The National Down Syndrome Congress has joined with numerous other disability groups signing a letter (linked below), which was sent to the city and county of San Francisco, asking it to withdraw its certiorari petition in the Sheehan case, which the Supreme Court has accepted for review. In the Sheehan case, the City of San Francisco asks the Supreme Court to hold that police officers are not required to follow the Americans with Disabilities Act, when encountering people with psychiatric disabilities. We believe this could have grave implications for all people with disabilities.
Re: City and County of San Francisco v. Sheehan
Dear Mayor Lee and City Attorney Herrera:
On behalf of the undersigned organizations and individuals, representing millions of Americans with disabilities, we urge you to withdraw your appeal in the case of City and County of San Francisco v. Sheehan currently pending in the U.S. Supreme Court. Your appeal to the Supreme Court puts the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) -- the most comprehensive civil rights law for individuals with disabilities -- at risk...
...Individuals with many types of disabilities, including intellectual disabilities, psychiatric disabilities, diabetes, epilepsy, and deafness, face dangerous and often deadly consequences when law enforcement officials fail to follow federal disability rights laws...