Hooper v. City of St. Paul

CATRINA HOOPER, Plaintiff, v. CITY OF ST. PAUL, Defendant.

Case No. 17-CV-3442 (PJS/DTS)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT DISTRICT OF MINNESOTA

August 26, 2019

ORDER

Roderick J. Macpherson, III, MN DISABILITY LAW CENTER, for plaintiff.

Cheri M. Sisk and Anthony G. Edwards, SAINT PAUL CITY ATTORNEY'S OFFICE, for defendant.

Plaintiff Catrina Hooper is a deaf woman who got into a fight with her mother, Sandra Hooper. As a result of the fight, Catrina had a series of interactions with the St. Paul Police Department ("SPPD"), during which the SPPD communicated with her in various ways, but did not use a certified American Sign Language ("ASL") interpreter. Catrina brought this action against defendant the City of St. Paul ("St. Paul" or "City"), alleging that, by failing to effectively communicate with her, St. Paul violated the Americans with Disabilities Act ("ADA"), 42 U.S.C. § 12132; the Rehabilitation Act ("RA"), 29 U.S.C. § 794; the Minnesota Human Rights Act ("MHRA"), Minn. Stat. § 363A.12, subd. 1; and Minn. Stat. § 611.32, subd. 2 (which requires an arresting officer to obtain a "qualified interpreter" immediately after arresting "a person disabled in communication").

St. Paul now moves for summary judgment on all claims. For the reasons that follow, the Court grants St. Paul's motion in (large) part and denies its motion in (small) part.

I. BACKGROUND

On September 14, 2014, Catrina and Sandra were involved in a domestic dispute. Gov. Ex. A at 15; Pl. Ex. M at 80170-78. Catrina and Sandra eventually gave conflicting accounts of the fight, but it is clear that each woman used physical violence against the other, and that both women sustained injuries. The day after the fight, Catrina sought treatment for her injuries at St. John's Hospital. Gov. Ex. A at 16; ECF No. 27 at ¶ 10. St. John's reported to the SPPD that Catrina was a victim of domestic violence, and SPPD Officer Tom Roth traveled to the hospital to interview Catrina. ECF No. 27 at ¶ 12. Catrina, who is deaf and considers ASL her primary language, used an interpreter to communicate with Officer Roth. Id. at ¶¶ 2, 12. Officer Roth advised Catrina that she could file a domestic-violence complaint against her mother. Id. at ¶ 12. At that time, Catrina was unsure whether she wanted to do so because she "was concerned about getting [her] mother in trouble with the police." Id. at ¶ 13. Officer Roth gave Catrina his card and told her to contact him if she decided to file a complaint. Id.

A day later, Sandra sought treatment for her injuries at Regions Hospital. Gov. Ex. D at 2. Sandra spoke to SPPD Officer Jason Pierce. Sandra, who is also deaf and also uses ASL to communicate, explained to Officer Pierce via hand gestures and writing that she was assaulted by her daughter, Catrina. Officer Pierce took photos of Sandra's injuries and gathered as much information as he could. See Pl. Ex. M at 80086-101. He then filed a report. Id. at 80096-97.

Sandra's domestic-assault complaint was assigned to SPPD Sergeant Rob Stanway to investigate. Pl. Ex. G at 14-15. Based on Officer Pierce's initial report, Sergeant Stanway determined that Sandra was the victim and Catrina was the perpetrator. Pl. Ex. G at 21-22; Gov. Ex. B. Sergeant Stanway then took a statement from Sandra with the assistance of SPPD Officer¹ Chad Koch, who has some knowledge of ASL, but who is not a certified interpreter. Gov. Ex. B.

Sandra told Sergeant Stanway the following: Catrina and she got into an argument while shopping at Wal-Mart. Gov. Ex. B at 1. The two women left Wal-Mart and began to drive home. Id. While in the car, Catrina hit Sandra, and the two "push[ed] and shov[ed] each other." Id. The fight continued at home. Sandra grabbed her iPad to call the police, but Catrina knocked the iPad out of Sandra's hand and punched her in the face, causing her to fall to the ground. Id. Catrina then "kicked andpunched [Sandra] in the chest, back, and face approximately 5-7 times." Id. at 2. Based on Sandra's allegations, Catrina was charged with interfering with a 911/emergency call and misdemeanor domestic assault. Gov. Ex. D.

By September 24, 2014, Catrina decided that she wanted to file a domestic-violence complaint against Sandra. Catrina had not yet been informed that she had been charged with two crimes in connection with the incident. On September 24, Catrina and Stephanie Ritenour² (a domestic-violence advocate at Communication Services for the Deaf) called the SPPD to try to schedule a meeting so that Catrina could file a complaint. ECF No. 27 at ¶¶ 14-16. Catrina and Ritenour could not reach Officer Roth (the officer who had spoken to Catrina at St. John's Hospital), so they talked instead to Sergeant Troy Greene. Id. at ¶ 17; Gov. Ex. F at 18-20.

According to Catrina, she informed Sergeant Greene that she wanted to schedule a meeting to file a domestic-violence complaint against her mother, and that she would need a certified ASL interpreter for the meeting. ECF No. 27 at ¶ 19; Gov. Ex. E. Catrina alleges that Sergeant Greene responded by asking if the SPPD would "have to pay for an interpreter." ECF No. 27 at ¶ 20. Ritenour informed Sergeant Greene that the SPPD would indeed have to pay for an interpreter, and Sergeant Greene said that heneeded to check with someone about Catrina's request. Id. When Sergeant Greene called back, he informed Catrina and Ritenour that Officer Koch—who, Sergeant Greene said, was "fluent" in ASL—would act as an interpreter at the meeting, which was scheduled for the following day at 8:00 am. Id. at ¶¶ 21, 24. Catrina had never before communicated with Officer Koch (Gov Ex. A at 104), but Ritenour told Sergeant Greene that they objected to using Officer Koch as an interpreter because he was not a certified ASL interpreter. ECF No. 28 at ¶¶ 15-16; Gov. Ex. A at 41. Sergeant Greene insisted on using Officer Koch as the interpreter. ECF No. 28 at ¶ 16.

Catrina showed up at the police department the following day (September 25) for her 8:00 am meeting. Catrina met with Officer Koch (not Sergeant Greene). What happened at the meeting is disputed. According to Catrina, she used ASL to describe her version of the altercation with her mother. Gov. Ex. A at 21-22. Catrina alleges that Officer Koch did not write anything down, but "simply nodd[ed] and nodd[ed] and nodd[ed]" as she spoke—and then, when Catrina "got close to the end . . . he said, I apologize. I only know finger spelling."³ Id. at 21-24. Catrina says that she askedOfficer Koch for an ASL interpreter, but that none was provided. Id. at 23-24. Eventually, Officer Koch (allegedly through fingerspelling) told Catrina that there was an outstanding warrant for her arrest, and Officer Koch pointed to another police officer (Officer Jon Sherwood) who was about to arrest her. Id. at 24-26. According to Catrina, she "did not know what 'w-a-r-r-a-n-t' spelled or what it meant," and she did not know why she was being arrested until Officer Sherwood later wrote "interfere with 911 emergency" on a piece of paper. ECF No. 27 at ¶¶ 33-34; Gov. Ex. A at 52-53, 129. According to Catrina, other than that four-word note from Officer Sherwood, she was given no information about why she was arrested, and she did not even realize that her arrest was connected to the fight with her mother. Gov. Ex. A at 52-54.

Officer Koch offers a different account of his September 25 meeting with Catrina. According to Officer Koch, he showed up for the scheduled meeting and introduced himself to Catrina using ASL. Gov. Ex. G at 165-66. After "she introduced herself, alittle light kind of went off," as Officer Koch "remembered that name [from] before." Id. at 166. (Officer Koch apparently recognized Catrina's name from his involvement in taking a statement from Sandra. Id. at 167-68.) Officer Koch decided "to see if maybe Catrina . . . had a warrant for her arrest." Id. at 167. Officer Koch checked and found that Catrina had two outstanding arrest warrants—one "for interfering with [a] 911 [emergency] and the other . . . for domestic assault." Id. at 168.

According to Officer Koch, he then "explained to [Catrina] that she had two warrants for her arrest and that she was being placed under arrest and that she would be transferred down to the Ramsey County Jail." Id. at 171. Officer Koch says that he asked Catrina if she understood, and "[s]he said that she did understand, but [that] she wanted to give a statement for a domestic assault that she was involved in." Id. Because Catrina was a suspect in a criminal case, however, Officer Koch alleges that he informed Catrina that he "wouldn't be taking a statement from her right now," but "[t]hat she would have an opportunity to give a statement later." Id. at 171-72. Officer Koch "[did not] recall" Catrina trying to tell her version of the altercation with her mother, and, he says, he "did not have a conversation" with Catrina (aside from advising her that she would be arrested on two outstanding warrants). See id. at 166-72, 175-77. Officer Koch also swears that he would have made the same decision—to arrest a suspect on an outstanding warrant and not take a statement from her until later(presumably after she spoke with an attorney)—regardless of whether the suspect was deaf or not. ECF No. 22 at ¶ 6.

After Catrina was arrested, Officer Sherwood transported her to the Ramsey County Jail. Gov. Ex. P at 22-23; Gov. Ex. J. Sometime before being booked, Catrina sent an email to Ritenour stating: "I'm on way jail got warranty." Gov. Ex. H at 10192 (sic). Ritenour responded "A warrant for you? You're going to jail?" Id. Catrina—now seemingly at the jail⁴—responded:

Yes warrant for me, yes for Interfere with 911 emergency. Im on way jail until Sargent come today or to court . . . . I try ask [Officer Koch] to charge I can't til Sargent come first. I hope interpreter here ASAP.

Id. at 10191 (sic throughout).

Catrina was not able to give a statement or file a domestic-violence complaint on September 25....