LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — A lawsuit settlement is leading to changes for the North Las Vegas Police Department.
Last week, city council members approved a $1.2 million settlement for Andrea Hollingsworth and her family. Hollingsworth is deaf and primarily communicates in American Sign Language.
This all stems from an incident that happened on April 7, 2021.
Hollingsworth and her daughters were sitting in a vehicle and waiting for a friend when they were approached by police who were investigating a report of harassment. According to the lawsuit, an officer "proceeded to demand Ms. Hollingsworth respond to his inquiries without providing her with any means to communicate, despite Ms. Hollingsworth and her children repeatedly informing him that she is deaf and Ms. Hollingsworth requesting the use of written notes."
The lawsuit states the officer was also wearing a neck gaiter and she couldn't recognize that he was speaking or read his lips. It also states he refused to let her use pen and paper to communicate and the officer didn't attempt to locate or use a qualified interpreter.
By the time another officer arrived on the scene, the lawsuit states the situation had turned into an "unnecessary physical confrontation." Hollingsworth was "violently forced from her car for her so-called non-compliance, shoved to the ground, and twisted and cuffed her hands — her primary means of communication — behind her back while her daughters watched in horror." She was arrested but not cited for any crimes.
This incident is leading to changes for the department.
According to the City of North Las Vegas, all officers now receive annual mandatory deaf sensitivity training.
"The training helps officers understand the unique communication needs of the deaf and hard of hearing community," a statement from the city reads in part. "Additionally, the North Las Vegas Police Department contracts with ASL Communications to send an American Sign Language interpreter to scenes when needed."
The Nevada Black Deaf Advocates Board also sent Channel 13 a statement saying this is "a step in the right direction."
"Nevada Black Deaf Advocates (NVBDA), along with much of the Deaf, Hard-of-Hearing, and DeafBlind community, view this outcome as a step in the right direction. However, it also reinforces an essential truth: violations of communication access rights are not only harmful, but actionable. Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing individuals have the unequivocal right to be treated with dignity, equity, and full protection under the law.
This settlement highlights the urgent need for increased awareness, comprehensive training, and meaningful accountability in high-stakes situations—particularly during medical emergencies, police encounters, court proceedings, and any circumstance in which children are present and impacted by adult decisions. In these moments, delayed or denied access to qualified interpreters, visual communication, and other reasonable accommodations can result in trauma, wrongful actions, and generational harm that extends far beyond a single incident.
Communication access is not simply a compliance matter—it is a public safety matter. When systems fail to ensure meaningful access, the consequences ripple through entire families and communities. When Deaf or Hard-of-Hearing adults and children—whether Deaf or hearing—are involved, agencies carry an elevated responsibility to respect language, culture, and communication needs at every step. No family should have to endure what Ms. Hollingsworth and her loved ones experienced before justice was acknowledged.
The North Las Vegas Police Department has indicated that safety measures are in place to better align with the communication access needs of the Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing community, including contracted professional interpreters and annual cultural sensitivity training. These efforts are important and should serve as a foundation—not a finish line.
The responsibility now is to ensure that communication access is consistently embedded as a core public safety standard, not merely a procedural requirement. This requires proactive implementation, measurable accountability, and a sustained commitment to protecting the rights and dignity of all individuals.
We further recognize that this responsibility extends beyond one agency. All emergency response personnel—law enforcement, fire, medical, and crisis responders—share in the duty to uphold communication access as a matter of safety and equity.
By embracing transparency, partnership, and true allyship with the Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing community, the North Las Vegas Police Department has the opportunity to lead boldly and become a model for emergency response agencies nationwide—ensuring that such incidents are not repeated and that public trust continues to be strengthened."