2023 SCHEDULE OF EVENTS Class Action Seeks Language-Access Compliance

Janet Burns

jburns@antonmediagroup.com

In July, a group of Nassau County residents and advocates filed suit against the Nassau County Police Department (NCPD) to force the agency to comply with current laws by providing language-access accommodations.

Filed in the Eastern District of New York, the suit is being brought by affected community members in Nassau County, legal representatives from LatinoJustice PRLDEF, organizational plaintiff CARECEN.

In a press release, the plaintiffs stated that CARECEN et al. v. Nassau County seeks to compel NCPD to meet their civil rights obligations.

“to provide timely, meaningful and competent language assistance to limited English proficient community members.”

JUNE 23

AUGUST 18

SEP 8Anthony Hamilton

SEP 9Lar Enterprises Presents: Oh What A Night of Rock & Roll

SEP 16Long Island Latin Music Fest.

SEP 17The Wiggles Ready, Steady, Wiggle! Tour

SEP 23Hermans Hermits starring Peter Noone

SEP 28YES: Classic Tales of YES

OCT 1The Price is Right

OCT 12Buddy Guy

OCT 15Colin Mochrie & Brad Sherwood

OCT 19+20 Lee Brice

OCT 21Monsters of Freestyle

OCT 28 Parliament Funkadelic feat. George Clinton

AUGUST 9

OCT 29Aqui Esta La Salsa

NOV 1Rumours of Fleetwood Mac

NOV 4Almost Queen - A Tribute to Queen

NOV 10Masters of Illusion

NOV 11 Paul Anka

NOV 12Celebrating David Bowie featuring Peter Murphy, Adriant Belew, Scrote & more

NOV 19Howie Mandel

NOV 30 Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons

DEC 8Engelbert Humperdinck

DEC 9Daniel O’Donnell

DEC 12An Intimate Evening with David Foster & Katherine McPhee services, Oberdick said, Miss A was unable to get assistance and was also unable to file a civilian complaint against the officers, which she tried to do multiple times, by going to her precinct.

In the decade that has passed since Nassau County agreed it would comply with these requirements, little has in fact changed, according to plaintiffs.

The lawsuit also raises the case of Miss C, who called police on two separate occasions to seek emergency assistance with domestic violence, Oberdick said.

As a result of being denied language access services on those occasion, Oberdick said, “Her seven-year-old daughter was forced to translate, which can be incredibly traumatic, and also lead to inaccuracies in reporting [by police], which is exactly what happened to Miss C. The ultimate report she got was incorrect, and didn’t accurately document the injuries sustained ... and she wasn’t ultimately successful in getting a restraining order because of this.

Overall, Oberdick said, “We are seeking systemic reform.”

Officer: we speak English in the United States...so.”

In an interview with Anton Media Group, attorney Meena Roldan Oberdick of LatinoJustice PRLDEF, who’s also part of the social services-spanning Long Island Language Advocates Coalition (LILAC), explained that the suit has been brought by one organizational plaintiff and two individual class representatives.

“The organizational plaintiff, CARECEN, is the largest immigration legal services provider on Long Island, and their staff frequently have to deal with the host of problems that arise from language access denial,” Oberdick said. “They are constantly having to problem-solve with clients.”

The two individual plaintiffs live in Nassau County and are identified in court documents as Miss A and Miss C. For the purposes of the suit, the two women are representatives “for all individuals who have been or will be denied language access assistance by the NCPD,” Oberdick said.

In 2022, Miss A attempted to seek assistance from the NCPD to get help with an illegal eviction, Oberdick explained. “The landlord had been unlawfully entering the apartment and changing the locks. When the NCPD arrived on the scene, [Miss A] was well aware she has the right to an interpreter, and she asked for one. The officer’s response, which she caught on film, was ‘This is the United States of America, we speak English in the United States.’”

As a result of being denied language access

“We are not seeking monetary damages, only injunctive relief,” she pointed out. “We are asking the court to issue an order requiring the NCPD to implement appropriate training on the provision of language access, and to develop adequate supervisory procedures.”

“Nassau County has a ‘paper policy,’ and they’re just not following it. There are no repercussions for officers who don’t follow it.”

“It’s been ten years, and the small improvements that have been made have not been enough to comply with the law.”

Meanwhile, Oberdick said, there’s also a greater need for record-keeping as to how the county’s ‘language line,’ which NCPD officers may call for translation assistance at any time, is being utilized, or not. “The only data they collect is that time that it was used.”

In response to the lawsuit, NCPD Commissioner Patrick Ryder released the following statement:

“The Nassau County Police Department continues to work with our Language Access Line to ensure that all individuals with limited English proficiency are able to communicate with the Police Department should the need arise. From January 1 to July 18, 2023, the department’s language access line successfully interacted with over 6,997 individuals for a total of over 41,439 minutes of duration.”

“The Police Department conducts audits on the program to ensure that we are compliant under federal standards and we have a department policy regarding guidelines and usage of Language Line ... To date, I have not been personally contacted by any members from LILAC with regard to the Language Access Line.”