[blindlaw] Educating Law Enforcement

[Rob Tabor]

Hi, Joe and all.

When I acquired my dog guide from The Seeing Eye® in 1980 all of us in the 
dog navigation training class were provided a copy of the dog guide use 
protection clause in the White Cane Act applicable to our respective home 
states. I suspect The Seeing Eye® and other dog guide training schools 
provide the same service to their graduates. That being the case, the 
obvious first step is to carry the document and show it to the officer who 
is questioning your right to bring the service animal. If the officer is not 
persuaded that s/he has seen the law of the land, the next step is to file a 
formal complaint with the chief of police or to follow whatever process or 
apparatus is available in your municipal government to launch a public 
grievance against the actions of the officer. There is always the option of 
taking one's complaint to the "court of public opinion" in the form of 
letters to the newspaper editor, contacting a newspaper or TV reporter about 
doing a feature on the issue, etc. If these kinder and gentler measures fail 
to yield the desired results, filing a law suit against the police 
department under Title 2 of ADA or the applicable state anti-discrimination 
law may prove to be necessary. One thinng is for sure. Either you will 
acquire a reputation in town as a troublemaker or people will learn you are 
not a person to be trifled with. Take your pick. In any event, good luck in 
these endeavors.

best regards
Rob Tabor, J.D, Vice president, Douglas County Chapter, NFB
of Kansas
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Joe Orozco" <jsorozco at gmail.com>
To: "'NFBnet Blind Law Mailing List'" <blindlaw at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Tuesday, March 30, 2010 8:20 PM
Subject: [blindlaw] Educating Law Enforcement


> Dear all,
>
> On a more serious topic, what is the best course of action to take in a
> situation where police officers do not know of service animal 
> accessibility
> laws, or will not enforce these laws even if they are aware of them?  A
> couple of years ago I wound up suing a Chinatown curbside carrier for not
> allowing my Seeing Eye dog on one of their buses.  Since that incident I
> have monitored other discrimination cases where the police officers on the
> scene either partially or mostly took the side of the public business,
> claiming the business could refuse whoever they want or suggesting
> alternative services to avoid future discrimination.  In the moment it 
> seems
> as though there is very little one can do to trump the authority of the
> local police department, which seems unfair, but there must surely be
> something one can do to educate what seems to be a widespread ignorance
> among the law enforcement community on the issue.  Are there not standard
> training procedures for most law enforcement departments?  Are there 
> perhaps
> legal maneuvers one could use to catch the attention of departments that 
> do
> not help protect the rights of service animal handlers?  With all respect,
> please do not suggest my going through NAGDU.  Otherwise, thank you in
> advance for any light you can shed.
>
> Regards,
>
> Joe Orozco
>
> "Hard work spotlights the character of people: some turn up their sleeves,
> some turn up their noses, and some don't turn up at all."--Sam Ewing
>
>
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