[NAGDU] Guide dog school wish list

[David Andrews]

Blind people can, and do make good travel 
teachers -- but aren't automatically so just 
because they are blind. Likewise we shouldn't 
probably make generalizations based on the experiences with one person.

Dave

At 09:22 AM 11/3/2024, you wrote:
>Hi, I have had a blind O&M instructor but not a 
>dog trainer. When I was between dogs I was doing 
>a bit of cane mobility refresher and we were 
>going to my bus stop. She was wondering how I 
>could easily find my stop and I explained if I 
>followed the building line until we reach the 
>driveway which is marked with tactiles. Then I 
>follow the tactiles down to the road and then I 
>am at my stop. The thing was the instructor 
>didn't know the tactiles were there and she bent 
>down to look at them to see what I was talking 
>about. Ok, I could have suggested this was the 
>first time she had come across them if they were 
>out of the way except this bus stop was down the 
>road from their office so she probably did allot 
>of walking around the area. It made me wonder 
>how good it was to have an instructor who also 
>has a vision impairment. That instructor has 
>moved on now and last time I saw her she had her 
>own seeing eye dog. I'm not sure how that goes 
>wen you are trying to teach others to find 
>places with their canes. From Shaz. Canberra, 
>Australia. I don’t suffer from insanity; I 
>enjoy every minute. -----Original Message----- 
>From: NAGDU <nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org> On Behalf 
>Of Buddy Brannan via NAGDU Sent: Wednesday, 30 
>October 2024 7:45 AM To: NAGDU Mailing List, the 
>National Association of Guide Dog Users 
><nagdu at nfbnet.org> Cc: Buddy Brannan 
><buddy at brannan.name> Subject: Re: [NAGDU] Guide 
>dog school wish list There are at least two 
>schools who have, or have had, blind CEO’s: 
>the Seeing Eye and Guiding Eyes. Many of them 
>have some blind staff members and members of 
>their boards of directors. Trainers is, 
>apparently, a bridge too far for some, because 
>no one’s had one of those yet, even though 
>many of us have successfully trained guides, 
>even for other people. I’d love to see blind 
>guide dog trainers though. -- Buddy Brannan, 
>KB5ELV, WRVB670 - Erie, PA Email: 
>buddy at brannan.name Mobile: (814) 431-0962 > On 
>Oct 29, 2024, at 2:42 PM, 
>whistlersmothersson--- via NAGDU 
><nagdu at nfbnet.org> wrote: > > I can agree with 
>this. But why should the blind people have the 
>menial jobs? Why not a blind CEO, blind Director 
>of Marketing, or even blind guide dog 
>trainers? > > Mike > > > -----Original 
>Message----- > From: NAGDU 
><nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org> On Behalf Of Tara 
>Briggs via > NAGDU > Sent: Tuesday, October 29, 
>2024 10:20 AM > To: NAGDU Mailing List, the 
>National Association of Guide Dog Users > 
><nagdu at nfbnet.org> > Cc: Tara Briggs 
><thflute at gmail.com> > Subject: [NAGDU] Guide dog 
>school wish list > > Hi Kary and others on this 
>list! Kary, I think you made some good points in 
>your last email. Would anyone else like to chime 
>in? If you were suddenly appointed president of 
>a dog guide school, with unlimited powers to 
>enact any changes you wish, what would they be 
>and why? I look forward to everyone’s replies. 
>Personally, I would start by hiring a lot more 
>blind employees. For example, I don’t see why 
>the staff in the dorms couldn’t be blind 
>people with experience using a dog. > — > Tara 
>Briggs > Check out my podcast, Crip PParenting 
>on your podcast platform of choice. > >> On Oct 
>29, 2024, at 7:59 AM, Kerry Macdonald via 
>NAGDU <nagdu at nfbnet.org> wrote: >> >> Hi 
>Mike, I like how you tell it like it is lol. >> 
>I’m sorry you had that experience and can’t 
>agree with you more. I think unfortunately a lot 
>more of this is going on today. Personally, I do 
>not like the direction that many of the schools 
>are going. I am glad to say that we still have 
>some schools like Freedom, the Seeing Eye and a 
>couple of others, who treat us with dignity and 
>respect. However, I don’t know if others will 
>agree with me or not, but I feel like it is 
>trending the other way in some cases. I wonder 
>if there is a way for us as consumers to make 
>our voices heard with the schools and let them 
>know what we want from them, as well as them 
>telling us  What they would like from us. It is 
>a relationship and works both ways. >> 
>Personally, I do not like how so many of the 
>schools that we have in this country have 
>switched to food reward anas their main method 
>of training and do not offer  unconditional 
>ownership. >> I understand that not everyone 
>wants this, but I believe if schools thoroughly 
>vet their clients during the application process 
>that it should be offered as an option for those 
>who do want it. >> Also, I know financially, the 
>schools have to consider the breeds that makes 
>sense, but I would like to see them begin to 
>offer more of a variety of breeds. Again, I do 
>not want to offend anyone, however, personally, 
>I do not want to work with a lab, and as someone 
>who doesn’t, my choices are becoming more and 
>more limited. >> For me, basically, all I am 
>saying is, I would like to advocate for more 
>choice, and more of a partnership between us and 
>our schools. After all, without us, the schools 
>would not have programs at all. >> >> I do not 
>want to start a bunch of controversy on here, 
>this is just my opinion based on recent 
>observations as I research some schools to help 
>a couple of my friends out. I feel like, 
>although there are many schools in this country, 
>most of them, with a couple of exceptions are 
>basically cookie-cutter copies of one another to 
>a large degree. >> Anyway, just my opinion I do 
>not want to offend anyone. Take care. >> >> 
>Kerry >> Sent from my iPhone >> >>> On Oct 28, 
>2024, at 2:21 PM, Cindy Ray via NAGDU 
><nagdu at nfbnet.org> wrote: >>> >>> Maybe we 
>ought to change the subject line on this thread. 
>I’m not >>> moderator anymore, but I thought 
>about it as I finished making the >>> same 
>error.Patronism by guide dog schools was Cindy 
>Lou Ray Sent >>> from my iPhone >>> >>>>> On Oct 
>28, 2024, at 12:30 PM, Jody ianuzzi via NAGDU 
><nagdu at nfbnet.org> wrote: >>>> >>>> Hello 
>Mike, >>>> >>>> I'm sorry that you had that 
>experience getting your guide dog. I had just 
>the opposite experience at the Seeing Eye. Their 
>motto is independence with dignity. I felt very 
>respected as well as respecting everyone there. 
>Maybe you should consider Seeing Eye for your 
>next dog. >>>> JODY >>>> >>>> To Boldly 
>Go  🭭🏻 >>>> >>>> >>>> 
>thunderwalker321 at gmail.com >>>> >>>> "What's 
>within you is stronger than what's in your 
>way."  NO >>>> BARRIERS  Erik 
>Weihenmayer >>>> >>>>>> On Oct 28, 2024, at 
>11:38 AM, whistlersmothersson--- via NAGDU 
><nagdu at nfbnet.org> wrote: >>>>> >>>>>     In 
>my opinion, the value of a guide dog is all a 
>marketing tool for programs to justify grant 
>requests and solicit donations. It seems to be 
>based upon the annual budget of the program and 
>how many dogs they place. I also think that some 
>CEOs are very overpaid for running a nonprofit 
>organization. For instance, titus Herman who 
>runs Southeastern Guide Dogs is paid nearly 
>$500,000. And his former job as a Goodwill 
>executive should tell us everything about his 
>perspective on the capacity of disabled people. 
>Finally, one only needs to look at the direction 
>of Southeastern Guide Dogs and their recent name 
>change to Dogs Inc. to know their commitment to 
>training guide dogs. I do believe people with 
>talent should be well compensated for their 
>talent but this sort of salary for the leader of 
>a nonprofit is obscene! >>>>> >>>>> This being 
>said, I earn much more than Mr. Herman, yet 
>while at Southeastern, I was treated like a 
>child and talked down to. Titus would walk 
>around the building like he was some sort of 
>overseer checking out his 
>sharecroppers. >>>>> >>>>> 
>Mike >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> -----Original 
>Message----- >>>>> From: NAGDU 
><nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org> On Behalf Of Margo 
>Downey >>>>> via NAGDU >>>>> Sent: Monday, 
>October 28, 2024 11:09 AM >>>>> To: 'NAGDU 
>Mailing List, the National Association of Guide 
>Dog >>>>> Users' <nagdu at nfbnet.org> >>>>> Cc: 
>Margo Downey <margo.downey at roadrunner.com> >>>>> 
>Subject: Re: [NAGDU] FW: Uber Almost Got Me 
>Killed!    >>>>> >>>>> Actually, last I heard, 
>our dogs are woth $70,000. >>>>> >>>>> Margo and 
>Tami >>>>> >>>>> -----Original 
>Message----- >>>>> From: NAGDU 
>[mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of 
>Jody >>>>> ianuzzi via NAGDU >>>>> Sent: Monday, 
>October 28, 2024 9:58 AM >>>>> To: NAGDU Mailing 
>List, the National Association of Guide 
>Dog >>>>> Users >>>>> Cc: Jody ianuzzi >>>>> 
>Subject: Re: [NAGDU] FW: Uber Almost Got Me 
>Killed! >>>>> >>>>> A friend and I were 
>discussing this situation. The driver of the 
>Mercedes kept talking about how his car was 
>worth $60,000 and didn't want it ruined by the 
>dog. Hey! Our dogs are worth $60,000 and we 
>don't want them ruined by Uber 
>drivers! >>>>> >>>>> I am horrified that a 
>department of justice and the local Judge did 
>not take the assault and battery charges 
>seriously! We already know Uber is not on our 
>side but the law should be on our side! 
>Hopefully the lawyers  that witnessed the 
>situation will pursue this situation with the 
>state attorney general office. >>>>> 
>JODY >>>>> >>>>> To Boldly 
>Go  🭭🏻 >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> 
>thunderwalker321 at gmail.com >>>>> >>>>> "What's 
>within you is stronger than what's in your 
>way."  NO >>>>> BARRIERS  Erik 
>Weihenmayer >>>>> >>>>>>> On Oct 26, 2024, at 
>4:11 AM, whistlersmothersson--- via NAGDU 
><nagdu at nfbnet.org> wrote: >>>>>> >>>>>> I 
>looked at old messages from this group and see a 
>lot about Uber. I got this from another group 
>and thought you would like to read 
>it. >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> A True Story of 
>Discrimination >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> 
>  >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> 
>  >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> >>> 
> >>> Advocates for >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> Service 
>Animal Partners 
>Inc >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> 
>ServiceAnimals.info >>>>>> >>>>>> 
>Advocacy411 at gmail.com 
><mailto:Advocacy411 at gmail.com> >>>>>> >>>>>> 
>Office: 386-ASAP411 >>>>>> >>>>>> Hotline: 
>855-ASAP211 >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> 
><https://mpm5jphbb.cc.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=001EwA3wHfZ5QnDL9JT_aC0Mf8  
> >>>>>> 0 >>>>>> 
>3-saTFkMjDdqoPJOQnPE7uVpgzsomXZxSKbcMTbOM5TvuymLx44KdBBHxd1QJxpe4  
> >>>>>> 9 >>>>>> 
>EJ9JT4gHFNxMPIXsDFAzK20lY-XC_Qb9Z9D8DdG3pRWeJH2EIk215fQZQ0GCZDZs3  
> >>>>>> g >>>>>> 
>Y0xD&c=0fEbX--K6jxKcm12gS8gQjsfejSAVXU1_SQnoDAKh2C_67OhW9XIDw==&c  
> >>>>>> h 
>=CCMAxqwVqgGz-gFFX5L2yMFD9qsRHGN6cohq6WR4PGSLgJLuHUwsqA==> 
>ASAP >>>>>> 
>Website >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> 
>  >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> Uber Almost Got Me 
>Killed! >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> 
>  Please circulate the following message as 
>widely as appropriate. If you received this 
>message as a forward and would like to receive 
>information directly from Advocates for Service 
>Animal Partners, please become a 
>partner. >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> The 
>following article is reprinted with permission 
>of the National Federation of the Blind. Sharing 
>this information is 
>encouraged. >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> Braille 
>Monitor; Vol. 67, No. 9; October 
>2024. >>>>>> >>>>>> Gary Wunder, 
>sEditor >>>>>> >>>>>> Chris Danielsen, Associate 
>Editor >>>>>> >>>>>> Distributed by email, 
>ink-print, in Braille, and on USB flash >>>>>> 
>drive, by the National Federation of the 
>Blind >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> Mark 
>Riccobono, President >>>>>> >>>>>> telephone: 
>410-659-9314 >>>>>> >>>>>> email address: 
>President at NFB.org 
><mailto:President at NFB.org> >>>>>> >>>>>> website 
>address:  >>>>>> 
><https://mpm5jphbb.cc.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=001EwA3wHfZ5QnDL9JT_aC0Mf8  
> >>>>>> 0 >>>>>> 
>3-saTFkMjDdqoPJOQnPE7uVpgzsomfFYWst7x2M5El6CxwcEwzQCQZ_QctAQKtqBg  
> >>>>>> 5 >>>>>> 
>HiVK4hY_v9SSB-FIygpG9IA3ksiGrmTpzYvZ7Juareo27OrFdrk9usJaZ9hQ==&c=  
> >>>>>> 0 >>>>>> 
>fEbX--K6jxKcm12gS8gQjsfejSAVXU1_SQnoDAKh2C_67OhW9XIDw==&ch=CCMAxq  
> >>>>>> w 
>VqgGz-gFFX5L2yMFD9qsRHGN6cohq6WR4PGSLgJLuHUwsqA==>  
> >>>>>> 
>http://www.nfb.org >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> 
> From the Associate Editor: This article 
>originally appeared in the Summer 2024 issue of 
>the Braille Spectator , the publication of the 
>National Federation of the Blind of Maryland. We 
>are reprinting it with light edits. Ronza Othman 
>serves as president of that affiliate. She is 
>also president of the National Association of 
>Blind Government Employees and of the National 
>Association of Blind Lawyers, chairperson of our 
>Code of Conduct Feedback Committee, an active 
>member of the Blind Muslims Group, and more, all 
>on top of her high-pressure day job with the 
>federal government. Despite already having all 
>of these roles, she jokes she is eager to assume 
>yet another as the next Disney princess. In a 
>much less lighthearted vein, we note that the 
>details in this article may profoundly disturb 
>some readers, but we feel it is an important 
>story to tell. It highlights not only the 
>continued discrimination experienced by blind 
>people at the hands of rideshare drivers but 
>also how Ronza's intersecting characteristics 
>and ignorance of disability rights on the part 
>of a member of law enforcement escalated an 
>already tense situation to a traumatic, but 
>thankfully not tragic, sevent. It is clear from 
>Ronza's experience that Uber has not done enough 
>to educate its drivers, or even its customer 
>service personnel and supervisors on its policy 
>forbidding discrimination against blind 
>passengers with guide dogs. That is why, as this 
>issue of the Braille Monitor goes to press, 
>Federationists from across the nation are 
>preparing to conduct a rally before the 
>headquarters of both Uber and Lyft, the 
>country's two leading rideshare 
>providers. >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> Here is 
>Ronza's 
>story: >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>>  
> >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> Photo 
>of Ronza Othman standing and wearing a black 
>hijab, pullover sweater, and holding her white 
>cane. >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> 
>Uber Almost Got Me Killed! >>>>>> >>>>>> by 
>Ronza 
>Othman >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> 
>Discrimination against the blind is an 
>all-too-frequent occurrence, but sometimes how 
>companies and law enforcement respond could 
>literally get us killed. Uber discriminated 
>against me and a fellow passenger who uses a 
>guide dog in July of 2023, and instead of 
>protecting me as the law requires, local law 
>enforcement instead held me at gunpoint and 
>treated me like I was the criminal. Then, after 
>I didn’t die at the hands of the police 
>(probably because my friends were filming the 
>encounter on their phones) and filed a report 
>with Uber, Uber summarily kicked me off their 
>platform in retaliation for my 
>complaint. >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> On the 
>first night of the 2023 NFB National Convention 
>in Houston, the National Association of Blind 
>Lawyers got together for dinner at the home of 
>one of our division board members. We brought 
>along some other lawyers, because we tend to 
>travel in packs, including Eve Hill, the 
>lawyers’ lawyer and NFB General Counsel. I 
>also brought along three NFB National 
>Scholarship finalists, two of whom were going 
>into law. One of the students had a guide dog. 
>We had a wonderful dinner, and everyone left in 
>a jubilant mood. >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> I 
>called an Uber to take my group of four bipeds 
>and a quadruped back to the hotel around 10:15 
>p.m.; the driver, Troy, was driving a black 
>Mercedes—I’ll never forget that detail. I got 
>into the vehhicle first, sitting in the middle 
>of the back seat. One of the students and her 
>guide dog got in behind the driver. One of the 
>other students got in the passenger-side back 
>seat on my other side, and the third sat in the 
>front seat. >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> The 
>driver looked back as we were getting settled 
>and asked, “Is that a dog?” I remember 
>thinking something snarky, like “No, it’s a 
>whale.” But I didn’t answer, because it 
>wasn’t my service 
>animal. >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> The student 
>who was the handler said it was a guide dog. The 
>driver, Troy, immediately started fussing at us, 
>stating at least twenty times that this was a 
>“sixty-thousand-dollar Mercedes.” The 
>student calmly responded that her dog was a 
>service animal that was protected under the 
>ADA. >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> Troy began 
>shouting at us to get out of his car. He said 
>that he had the right to refuse to take whoever 
>he wanted, and that we had to call Uber Pet. We 
>responded that service animals are not pets, and 
>thus we did not have to call Uber 
>Pet. >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> The student 
>with the guide dog and I decided we were not 
>going to exit the vehicle because the driver had 
>an obligation to take us under the ADA. The 
>driver got out of the vehicle and began shouting 
>in the street. This was a quiet neighborhood, 
>fairly upscale, and fairly quickly we attracted 
>notice. >>>>>> >>>>>> Meanwhile, the rest of our 
>friends came out of the house, and there was 
>once again a gaggle of lawyers, this time 
>standing on a Houston sidewalk nearing midnight. 
>What happened next seems 
>surreal. >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> As the 
>driver continued to shout about his 
>sixty-thousand-dollar Mercedes, both of the 
>students on the passenger side of the vehicle 
>decided to leave the car. The student with the 
>guide dog and I decided to 
>stay. >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> Troy then 
>opened the driver’s side back door, reached 
>into the car, and tried to physically yank the 
>guide dog out of the car. The student was 
>holding onto the dog’s harness, but when Troy 
>started using his might to try to force the dog 
>out of the vehicle, she wrapped her arms around 
>the dog to keep her from being pulled away from 
>her. She began to shout at the driver to stop 
>pulling on her dog, that he was hurting the dog, 
>and that she was a service animal. Troy did not 
>stop for several minutes. The student began to 
>slide out of the car herself because Troy was 
>pulling on the dog so hard. I wrapped my arms 
>around the student to keep her from being pulled 
>out of the car. I believed if Troy was 
>successful at forcing the guide dog or the 
>student from the car, they’d both fall on the 
>ground and be hurt. >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> 
>As I held onto the student, Troy started pulling 
>on me too. He used so much force that all three 
>of us—the sttudent, the guide dog, and I—were 
>all sliding slowly outt of the 
>car. >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> I also started 
>shouting at Troy to stop pulling on us. 
>Eventually, he took a break and walked away from 
>the car. >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> I called 
>911 to report a physical assault. They took my 
>report and told me someone from the Houston 
>Police Department would come soon. They did not 
>stay on the phone with me like they show in the 
>movies. >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> After I hung 
>up with Emergency Services, I called Uber to 
>file a complaint. While I was on the phone with 
>Uber Support, Troy came back and did it again. 
>He pulled, using all of his might, on the guide 
>dog and the student to force them out of the 
>car. I had my arm around the student’s 
>shoulder to comfort her, so he pulled on me too. 
>The Uber customer support person on the phone 
>did nothing except take the 
>report. >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> After this 
>second assault and battery, the guide dog was 
>very agitated, and the student was extremely 
>upset. We didn’t know if the dog had been 
>hurt, and if so, how badly. The student decided 
>to get out of the car so she could have enough 
>room to check out the dog and catch her breath. 
>I stayed in the vehicle, because I knew that if 
>I also got out, the driver would just get in the 
>car and leave, resulting in no accountability 
>for his actions. >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> I 
>have to pause and give you a quick lesson in the 
>law that you might or might not already know. 
>Assault is a crime—it is when ssomeone takes an 
>action that places another in imminent fear of a 
>battery. Battery means unwanted physical 
>touching. So, Troy both assaulted and battered 
>the student and me. To compound the issue, a 
>guide dog, like a cane or wheelchair, is, under 
>the law, an extension of the person with a 
>disability. That means that if someone 
>intentionally batters a guide dog while it is 
>working, then they’ve battered the human 
>handler. When Troy grabbed the guide dog and 
>tried to forcibly remove her by pulling her from 
>the car, and since the student was holding the 
>harness and then the dog, Troy battered and 
>assaulted the dog and the student. Then, when I 
>tried to help her by anchoring her and he 
>grabbed and yanked on me, he battered and 
>assaulted me too. >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> 
>They teach you about assault and battery 
>literally on the first day of law school, but as 
>you’ll come to see, somehow two police 
>departments and a multi-national company don’t 
>know what it is. >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> 
>Apparently, in response to the commotion, one of 
>the neighbors called their local police 
>department, which resulted in a faster response 
>from Harris County law enforcement compared with 
>Houston PD. Two police officers from Harris 
>County arrived within twenty minutes of the 
>incident. However, they were not there to help! 
>In fact, instead of helping the student and me, 
>the clear victims here, they nearly shot me—an 
>unarmed brown woman. >>>>>> >>>>>> After hanging 
>up with Uber, I called Cayte Mendez, who serves 
>as the chair of the Scholarship Committee, to 
>let her know that three scholarship finalists 
>and I were in the midst of an Uber denial that 
>turned into an assault, for which we were 
>waiting for law enforcement intervention. I also 
>asked my lawyer friends standing on the sidewalk 
>to call Eve Hill, NFB General Counsel, who by 
>that time had made it back to the hotel. Both 
>Cayte and Eve were on the phone with us when the 
>next horrible thing 
>happened. >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> Troy 
>managed to get to the Harris County police 
>officers before anyone else, and as best as I 
>can tell, he told them that he was afraid of me, 
>that I refused to leave his vehicle after he 
>decided he didn’t feel “safe” driving me, 
>and that he believed I may have a weapon. He 
>used incorrect and negative stereotypes about 
>brown and Muslim people, and they believed 
>him. >>>>>> >>>>>> Throughout this ordeal, my 
>lawyer friends, including the homeowner, were 
>standing on the sidewalk, less than ten feet 
>away from the car. When Harris County police 
>pulled up, the homeowner shared with us that 
>Harris County provides neighborhood support but 
>that Houston police is the entity that handles 
>real crime. He shared that the Harris police 
>provide a sort of neighborhood watch function, 
>similar to mall 
>police. >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> As I sat in 
>the back seat of the vehicle, with the windows 
>open, talking to Cayte on the phone, a female 
>police officer slowly walked up to the car on 
>the right side. I learned later there was 
>another police officer nearby covering her. She 
>shouted at me to put my hands where she could 
>see them. She did not identify herself, and I 
>had no idea who she was or that she was a cop. I 
>was holding my phone in one hand and the other 
>was empty. My cane was telescoped on the floor 
>at my feet. I was the only person left in the 
>vehicle. >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> For a bit 
>of context: I’m brown, Muslim, a woman, and 
>blind. I wear a religious head covering called a 
>hijab, which makes me very obviously Muslim to 
>the sighted. My family are refugees, and I’m a 
>United States citizen. Houston is much more open 
>to immigrants and people of color than other 
>places in the southern United States, but I 
>still harbor the same anxiety as many immigrants 
>and people of color do when visiting some of the 
>southern states. In fact, I carry my US passport 
>in my bra at all times for my safety so I can 
>quickly prove I am a 
>citizen. >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> I dropped 
>the phone—I don’t know if I eeven said goodbye 
>to Cayte or not—and raised my hands. TThe 
>officer then directed a very strong flashlight 
>into my face, which was incredibly startling. 
>Once she saw me sitting there, she began to 
>speak very loudly and slowly, as though I 
>didn’t comprehend the English 
>language. >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> As she 
>continued to flash the light into my face, I 
>told her that I was blind and needed her to 
>identify herself. She initially did not and 
>continued to speak to me in a loud, 
>condescending voice. Eventually, she moved the 
>flashlight away from my face, and as I 
>readjusted to the lighting, I realized that she 
>was gripping her weapon in her other hand. I was 
>being held at gunpoint by Harris County police 
>simply for being blind, brown, and 
>Muslim. >>>>>> >>>>>> She eventually told me she 
>was Harris County police; I don’t know if she 
>ever told me her name or not. She asked me if I 
>had a weapon. I told her I did not. She asked me 
>if anything was on the floor of the car. I told 
>her, once again, while she held me at gunpoint, 
>that I was blind and that my cane was on the 
>floor at my feet. She asked me what else was on 
>the floor, and I told her that I did not know 
>because I did not own the 
>vehicle. >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> She did not 
>ask me any questions or take my statement before 
>deciding I was the threat. I had called 911, but 
>I was now the person with a gun on 
>me. >>>>>> >>>>>> She told me that since it 
>wasn’t my vehicle, I was trespassing, and that 
>the “nice gentleman” had a right to kick 
>anyone he wanted out of his car. I told her that 
>my friends and I were Uber passengers, that we 
>had disabilities, and that he had a legal 
>obligation to transport us under the Americans 
>with Disabilities Act. Meanwhile, I was trying 
>not to panic as she still held her weapon on 
>me. >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> She ordered me 
>out of the vehicle and told me to keep my hands 
>up at all times. I told her once again that I 
>was blind, that I needed my cane to safely exit 
>the vehicle, and that I’d like to retrieve it 
>first. Initially, she was not going to let me 
>retrieve my cane, but at that point her fellow 
>officer walked up and told her that she should 
>let me use it. He whispered that everyone around 
>the car had a cane, so I likely wasn’t making 
>up my blindness. >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> She 
>shone the light on the floor of the vehicle to 
>see that the cane was the only item there, and 
>she ordered me to pick it up with one hand while 
>the other was still raised. I did 
>so. >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> She opened the 
>door, and I slowly exited the vehicle, still 
>holding my hands up. I asked if I could retrieve 
>my phone from the car, which was on the seat, 
>and the other officer got it and handed it to 
>one of my friends. >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> 
>The female Harris County police officer asked 
>for my name—still in that loud, slow tone—and I 
>told it it to her. She asked me for my 
>driver’s license, and I told her I didn’t 
>drive. She responded, “Undocumented, I thought 
>so.” I replied that I had a valid ID, that I 
>was a US citizen, and that I didn’t have a 
>driver’s license because I am blind. She 
>ordered me to show her my ID. >>>>>> >>>>>> I 
>began to move my hand toward my passport but 
>quickly realized that given how ignorant and 
>suspicious this officer had been thus far, 
>moving my hand toward my chest rather than my 
>purse would escalate the situation. I verbally 
>talked her through what I was doing. I was 
>wearing a very small cross-body purse, small 
>enough to hold only my phone, a thin wallet, and 
>my AirPods. >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> I 
>narrated everything I did before I physically 
>did it. I told her I was going to open the flap 
>of my purse using just the thumb and forefinger 
>on my right hand. I told her I was going to 
>reach in with those same fingers to remove a 
>pink wallet. I told her I was using those same 
>two fingers to open the wallet to show her my 
>state ID. I handed over the wallet, and she 
>looked at it, then ordered me to remove the ID 
>from the wallet and give it to her. At this 
>point, she appeared to me to holster her gun, 
>and I gave her my ID. I told her my passport was 
>in my bra and asked if she wanted to see it. She 
>responded, “Not 
>yet.” >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> As she took 
>my ID from me, one of my friends told her that 
>she should Google me while she had my name and 
>information. She ordered me to stay put and went 
>off to her vehicle, I assumed to run me through 
>law enforcement databases. I collapsed onto the 
>ground, right there, at the side of the road. My 
>legs could not hold me up 
>anymore. >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> At some 
>point, my friends had begun recording the 
>encounter, but I’m not sure exactly when they 
>began recording—I haven’t had the mentaal 
>energy to watch the video. Eve Hill was also on 
>the phone for all or most of it. But that 
>wasn’t the end, not by a long 
>shot. >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> While I waited 
>to be run through all the law enforcement 
>databases, my friends filled me in on what I’d 
>missed, including what they heard Troy tell the 
>Harris County officers. They also shared that 
>several of them had showed Harris County PD the 
>Uber website that specifically states Uber’s 
>nondiscrimination policy and that denying 
>service to service animal users violates the law 
>and Uber’s policies. Apparently, that wasn’t 
>good enough either. >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> 
>We also realized that our host had a video 
>surveillance system on his home that likely 
>captured the incident and its aftermath. In 
>fact, the camera footage shows the driver 
>yanking on the dog, the student, and me both 
>times and much of the Harris County police 
>department’s actions. The cell phone 
>recordings my friends took show much of the same 
>with sound. >>>>>> >>>>>> Eventually, the lady 
>officer from Harris County returned, giving me 
>back my ID. She told me again that Troy was just 
>a “nice man” who wanted to keep his 
>expensive vehicle clean. I responded that people 
>with disabilities are not dirty, and neither are 
>our dogs. I also reiterated that the ADA 
>prohibits Uber drivers from refusing service to 
>guide dog handlers and others with disabilities. 
>She said that Uber had to handle this. I told 
>her I had filed a complaint with Uber, but that 
>since the driver assaulted and battered the 
>student and me, this was now a criminal issue as 
>well, and that law enforcement was required to 
>enforce the anti-discrimination laws. The 
>student and I told her we wanted to press 
>charges against the driver. She ordered me to 
>get the person from Uber with whom I filed the 
>report on the phone. I told her I’d try, but 
>Uber has a lot of customer service people. I 
>called Uber, waited on hold, and eventually got 
>connected to a different agent than 
>previously. >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> I told 
>Uber I was calling because I was with law 
>enforcement who wanted to verify I’d called 
>previously to file a report and to ask them 
>questions. Initially, the Uber representative 
>informed me that they would not talk to law 
>enforcement. The female Harris County officer 
>insisted, so I asked for a supervisor. I 
>eventually was transferred to a supervisor, I 
>explained the situation, and the supervisor 
>agreed to talk to the police officer. This all 
>was on speaker phone, and what happened next was 
>also on speaker phone. >>>>>> >>>>>> The police 
>officer asked if a driver has the right to 
>refuse to drive someone if they have a guide 
>dog, and the Uber representative said, “Yes, 
>the driver can refuse to drive anyone they 
>wish.” If I hadn’t already been sitting on 
>the ground, I’d have fallen over. This is a 
>supposed supervisor in the escalation department 
>at Uber, and they don’t even know the law or 
>their own policies? We all, including Eve Hill 
>on the phone, started shouting that this was not 
>true. >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> The police 
>officer asked the phone representative from Uber 
>to share the policy that gives drivers the right 
>to refuse anyone, which frankly stunned me 
>because I didn’t think that Harris County 
>officer was capable of getting to actual true 
>facts. The Uber representative put us on hold, 
>and after about ten minutes, returned and read 
>from the website that my friends had previously 
>shown the officer, which said the exact opposite 
>of what the representative had originally 
>said. >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> At no time did 
>Harris County take my statement or anyone 
>else’s. At no time did they gather evidence or 
>try to figure out what happened. They took a 
>cursory look at the dog and said, “She looks 
>fine to me.” They told us this was a civil 
>matter and to work through Uber. We reiterated 
>we were assaulted and battered and wanted to 
>press charges, and they reiterated that we and 
>the dog weren’t physically hurt from their 
>perspective, thus this was a civil 
>matter. >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> At that 
>point, about two and a half hours after the 
>incident began, Houston PD finally showed up. 
>This was a vastly different experience from 
>Harris County. The responding Houston PD 
>officers took our individual statements, 
>understood that the driver could not refuse 
>services to passengers with guide dogs, and 
>treated us with dignity and respect. They also 
>told Harris County PD they had it from there and 
>sent the Harris County officers 
>away. >>>>>> >>>>>> We told them we had 
>recordings and showed them to Houston 
>PD. >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> Nonetheless, 
>they, too, did not immediately press charges or 
>allow us to do so. They informed us that their 
>local prosecutor would review the reports and 
>videos and make a determination within a few 
>days. They obtained Troy’s contact information 
>and released him. Roughly three and a half hours 
>after the ordeal began, we returned to the 
>hotel. A few days later, Houston PD informed us 
>that the local prosecutor had declined to bring 
>criminal charges against 
>Troy. >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> Meanwhile, I 
>supplemented my report to Uber to add additional 
>details. Three days after Uber nearly got me 
>killed by Harris County PD, they kicked me off 
>the Uber platform. Apparently, in an effort to 
>try to save his job with Uber, Troy filed a 
>complaint against me, stating I threatened him 
>and had a weapon in his vehicle. This was in 
>direct retaliation for my complaint against him. 
>Though my supplemental report to Uber explained 
>how Troy lied to law enforcement and the effect, 
>Uber still, without ever talking to me or doing 
>any sort of investigation, suspended my account. 
>This is a gross injustice, because if anyone who 
>complains is subject to retaliatory suspension, 
>then every person with a disability who tries to 
>protect their rights, as described by the law 
>and Uber’s own policy, will be removed from 
>the platform simply for exercising their 
>rights. >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> I shared 
>what had happened with President Riccobono, and 
>he contacted Uber himself. Uber executives were 
>at the convention, and President Riccobono 
>arranged a meeting for those executives, John 
>Paré, the scholarship finalists and me. Uber 
>made a lot of promises and commitments, but more 
>than a year later, I’ve not seen any of them 
>come to fruition. >>>>>> >>>>>> I filed two 
>complaints with the [United States] Department 
>of Justice (DOJ) about this experience—one 
>against Harris County  Police, and the other 
>against Uber. DOJ closed the complaint against 
>Harris County Police with no action. I have not 
>yet heard any information about the Uber 
>complaint. >>>>>> >>>>>> What happened to my 
>companions and me isn’t rare. There isn’t a 
>week that goes by that I don’t hear from 
>someone about a rideshare denial because of 
>their guide dog or long white cane. These 
>denials mean that blind people are late for 
>work, medical appointments, worship services, 
>and so on. The fact that Uber personnel didn’t 
>know the law, or their own policies is 
>unforgivable. The fact that law enforcement 
>doesn’t know the law is disgusting and 
>terrifying. >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> >> 
> >>>> >>>>>> Join Our Mailing 
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