NYPD continues to fail non-English speaking domestic violence victims

February 26, 2014

The NY Daily News reports on yet another victim of domestic violence who sought help from the New York City Police Department, only to be denied her right to an interpreter. In this case, the Spanish-speaking mother was trying to explain to the non-Spanish speaking officers that she has an order of protection against her estranged husband, who had entered her residence and changed her locks. Instead of providing an interpreter, police conferred with her English-speaking husband and then ordered her and her four-year old son out of their home.

From the article :

“I don’t know what my husband said to them, but they gave me five minutes to take all my things from the apartment,” Jimenez, who was with her 4-year-old son at the time, said in Spanish.

“The whole time, I was trying to explain to them I had an order of protection,” she said through an interpreter with Legal Services NYC. “I had it in my hand.”

Legal advocates charge that her case is just one example of cops being undertrained to deal with limited-English speakers.

What we’re seeing is that on the ground the interpretation is not being provided,” said Edward Josephson, director of litigation at Legal Services NYC.

The NYPD’s Language Access Plan advises cops not to use family members when dealing with domestic-violence calls, and especially not the alleged offender.

Read the full article at NYDailyNews.com.

Legal Services NYC  initiated a civil rights action against the NYPD in March 2013 regarding their routine
discrimination against immigrant New Yorkers who seek police assistance
in times of crisis.  This lawsuit, currently ongoing, was brought in Federal court on behalf
of five limited English proficient (LEP) survivors of domestic violence
and crime victims who were denied interpretation by the NYPD, and
thus denied access to vital police services, all in violation of federal
and City laws. More information about the action is available here.

 

Related Coverage:

LSNYC: Tragedy Shines Light on NYPD Failures

NY Post: NYPD failed to translate mom's warning

NY Post: NYPD routinely fails to translate non-English reports: lawsuit

CNN:  A woman's plea in her native language goes untranslated, three lives are lost  

WNYC: In a City With Many Languages, NYPD Officers Rarely Use Interpreter Service

Fox News Latino: Controversy Over Untranslated Crime Report Filed With NYPD Shines Light On Similar Cases

Latin Post:
Slain Woman and Toddlers & NYPD's Failure to Protect Her/Translate Domestic-Incident Reports for Non-English Speakers 

Fox News Latino: NYPD accused of discriminating against immigrants

 

Buzzfeed:  New York Police Department Rarely Provides Translation for non-English Speakers, According to Lawsuit

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