Commonly Asked Questions About the Americans with Disabilities Act and Law Enforcement

I. Introduction

Police officers, sheriff's deputies, and other law enforcement personnel have always interacted with persons with disabilities and, for many officers and deputies, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) may mean few changes in the way they respond to the public. To respond to questions that may arise, this document offers common sense suggestions to assist law enforcement agencies in complying with the ADA. The examples presented are drawn from real-life situations as described by police officers or encountered by the Department of Justice in its enforcement of the ADA.

1. Q: What is the ADA?

A: The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is a Federal civil rights law. It gives Federal civil rights protections to individuals with disabilities similar to those provided to individuals on the basis of race, color, sex, national origin, age, and religion. It guarantees equal opportunity for individuals with disabilities in State and local government services, public accommodations, employment, transportation, and telecommunications.

2. Q: How does the ADA affect my law enforcement duties?

A: Title II of the ADA prohibits discrimination against people with disabilities in State and local governments services, programs, and employment. Law enforcement agencies are covered because they are programs of State or local governments, regardless of whether they receive Federal grants or other Federal funds. The ADA affects virtually everything that officers and deputies do, for example:

• receiving citizen complaints;

• interrogating witnesses;

• arresting, booking, and holding suspects;

• operating telephone (911) emergency centers;

• providing emergency medical services;

• enforcing laws;

• and other duties.

3. Q: Who does the ADA protect?

A: The ADA covers a wide range of individuals with disabilities. An individual is considered to have a "disability" if he or she has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities, has a record of such an impairment, or is regarded as having such an impairment.

Major life activities include such things as caring for one's self, performing manual tasks, walking, seeing, hearing, speaking, breathing, learning, and working. To be substantially limited means that such activities are restricted in the manner, condition, or duration in which they are performed in comparison with most people.

• The ADA also protects people who are discriminated against because of their association with a person with a disability.

Example: Police receive a call from a woman who complains that someone has broken into her residence. The police department keeps a list of dwellings where people with AIDS are known to reside. The woman's residence is on the list because her son has AIDS. Police fail to respond to her call, because they fear catching the HIV virus. The officers have discriminated against the woman on the basis of her association with an individual who has AIDS.

4. Q: What about someone who uses illegal drugs?

A: Nothing in the ADA prevents officers and deputies from enforcing criminal laws relating to an individuals current use or possession of illegal drugs.