Deaf woman files federal lawsuit against Somerset County Jail, Somerville Police

SOMERVILLE - A profoundly deaf borough woman has filed a federal lawsuit against the Somerville Police Department and the Somerset County Jail alleging she was not provided an interpreter during a traffic stop, her subsequent arrest on a parking ticket warrant and incarceration.

In the lawsuit filed earlier this month, Daisy Ortiz alleges she was "ignored, humiliated and treated like a non-person" by police officers and guards at the Somerset County Jail.

Neither the police department nor the jail have filed a response to the lawsuit.

The suit, filed by Hamilton lawyer Clara Smit, whose website says she is the first New Jersey attorney to specialize in deaf rights cases, says that authorities ignored Ortiz's attempts at communication and requests to have an interpreter so she could understand what was happening.

The case began on July 31, 2017 when Bridgewater Police pulled Ortiz over for a traffic violation. Ortiz tried to tell the officer she was deaf and to communicate with her in writing. When she attempted to tell him she had left her license and registration at home, the officer decided to have her car towed and Ortiz thought she was going to be permitted to take her support dog and either walk home or find a ride.

When a Somerville officer arrived at the scene to assist, it was discovered that Ortiz was wanted on a warrant from Somerville for an unpaid parking ticket dating back to 2014, the suit says.

The Somerville Police then arrested her on the warrant and took her to police headquarters. But during the ride, the lawsuit said, she became "very confused" because she thought the officers were taking her home.

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When police passed her street, Ortiz tried to communicate with the officers but they "ignored" her and she refused to get out of the police car when they arrived at police headquarters because she did not know why she had been arrested.

When she left the patrol car and was taken inside headquarters, Ortiz became "extremely agitated"  and "very upset" because of her "extreme frustration and aggravation"  at not being able to communicate with police and her dog had been taken away. 

The police report, the lawsuit says, called Ortiz's behavior "erratic and destructive" while she was in the holding cell and officers were unable to remove her from the cell for questioning or photographing.

After Ortiz was taken to the Somerset County Jail and put into another cell, she became "even more upset" because she had "no idea" what was happening because she did not have an interpreter and was worried about her dog. At that point, the lawsuit charges, she was sedated "without her consent" and "blacked out."

She was then taken to the hospital where she was hospitalized for four to five days and learned her brother had recovered the dog from the pound. Once she was released from the hospital, Ortiz went to Bridgewater Municipal Court with an advocate and an interpreter to settle the ticket. She paid the fine and all other charges were dismissed, according to the lawsuit.

The lawsuit argues that the police and jail violated both New Jersey Law Against Discrimination and the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Staff  Writer Mike Deak: 908-243-6607; mdeak@mycentraljersey.com