TAMPA – A deaf man held at a correctional facility in 2012 alleges he was denied an interpreter.
Thomas K. Downing filed a complaint on March 16 in the Tampa Division of the Middle District of Florida against Osceola County Board of County Commissioners citing alleged discrimination and failure to uphold Americans with Disabilities Act regulations.
According to the complaint, the plaintiff alleges that he was denied the benefits of services, programs, and activities of the Osceola County Correctional Facility and could not communicate with jail staff, other inmates and his counsel, which caused his extended incarceration in 2012. The plaintiff holds Osceola County Board of County Commissioners responsible because the defendant allegedly failed to provide a qualified interpreter, telephone handset amplifiers, assistive listening devices, telephones compatible with hearing aids, closed caption decoders, telecommunications devices for deaf persons, and/or videotext displays. He alleges he lost his job because of the limitations on communication.
The plaintiff seeks compensation for all damages to which he may be entitled. He is represented by Michael P. Maddux of Michael P. Maddux PA in Tampa.
Tampa Division of the Middle District of Florida Case number 8:16-cv-00626