FLORIDA — A House panel has unanimously approved a bill that would require officials to only hire a qualified sign language interpreter for televised hurricane briefings.
The move comes after a news conference on Hurricane Irma in Manatee County last year when a sign language interpreter translated about 95% gibberish, including warnings about pizza and a big bear instead of safety tips.
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Unfortunately, it’s not just happening during weather warnings. During a news conference in Tampa about the arrest of the Seminole Heights killer, a sign language interpreter translated a whole mess of nonsense. It turns out that woman, Derlyn Roberts, has a string of arrests for fraud.
"I just didn't ask enough questions," says Tampa Police Public Information Officer Steve Hegarty, who tells Inside Edition that the woman just showed up out of the blue and offered her services.
“My immediate reaction was I didn’t call for a sign language interpreter but that’s great that we have one here. I let her in. To the untrained eye, and that would include mine, I didn’t see any problem.”
Democratic Rep. Richard Stark said while he first chuckled at the news account, for hearing impaired residents "this is anything but funny."
Interpreters would have to be certified by the National Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf or the Florida Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf.
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