless the person with the disability experiences a seizure. People with diabetes may have reactions from either too little insulin or too much insulin. Low blood sugar reactions are common and are usually treated by ingesting sugar. Detaining someone and preventing them from getting sugar could have serious health implications for the individual and liability consequences for the officer and department.
Officers should realize that involuntary behavior associated with some invisible disabilities may resemble behavior characteristically exhibited by intoxicated or, less frequently, combative individuals. For example, a person experiencing a mild seizure may appear incoherent and physically imbalanced. The response is temporary.
An officer's patience and understanding of the characteristics commonly associated with invisible disabilities will lead to a successful outcome. An inaccurate assessment may lead to unnecessary confrontation, injury, and denial of needed medication and/or medical treatment.
As with all types of disabilities, an employee's first obligation is to protect the individual from unnecessary harm. When aiding a person experiencing a seizure, protection from obstacles, a calm reassuring manner, and patience are important responses. Family members and friends should be sought to provide information and assistance. Their presence may prove invaluable in understanding the needs of the person with the disability and guiding the officer's actions.
- SPEECH AND HEARING DISABILITIES
Like other invisible disabilities, officers may confuse the behavior of individuals with hearing and speech disabilities with those of people who intentionally refuse to cooperate or those who abuse illegal substances. Officers should be aware that an individual's failure to comply with or respond to verbal orders does not always constitute defiance, but may be the result of that individual's inability to hear the officer or respond verbally. Before committing themselves to a course of action, officers should attempt to identify whether or not they are dealing with a person who has a communication-related disability.
It is essential that officers take extra measures to protect the rights of suspects who are deaf and hard of hearing, as well as others who may not have educational or communications comprehension levels sufficient to fully understand the basic Miranda rights. Simply reading the rights to someone with a hearing disability and having the individual acknowledge that they are understood is insufficient.
- OFFICER RESPONSIBILITY
In providing police service to the public, it is incumbent on every employee to ensure that people with disabilities are afforded all rights, privileges, and access to the Department provided to those without disabilities.
People with disabilities may also be suspects or arrestees and require detention, transport, and processing. Employees must familiarize themselves with the proper methods of transport, arrest, and detention to ensure officer safety while providing all reasonable support to an arrestee with a disability.
Employees must develop the ability to recognize the characteristics of various disabilities, including symptoms, and physical reactions.
Employees must recognize that responses of people with certain disabilities may resemble those of people who have abused substances such as alcohol or drugs. At times, such traits may be exhibited by people with diabetes, epilepsy, multiple sclerosis, hearing impairments, and other disabilities.
Employees should be able to identify and apply appropriate responses, such as emergency medical aid, protecting and/or calming the individual, securing professional medical attention, locating and enlisting support of family and friends, and rendering proper physical support.
Officers should be able to identify and apply appropriate restraint to a person with a disability, if needed to facilitate an arrest. When affecting an arrest of a person with a disability, officers should be able to access the support systems necessary to secure the rights of the individual. This may include use of interpreters, attorneys, and legal guardians.
In all cases, officer safety must prevail. No employee should jeopardize his or her safety or that of others in an attempt to accommodate a person with a disability.
- ARREST AND INCARCERATION
Employees should employ appropriate precautions and safety techniques in arresting and incarcerating all people, whether or not they have a disability. Officers should follow all policies and standard techniques for arrest and incarceration when taking a person with disabilities into custody.
Consideration should be given to the special needs of some people with disabilities in an arrest situation. Response in these situations requires discretion and will be based, in great part, on the officer's knowledge of characteristics and severity of the disability, the level of resistance exhibited by the suspect, and immediacy of the situation. In arrest and incarceration situations, employees may encounter the following:
- A person whose disability affects the muscular and/or skeletal system may not be able to be restrained using handcuffs or other standard techniques. Alternative methods (transport vans, seat belts) should be sought.
- Some people with disabilities require physical aids (canes, wheel chairs, leg braces) to maintain their mobility. Once the immediate presence of danger has diminished and the suspect is safety incarcerated, every effort should be made to return the device. If mobility aids must be withheld, the prisoner must be closely monitored to ensure that his or her needs are met.
- Prescribed medication may be required at regular intervals by people with disabilities (diabetes, epilepsy). Medical personnel (the suspect's physician, on-call medical staff, emergency room medical staff) should be contacted immediately to determine the importance of administering the medication, potential for overdose, etc.
- Some people with disabilities may not have achieved communications comprehension levels sufficient to understand their individual rights in an arrest situation. (For people who are deaf, there is no sign language for the term "waive" in regard to the Miranda rights. Yet, in an effort to be cooperative, a suspect who is deaf may acknowledge that he or she is willing to give up his or her rights.) Officers must take extra care to ensure that the rights of the accused are protected.
- The booking officer shall be notified of an arrestee's disability, and medicine or aids shall be given to the booking officer.
