[nagdu] Man's dog in a McDonald's results in Taser use

[craig.borne at dot.gov]

Man's dog in a McDonald's results in Taser use

 

By SANDY CULLEN

608-252-6137 

May 27, 2009

 

Madison police used pepper spray and a Taser on a Madison man who
refused to leave a McDonald's restaurant Tuesday night after a manager
questioned the

man's identification of his dog as a service animal.

 

Police spokesman Joel DeSpain said Stephen M. Bottila, 37, wanted to
file a complaint with police against the manager of the McDonald's at
2402 S. Park

St. because he felt his rights were being violated.

 

DeSpain said the manager allowed Bottila to eat his food in the
restaurant with the sleeping dog after Bottila told him it was a service
animal, but then

asked Bottila to leave.

 

The manager called police around 8 p.m. and said he wanted to make sure
the dog was a service animal and that he wanted Bottila removed from the
restaurant,

DeSpain said.

 

DeSpain said officers attempted to get Bottila to leave and discuss his
complaint with them outside the restaurant, but Bottila refused, then
fought with

three officers who tried to physically remove him.

 

Bottila was being held Wednesday in Dane County Jail on tentative
charges of trespassing, resisting police and disorderly conduct. His dog
was taken to

the Dane County Humane Society.

 

Bottila has told the State Journal he has a seizure disorder for which
his dog provides assistance, and he has previously had problems with
employees of

other businesses in the city and town of Madison recognizing his dog as
a service animal, prompting training for officers in the town of Madison
on the

Americans with Disabilities Act.

 

Under the Americans with Disabilities Act, representatives of a business
may ask if an animal is a service animal or what tasks the animal has
been trained

to perform, but they cannot require special identification cards for the
animal, or ask about a person's disability.

 

Cynthia Wick of the city's Department of Civil Rights said Bottila filed
a public accommodation complaint against Einstein Brothers Bagels in
September

2007 for refusing access to a service animal. An investigator found
probable cause to believe that discrimination on the basis of disability
occurred,

but a hearing on the matter never took place, Wick said. Additional
information on the case was not immediately available.

 

Madison Police Capt. Carl Gloede on Thursday denied a State Journal
request for police reports of Tuesday's incident, saying it remained an
active investigation

requiring follow-up by district command staff, who review all arrests.

 

Return to story  

 

madison.com

 is operated by Capital Newspapers, publishers of the Wisconsin State
Journal, The Capital Times, Agri-View and Apartment Showcase. All
contents Copyright

(c)2009, Capital Newspapers. All rights reserved. 

 

 

Craig Borne, Esq.

Manager, External Civil Rights Compliance Program 

 

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration 

Office of Civil Rights

1200 New Jersey Avenue, Southeast  

Room W43-321 

Washington, DC 20590

 

Office : (202) 493-0627

Fax: (202) 493-2990 

Email: craig.borne at dot.gov <mailto:craig.borne at dot.gov> 

 

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