Deaf Today: APD officers now carry Braille ID card

November 6, 2002

APD officers now carry Braille ID card

From: News 8 Austin, TX
Nov. 6, 2002

By: News 8 Austin Staff

Austin Police Department officers are carrying new ID cards with Braille writing on them.

The writing identifies them as members of the police department, including their names and ranks.

The blind can now have confidence that police officers are who they say they are. The new cards were given to officers after a blind and deaf man filed a lawsuit last month against the police department under the Americans with Disabilities Act.

He said the city failed to accommodate his condition when he was arrested earlier this year.

The city agreed to pay the man $10,000 to settle the lawsuit.