Deaf woman sues Aiken police for denying her an interpreter

AIKEN, S.C. (WRDW/WAGT) – A deaf woman claims in a lawsuit that Aiken officers violated her rights when she was denied a sign language interpreter during an incident that led to her arrest.

In the lawsuit, Jodi Bennett claims she was unable to hear the beep to know that her items had been successfully scanned at a Walmart self-checkout lane in June 2022.

According to her statement of claim, she missed four or five items.

Bennett claims she paid $170 for the scanned items and was walking out the door when she was stopped by an employee.

The lawsuit alleges that Bennett offered to pay for the unscanned items, but the employee called the police anyway.

Bennett claims she asked for an interpreter, but officers did not honor that request – and handcuffed her from behind and arrested her.

An Aiken city judge arraigned charges against Bennett that afternoon, with her sister interpreting for her.

The judge then read the charges and released Bennett on his own recognizance.

The lawsuit alleges she was denied an interpreter, even though interpreters are available via videoconference 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

Additionally, the lawsuit says, federal regulations state that a public entity may not force a deaf person’s family member to provide interpreter services without consent or in an emergency.

The lawsuit alleges that the city violated the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Rehabilitation Act and seeks to develop programs, policies and procedures to prevent this from happening in the future.

The lawsuit also seeks nominal and compensatory damages, attorneys’ fees and other relief as the court deems appropriate.

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