Mentally Ill Man Shot by Police Can Bring Lawsuit based on the ADA

• Disability Law Applies. Police Not Properly Trained to Deal with Disable

An Easton man has a right to pursue a lawsuit against the police officers who shot him because the officers allegedly failed to deal properly with his mental health problems, a federal judge has ruled. In one of the first decisions of its kind, U.S. District Judge John Padova of Philadelphia ruled that the Americans with Disabilities Act applies to police when they encounter mentally ill suspects. Michael Hogan, who has anxiety and personality disorders, alleges that Easton police discriminated against him by failing to adequately train its officers to handle him -- and his disorders -- during a 90-minute standoff. Officers shot him three times as they tried to arrest him during a February 2002 armed standoff at his home. His civil rights suit alleges that the conduct of police provoked him, instead of calming him down.  The ADA  requires governments to provide ''reasonable accommodations'' to people with disabilities. The law is commonly thought to apply to parks, playgrounds and transportation, but it applies to ''all core functions of government,'' according to Judge Yvette Kane. ''Among the most basic of those functions is the lawful exercise of police powers, including the appropriate use of force by government officials.''  [more ]