[nagdu] Social Security guard faces arrest in fracas over guidedog

Wed Sep 21 18:13:58 UTC 2011

Hi Marion,
That's good to know.  I didn't realize that "simple battery" wasn't that 
"simple."  Good to know as a human services major going in to advocate for 
those with disabilities of all kinds.  Thanks for letting us know that.
Best,
Nat and Liam Joshua

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Marion Gwizdala" <blind411 at verizon.net>
To: "NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users" 
<nagdu at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Wednesday, September 21, 2011 11:50 AM
Subject: Re: [nagdu] Social Security guard faces arrest in fracas over 
guidedog

> Tami,
>    Simple battery is not as simple as it seems. The crime of assault is 
> defined as putting someone in fear, Like saying, "I'm going to hit you!" 
> or making such gestures. Battery is the act of touching someone with the 
> intent of inflicting bodily harm. Simple battery is generally a 
> misdemeanor crime. The next level of battery is aggravated battery and is 
> a circumstantial enhancement to the crime, such as using a weapon. This 
> crime may be aggravated by the circumstances of the woman's disability. 
> Also, the fact that the guard was armed may also constitute an aggravation 
> of the battery charge. All of this will likely come out during the 
> investigation.
>
> Fraternally yours,
> Marion Gwizdala
>
>
>
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Tami Kinney" <tamara.8024 at comcast.net>
> To: <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
> Sent: Wednesday, September 21, 2011 11:03 AM
> Subject: Re: [nagdu] Social Security guard faces arrest in fracas over 
> guide dog
>
>
>> Good grief! So this illustrates what some have been saying all along
>> about the problem of privatization of government functions... Nobody
>> knows who's responsible except that it's not them. Nobody knows what the
>> correct thing to do is. Personalities who will aggressively attack a
>> blind woman who is just sitting there... Ah, well. It's what we've got.
>>
>> Here is what I did not hear:
>>
>> - Who will be paying the medical bills? What about ongoing treatment for
>> these injuries? Who will step in during the healing process so that this
>> woman can continue daily function during that process? In other words,
>> who is the responsible entity, and will they take responsibility? What
>> about a possible need for treatment for PTSD, which is a naturally
>> occurring response to having been assaulted? Anyone?
>>
>> - It's called assault , people! It is a crime.
>> - Assault committed against a person with a disability on the basis of
>> that disability is a hate crime, as of this year. Could we have brought
>> that up? Does this woman know that? Do the police know that? Is this a
>> law that is going to be used to crack down on those who commit it?> Or
>> is it just some printed words on paper that is there to make everybody
>> feel better? Since the law is new, would it not constitute news and be
>> mentioned?
>>
>> - The woman, now a crime victim, wants only better training for the
>> entities involved. Well, training is a good start. But why wasn't the
>> training conducted prior to this incident? Right, no one responsible for
>> ensuring that private security guards in federal offices are properly
>> trained is commenting. Well, that's news, too. Tells us something, but
>> we don't know what. Smacks of lack of responsibility to me! We'll all
>> just hang around and let the police figure it out.
>>
>> - Maybe a sentence mentioning what the taxpayers were on the hook for in
>> paying this security guard and the private, for-profit company who did
>> not train him properly or vet him for personality issues, probably, over
>> what they would have been paying for a federal employee had the job not
>> been farmed out... Really, I think this would be important information
>> to give to the readers, many of whom are also voters.
>>
>> Well, the incident is new, the dust is still settling. This is a report
>> of the incidents, not a deep investigative piece. So I guess I'm just
>> being snarly. Still. Simple battery? Starting with a civil rights
>> violation, followed by an assault, including the battery, on a citizen
>> who was just minding her own business? And the charge is simple battery?
>> Honestly!
>>
>> Okay, got my soapbox polished for the day and haven't even finished my
>> first cup of coffee... /lol/ Step away from the keyboard, Tami...
>>
>> Tami
>>
>> On Wed, 2011-09-21 at 09:53 -0400, Ginger Kutsch wrote:
>>> Social Security guard faces arrest in fracas over guide dog
>>>
>>> By David Ibata
>>>
>>> The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
>>>
>>> http://www.ajc.com/news/social-security-guard-faces-1185244.html
>>>
>>> Melissa McMann, who is visually impaired, recalls minor incidents in 
>>> which
>>> people challenged her about her guide dog, but nothing like what 
>>> happened
>>> last week with a security guard at a Social Security Administration 
>>> office
>>> in Winder.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> "Usually, once we educate people and explain the purpose of the dog, 
>>> that's
>>> all it takes to get people to understand why the dog is there and he's 
>>> not
>>> just a regular, run-of-the-mill dog," the Winder resident said of 
>>> Hurbie,
>>> her 5-year-old yellow Labrador.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> "We have never run into an incident like this where it escalated so
>>> quickly," she said in a telephone interview with the AJC. "My arm is 
>>> still
>>> bruised, and I still have pain to my shoulder, but otherwise I'm doing 
>>> OK."
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> The guard, Leroy Huff, faces a charge of simple battery after he 
>>> allegedly
>>> grabbed the 38-year-old McMann and tried to remove her from the office.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> The Athens man told Channel 2 Action News on Tuesday that he was aware a
>>> warrant was pending for his arrest and would turn himself in. He said he 
>>> was
>>> following orders and his training, but did not want to comment further
>>> because of the continuing investigation.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Efforts were being made to reach a spokesman for Huff's employer, 
>>> Paragon
>>> Security Services. Paragon provides contract security to the Federal
>>> Protective Service of the Department of Homeland Security.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Patti Patterson, regional spokeswoman for the Social Security
>>> Administration, told Channel 2 in an email, "Service animals are allowed 
>>> in
>>> Social Security field offices. We have apologized to Ms. McMann for the
>>> unfortunate incident that occurred with the contract security guard in 
>>> our
>>> Winder field office."
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> The matter has been referred to the Federal Protective Service "for
>>> appropriate action," Patterson said.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> The incident began Thursday afternoon when McMann and her husband,
>>> Christopher, went to the Social Security office at 37 S. Center St. to
>>> complete some paperwork for their youngest daughter, who they adopted 
>>> from
>>> Thailand.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> According to a Winder Police Department report, as the couple was seated
>>> waiting to be called, Huff, an armed security guard, came up and told 
>>> them
>>> dogs were not allowed in the facility.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> When the couple explained that the Labrador was a service dog and 
>>> legally
>>> allowed to there, the officer demanded to see papers to prove it - even
>>> though the dog had a guide harness and a sign attached to the harness
>>> stating it was "a working dog for the blind," the police report said.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> The McManns said they did not have such paperwork and continued to 
>>> protest
>>> that the dog was a permitted animal. At this point, the police report 
>>> says,
>>> Huff "proceeded to grab (the woman) and attempted to forcefully remove 
>>> her
>>> from the building." The husband objected and called the police on his 
>>> cell
>>> phone.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Huff told a Winder police officer that the woman had failed to obey him. 
>>> He
>>> admitted she had not tried to resist him physically. When asked why he 
>>> did
>>> not call the police, "Huff informed me that he did not have to call the
>>> police. He told me he was a federal officer and was not required to 
>>> involve
>>> the police," the officer wrote in his report.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> The officer contacted Paragon, which referred him to the Federal 
>>> Protective
>>> Service. An official there said Huff was not a federal officer and in 
>>> this
>>> situation should have called Winder police, his supervisor or the 
>>> federal
>>> agency.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> The McManns, meanwhile, went to their primary care physician and then to 
>>> a
>>> hospital emergency room, where a doctor treated her for a bruised right 
>>> arm
>>> and determined her shoulder may have been dislocated, police said.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Melissa McMann said she has retinitis pigmentosa or RP, a condition that 
>>> has
>>> left her with little functional sight. Hurbie is her second service dog;
>>> she's had the animals for 10 years. They're trained by the Florida-based
>>> Southeastern Guide Dogs.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> "It was something we were not expecting, especially in a federal 
>>> building,"
>>> she said. "It was a frightening incident, and obviously we feel (Huff) 
>>> went
>>> too far.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> "All that we're looking for at this point is for the security company 
>>> that
>>> has the contract with Social Security to understand the importance of
>>> educating all of the people that work for them as to the laws regarding
>>> service dogs and also with regard to not placing their hands on people - 
>>> you
>>> just can't go placing your hands on people."
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
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>>
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