[blindlaw] Text of a pending complaint

Tue Oct 24 13:55:02 CDT 2006

Hello:

The following is a complaint that I intend to send to the Bay Area Rapid Transit system, which serves the part of California where I live.  I'd appreciate any comments you might have on this incident, and any recourse I might have to make sure this type of ignorant and dishonorable behavior does not happen again.
Thanks.

i
Mark J. Baxter

Put the Address here

Put the Phone Number here

            Date

To Whom It May Concern:

I am writing to express my deep resentment, shock and anger at the way in which I was treated by both BART personnel and the Oakland Police.

I am a blind man who has been traveling with the assistance of guide dogs for more than seventeen years.  I have also been riding public transportation, in many different cities, for at least that long.  On Monday, October 23, 2006, shortly before 8:00 p.m., I was boarding the BART at the Colosseum station in Oakland.  Having never traveled this route with me before, my guide dog, Osaka, was somewhat unsure where to go.  After mistakenly passing by the escalator that I needed to board to get to the platform, I brought Osaka back and commanded him to find it.  Due to the level of distraction in the station, and due to people's attempts to assist us, he became slightly confused; it took three attempts before he found the escalator, where we proceeded to the platform.  

During this time, the station agent, who identified himself as "Kenny," repeatedly bumped his elbow against my rib cage and stomach, demanding that I hold onto his arm while he attempted to guide me.  For personal reasons, I do not prefer this method of travel, and I politely refused.  

Upon reaching the platform and taking a position from which to wait for the correct train, the station agent followed me to the platform and again nudged me repeatedly with his elbow.  Trains arrive on both sides of a middle-aisle type platform at this station, and the train I wanted apparently came on the "other side," of this middle platform.  I proceeded to follow the agent, after repeatedly telling him not to shove me with his elbow and that I did not wish to be touched by him, to the correct side of the platform.  After reaching the other side, the agent continued to state his opinion that I was going to hurt myself, that he was doing his job and, whether I liked it or not, he was going to make sure I didn't hurt myself. 

I assured him repeatedly that I did not need his help, that I was fine, that no risk was in fact presented by me or my dog.  He repeatedly interrupted me, attempted to tell me what his job was and why he had to act the way he was acting, and insist that my dog was not doing a good job.  "I see blind people with guide dogs every day, and they do just fine."  When I informed him that I had never been here before, he insisted that this was a reason that I might hurt myself, and that he was going to make sure by whatever means that I was safe, "because that's my job and I might get fired if I didn't."  His motives were, it seems, more selfish than humanitarian.

During this time, I noticed that the normal automatic announcement system which the BART uses to inform travelers of arriving trains, was not working.  Because of all of this, I missed the train I wanted, and had to wait for the next one.  As I was standing and waiting, a police officer, apparently called by the station agent who had thought that I was a "safety risk," came up to me and identified herself.

The station agent had informed the policewoman that my dog had been "spinning around in circles," and this led him to be concerned that I would fall off the platform onto the tracks.  As I had repeatedly tried to reassure the agent, I also told the police officer that I was not such a safety risk, that my dog had not "spun around," but in fact had been trying to locate an escalator for me, and had successfully done so.  I tried to reassure the officer that Kenny's reaction was extreme, given the circumstances.  

The police officer, who had not witnessed the actions of myself and my dog, informed me that she had "two witnesses" of the escalator incident, repeatedly interrupted me when I attempted to recount my side of the story, and several times during our conversation threatened to "take you downstairs," or "down to the station," or "make sure you get where you're going ... for your own protection."  She informed me that ".your ADA." gave her the liberty to ensure my own safety to her satisfaction, regardless of my assurances.  She then suggested to me that "you might want to consider getting a dog that can better do his job."  She also insisted that she " work(s) with the deaf and the blind... they do a much better job than you are doing."  Finally, she insisted that I walk up and down the platform while she watched, so that she could see for herself that I was not, in fact, such a safety risk, which further confused Osaka, having no other purpose than that of performing for the police officer.  After I reluctantly did this for her successfully, she continued to harangue and threaten me until my train finally arrived.  When I tried, repeatedly, to tell her that the witnesses were incorrectly recounting events, that in fact I was only aware of one such witness, Kenny himself, she interrupted me every time and disregarded,, ignored or threatened me.  

The conduct of the station agent was rude, excessive and disrespectful in the extreme.  His insistence that, because my dog had missed a cue in an unfamiliar environment, I was a risk to myself is flatly ignorant.  There is a large difference between not seeing an escalator, having to be re-shown the desired route, and falling off the edge of a platform high above the tracks.  There are tactual markers at the edge of the platform, so even if Osaka were inclined to leap off the edge, I would know and prevent it.  The insistence both on devaluing my side of the story and that I would cavalierly walk off the platform, disregarding all obvious cues, is insulting and disrespectful.  The agent repeatedly violated my personal space, with complete disregard for my wishes.  He ignored my repeated reassurances that I was indeed capable, did not give me the verbal assistance I did ask for and his summoning of the police was, frankly, not in keeping with any rational assessment of the situation. 

Further, the actions and conduct of the police woman who was called was also disrespectful and, more importantly, ignorant, both of the functions and limitations of a guide dog, and of the ADA itself.  Also, the clear violation of the ADA which was present in the lack of announcement of train arrivals and departures was completely ignored when I brought it up.  Furthermore, my explanations to both the station agent and the police were ignored and disregarded. 

The ensuing verbal conflict did more to increase my guide dog's stress level and decrease his ability to calmly perform his functions, thus putting me at more risk, than anything I had heretofore done. In short, both agent and policewoman made the situation worse for us, rather than better.

It is my strong opinion that this situation was handled with a shocking lack of sensitivity, respect and professionalism. The level of ignorance and the manner in which I was marginalized hark back to the bad old days of Jim Crow.  The actions of agent and officer were detrimental, not beneficial, to Osaka and I, having no palliative effect, but rather causing me to feel belittled and objectified and causing Osaka to be more nervous and frightened, thus further decreasing his ability to calmly make decisions about guiding.

I believe that this situation could have been much better handled and much more quickly resolved by a respectful and calm approach by both agent and police officer.  Had I been allowed to not only relate my side of events that the officer did not witness, but to educate them in what I did and did not require, and how and why my dog reacted as he did, I would not have felt "reprimanded" for trying to use the BART system.

Kenny needs to be sternly reminded that violation of someone's personal space and physical contact with that person against their will is considered assault, and that the desire to help does not excuse his actions; he needs to be aware that such conduct is extremely disrespectful.  The policewoman is in desperate need of training and education in both the ADA and the basic rights of individuals, and that blind people have those rights as well.  The Colosseum BART station needs to conform with the requirements of the ADA, in that its train arrival and departure system needs to verbally announce such information; this alone would have allowed me to stand in the right area to catch my train in the first place, obviating the need for any assistance at all.

In summary, I am appalled that such an incident can occur at all.  There is no excuse for the above actions, and it is imperative that strong and immediate measures be taken to ensure that this does not happen again.  The next time, the dog may be so harmfully affected by such an argument that he or she may lead a less capable blind handler into harm, purely in an attempt to get away from a frightening situation.  The next time Kenny assaults and attacks someone with his elbow, that person may react more adversely than I did, and Kenny himself might be in danger.  

This incident constitutes an outrage against disabled persons, and an violations of their civil rights.  It embodies a disregard for their capabilities and demonstrates a paranoid insistence that "we know better than you what you need."  I strongly urge that corrective measures be taken, and I stand ready to assist in the implementation of these measures and with suggestions for a more respectful mode of conduct.

Sincerely, 

Mark J. Baxter

Mark BurningHawk
Email:  Stone_troll at sbcglobal.net
My home page:  http://www.panix.com/~mbaxter
Namaste.
-------------- next part --------------
Hello:

The following is a complaint that I intend to send to the Bay Area Rapid Transit system, which serves the part of California where I live.  I'd appreciate any comments you might have on this incident, and any recourse I might have to make sure this type of ignorant and dishonorable behavior does not happen again.
Thanks.

i
Mark J. Baxter
Put the Address here
Put the Phone Number here

Date

To Whom It May Concern:

I am writing to express my deep resentment, shock and anger at the way in which I was treated by both BART personnel and the Oakland Police.

I am a blind man who has been traveling with the assistance of guide dogs for more than seventeen years.

I have also been riding public transportation, in many different cities, for at least that long.

On
Monday, October 23, 2006
, shortly before
8:00 p.m.
, I was boarding the BART at the Colosseum station in
Oakland
.

Having never traveled this route with me before, my guide dog,
Osaka
, was somewhat unsure where to go.

After mistakenly passing by the escalator that I needed to board to get to the platform, I brought
Osaka
back and commanded him to find it.

Due to the level of distraction in the station, and due to people's attempts to assist us, he became slightly confused; it took three attempts before he found the escalator, where we proceeded to the platform.

During this time, the station agent, who identified himself as "Kenny," repeatedly bumped his elbow against my rib cage and stomach, demanding that I hold onto his arm while he attempted to guide me.

For personal reasons, I do not prefer this method of travel, and I politely refused.

Upon reaching the platform and taking a position from which to wait for the correct train, the station agent followed me to the platform and again nudged me repeatedly with his elbow.

Trains arrive on both sides of a middle-aisle type platform at this station, and the train I wanted apparently came on the "other side," of this middle platform.

I proceeded to follow the agent, after repeatedly telling him not to shove me with his elbow and that I did not wish to be touched by him, to the correct side of the platform.

After reaching the other side, the agent continued to state his opinion that I was going to hurt myself, that he was doing his job and, whether I liked it or not, he was going to make sure I didn't hurt myself.

I assured him repeatedly that I did not need his help, that I was fine, that no risk was in fact presented by me or my dog.

He repeatedly interrupted me, attempted to tell me what his job was and why he had to act the way he was acting, and insist that my dog was not doing a good job.

"I see blind people with guide dogs every day, and they do just fine."

When I informed him that I had never been here before, he insisted that this was a reason that I might hurt myself, and that he was going to make sure by whatever means that I was safe, "because that's my job and I might get fired if I didn't."

His motives were, it seems, more selfish than humanitarian.

During this time, I noticed that the normal automatic announcement system which the BART uses to inform travelers of arriving trains, was not working.

Because of all of this, I missed the train I wanted, and had to wait for the next one.

As I was standing and waiting, a police officer, apparently called by the station agent who had thought that I was a "safety risk,” came up to me and identified herself.

The station agent had informed the policewoman that my dog had been "spinning around in circles," and this led him to be concerned that I would fall off the platform onto the tracks.

As I had repeatedly tried to reassure the agent, I also told the police officer that I was not such a safety risk, that my dog had not "spun around," but in fact had been trying to locate an escalator for me, and had successfully done so.

I tried to reassure the officer that Kenny's reaction was extreme, given the circumstances.

The police officer, who had not witnessed the actions of myself and my dog, informed me that she had "two witnesses” of the escalator incident, repeatedly interrupted me when I attempted to recount my side of the story, and several times during our conversation threatened to "take you downstairs," or "down to the station," or "make sure you get where you're going ... for your own protection."

She informed me that "
your
ADA

" gave her the liberty to ensure my own safety to
her
satisfaction, regardless of my assurances.

She then suggested to me that "you might want to consider getting a dog that can better do his job."

She also insisted that she “ work(s) with the deaf and the blind... they do a much better job than you are doing."

Finally, she insisted that I walk up and down the platform while she watched, so that she could see for herself that I was not, in fact, such a safety risk, which further confused Osaka, having no other purpose than that of performing for the police officer.

After I reluctantly did this for her successfully, she continued to harangue and threaten me until my train finally arrived.

When I tried, repeatedly, to tell her that the witnesses were incorrectly recounting events, that in fact I was only aware of one such witness, Kenny himself, she interrupted me every time and disregarded,, ignored or threatened me.

The conduct of the station agent was rude, excessive and disrespectful in the extreme.

His insistence that, because my dog had missed a cue in an unfamiliar environment, I was a risk to myself is flatly ignorant.

There is a large difference between not seeing an escalator, having to be re-shown the desired route, and falling off the edge of a platform high above the tracks.

There are tactual markers at the edge of the platform, so even if
Osaka
were inclined to leap off the edge, I would know and prevent it.

The insistence both on devaluing my side of the story and that I would cavalierly walk off the platform, disregarding all obvious cues, is insulting and disrespectful.

The agent repeatedly violated my personal space, with complete disregard for my wishes.

He ignored my repeated reassurances that I was indeed capable, did not give me the verbal assistance I did ask for and his summoning of the police was, frankly, not in keeping with any rational assessment of the situation.

Further, the actions and conduct of the police woman who was called was also disrespectful and, more importantly, ignorant, both of the functions and limitations of a guide dog, and of the
ADA
itself.

Al
so, the clear violation of the
ADA
which was present in the lack of announcement of train arrivals and departures was completely ignored when I brought it up.

Furthermore, my explanations to both the station agent and the police were ignored and disregarded.

The ensuing verbal conflict did more to increase my guide dog's stress level and decrease his ability to calmly perform his functions, thus putting me at more risk, than anything I had heretofore done. In short, both agent and policewoman made the situation worse for us, rather than better.

It is my strong opinion that this situation was handled with a shocking lack of sensitivity, respect and professionalism. The level of ignorance and the manner in which I was marginalized hark back to the bad old days of Jim Crow.

The actions of agent and officer were detrimental, not beneficial, to
Osaka
and I, having no palliative effect, but rather causing me to feel belittled and objectified and causing
Osaka
to be more nervous and frightened, thus further decreasing his ability to calmly make decisions about guiding.

I believe that this situation could have been much better handled and much more quickly resolved by a respectful and calm approach by both agent and police officer.

Had I been allowed to not only relate my side of events that the officer did not witness, but to educate them in what I did and did not require, and how and why my dog reacted as he did, I would not have felt “reprimanded” for trying to use the BART system.

Kenny needs to be sternly reminded that violation of someone's personal space and physical contact with that person against their will is considered assault, and that the desire to help does not excuse his actions; he needs to be aware that such conduct is extremely disrespectful.

The policewoman is in desperate need of training and education in both the
ADA
and the basic rights of individuals, and that blind people have those rights as well.

The Colosseum BART station needs to conform with the requirements of the
ADA
, in that its train arrival and departure system needs to verbally announce such information; this alone would have allowed me to stand in the right area to catch my train in the first place, obviating the need for any assistance at all.

In summary, I am appalled that such an incident can occur at all.

There is no excuse for the above actions, and it is imperative that strong and immediate measures be taken to ensure that this does not happen again.

The next time, the dog may be so harmfully affected by such an argument that he or she may lead a less capable blind handler into harm, purely in an attempt to get away from a frightening situation.

The next time Kenny assaults and attacks someone with his elbow, that person may react more adversely than I did, and Kenny himself might be in danger.

This incident constitutes an outrage against disabled persons, and an violations of their civil rights.

It embodies a disregard for their capabilities and demonstrates a paranoid insistence that "we know better than you what you need."

I strongly urge that corrective measures be taken, and I stand ready to assist in the implementation of these measures and with suggestions for a more respectful mode of conduct.

Sincerely,

Mark J. Baxter

Mark BurningHawk
Email:  mailto:Stone_troll at sbcglobal.net Stone_troll at sbcglobal.net
My home page:  http://www.panix.com/~mbaxter http://www.panix.com/~mbaxter
Namaste.