DOJ Investigates County’s Translation Services

The U.S. Department of Justice has opened an investigation into what translation services are available when dialing 911 to reach the Franklin County (Ohio) Sheriff’s comm center, after a 4 year-old girl drowned in 2007 and her Spanish-speaking parents dialed 911 for help. The investigation was sparked by a recent complaint filed by the Ohio Hispanic Coalition. According to the coalition, an interpreter was used, but the father didn’t realize that EMS units were enroute, and drove the child to a hospital, where she later died. The coalition’s complaint also referred to a 2004 arson fire that claimed the lives of 10 Mexican workers as they slept in an apartment house, claiming dispatchers weren’t able to communicate with 911 callers in Spanish during the incident. Sheriff’s officials say a response to the recent drowning and the 2004 fire was immediate, and that it uses the Language Line interpretation service.