[NFBN-Lincoln] FW: Animal Control Services

Mon Apr 20 00:46:20 UTC 2026

Hi Cheryl,

This is the most recent email in my communications with the city of Lincoln. There will be several more coming. 

From: markmurraycoleman at gmail.com <markmurraycoleman at gmail.com> 
Sent: Wednesday, April 15, 2026 5:33 PM
To: 'Kerry L. Kernen' <KKernen at lincoln.ne.gov>
Subject: RE: Animal Control Services

Good afternoon Director Kernen,

Thank you for taking concern in this matter. By all means, you have my consent to further look into this issue. Regarding taking time to learn more about the situation surrounding the discrimination experienced by Mr. Heyen, I don’t want to force your hand, but there are a couple of quickly approaching dates that necessarily will influence how I move forward.         

This Saturday, April 18, will be the monthly Nebraska Federation of the Blind of Nebraska Lincoln Chapter meeting. It was through my involvement and as a Lincoln Chapter officer that I became involved in this case. Saturday will be my first opportunity since receiving Mr. Tast’s letter to receive input from the chapter on how to proceed. 

On April 30 through May 3  the NFB Nebraska affiliate will be holding its annual state convention. I have already submitted a draft resolution to be considered for adoption at the state convention regarding the discriminatory policies and/or procedures of Animal Control. Because the convention only occurs once per year, withdrawing the resolution proposal until we know how this issue plays out is not a viable option.   

I am willing to be involved in any conversation on how to move forward. I felt that Mr. Tast’s response sounded more like a defense attorney defending a client against a specific case rather than an influential public servant taking a forward oriented approach to ensure Lincoln is in compliance with federal law, respects all its residents equally, and pursues nondiscriminatory public health policies that are in the interest of the community as a whole. Perhaps the defense attorney approach is more in line with his job duties. However, in the long run, making the case that arbitrary policies that so clearly discriminate against the disabled in terms of receiving equal access to municipal services will eventually back fire and put Lincoln at far greater risk of litigation than an approach that seeks to align Lincoln’s policies and practices with the ADA and general fairness and decency.

I have not spoken with Mr. Heyen about this matter in several months, but he gave no indication to me that he has contemplated litigation or seeking damages over the situation. As I wrote to Mr. Tast, this provides the city the opportunity to acknowledge and fix the problem without the acknowledgement of the problem creating much likelihood of giving the opposing side ammunition to use in potential litigation. But digging in and maintaining a discriminatory policy that runs afoul of the ADA in order to avoid acknowledging discrimination only opens up the city to future criticism and litigation.         

Please let me know if there is additional information that can be helpful to you. 

Sincerely,

Mark Coleman

National Federation of the Blind of Nebraska Lincoln Chapter First Vice President

From: Kerry L. Kernen <KKernen at lincoln.ne.gov <mailto:KKernen at lincoln.ne.gov> > 
Sent: Wednesday, April 15, 2026 10:09 AM
To: markmurraycoleman at gmail.com <mailto:markmurraycoleman at gmail.com> 
Cc: Denise S. Bollwitt <dbollwitt at lincoln.ne.gov <mailto:dbollwitt at lincoln.ne.gov> >; Mayor <mayor at lincoln.ne.gov <mailto:mayor at lincoln.ne.gov> >; Lincoln Commission on Human Rights <LCHR at lincoln.ne.gov <mailto:LCHR at lincoln.ne.gov> >; Rick W. Tast <RTast at lincoln.ne.gov <mailto:RTast at lincoln.ne.gov> >; bhayen at gmail.com <mailto:bhayen at gmail.com> ; Cheri L. Howard <CLHoward at lincoln.ne.gov <mailto:CLHoward at lincoln.ne.gov> >
Subject: RE: Animal Control Services

Good morning Mr. Coleman,

I am in receipt of your emails and the concerns of discrimination brought forward on behalf of Mr. Hayen which I take very seriously.

With your consent I would like some time to learn more about this situation and determine how we can best move forward.

Many thanks for your consideration.

  <https://app.lincoln.ne.gov/images/eSignature/star/health.png> 

Kerry Kernen, MPA, MSN, RN
Health Director 
Lincoln-Lancaster County
Health Department 

Office: 402-441-8054
Mobile: 402-450-4321
Fax: 402-441-8323

From: markmurraycoleman at gmail.com <mailto:markmurraycoleman at gmail.com>  <markmurraycoleman at gmail.com <mailto:markmurraycoleman at gmail.com> > 
Sent: Thursday, April 9, 2026 6:20 PM
To: Cheri L. Howard <CLHoward at lincoln.ne.gov <mailto:CLHoward at lincoln.ne.gov> >
Cc: Denise S. Bollwitt <dbollwitt at lincoln.ne.gov <mailto:dbollwitt at lincoln.ne.gov> >; Mayor <mayor at lincoln.ne.gov <mailto:mayor at lincoln.ne.gov> >; Lincoln Commission on Human Rights <LCHR at lincoln.ne.gov <mailto:LCHR at lincoln.ne.gov> >; Kerry L. Kernen <KKernen at lincoln.ne.gov <mailto:KKernen at lincoln.ne.gov> >; Rick W. Tast <RTast at lincoln.ne.gov <mailto:RTast at lincoln.ne.gov> >; bhayen at gmail.com <mailto:bhayen at gmail.com> 
Subject: RE: Animal Control Services

You don't often get email from markmurraycoleman at gmail.com <mailto:markmurraycoleman at gmail.com> . Learn why this is important <https://aka.ms/LearnAboutSenderIdentification>  

Hello Cheri,

Thank you for your response. Given that all prior communication regarding this incident had been conducted via email, I did not anticipate receiving a response from Mr. Tast by mail. Had it occurred to me that this was a possibility, I would have specifically requested the response be in an electronic format. Given that I am blind, paper based written communication is not accessible to me.

The response to my complaint from Mr. Tast is not satisfactory because it dances around the factual question of whether a blind member of the community was in fact denied services he otherwise would have received on account of his blindness. At no point in Mr. Tast’s response was this fundamental factual question even addressed.  

Mr. Tast discussed the procedures followed by Animal Control and issues  of who ultimately bears responsibility for wildlife removal. But the response does acknowledge that “In some instances, if wildlife is within private property and there are available personnel, Animal Control may assist in removal.”  This is consistent with Brent Hayen’s report that when he contacted Animal Control, they initially gave the impression that they would be able to assist only to withdraw the assistance specifically because of Mr. Hayen’s blindness. This account was not disputed by Mr. Tast even though I was told that phone records would be available for reviewing the call. Certainly, if the  phone recording indicated that Mr. Hayen’s account was inaccurate, this  information would likely have been included in Mr. Tast’s response. The evidence, even in light of Mr. Tast’s response, indicates that Mr. Hayen was inf fact discriminated against on account of his blindness. 

Mr. Tast states “However, Animal Control cannot do so unless the individual has eyes on the wildlife the entire time”, which further demonstrates the fact that Animal Control in fact does have a  policy of discrimination against the blind. It is regrettable that Mr. Tast chose the word “cannot”, because no evidence is given that Animal Control lacked the ability to assist in this instance. Animal Control appeared to have made the decision not to assist Mr. Hayen not according to what abilities or resources were available to them at the moment, but rather to a preordained procedure that by its very nature automatically discriminates against blind Lincoln residents.  

Mr. Tast writes “This applies equally to all individuals, regardless of ability. If a sighted person loses track of wildlife in a private residence before an Animal Control Officer arrives, and there is not otherwise an emergency, that officer could not conduct a full search of the residence for the wildlife.” By indicating the same policy applies to sighted people, Mr. Tast seems to be implying that this somehow precludes the possibility of discrimination. There is no explanation about why sight has to be the mechanism for tracking a  bat. Obviously, Mr. Hayen was able to identify the presence and location of the bat using nonvisual means. By requiring the information regarding the presence and location of wildlife be based only on vision, the policy is de facto discriminatory and is based on the same disproven tropes that blind people face every day regarding the inherent incompetence and ignorance of those who utilize nonvisual methods for scanning and evaluating their environment.

What makes this practice even more pernicious is the fact that blind residents are actually being held to a higher standard than the sighted. Mr. Tast claims that Animal Control will only help if the individual “has eyes on the wildlife the entire time” and

“if a sighted person loses track of wildlife in a private residence before an Animal Control Officer arrives, and there is not otherwise an emergency, that officer could not conduct a full search of the residence for the wildlife.” Let’s examine these claims from a standpoint of common sense. Wildlife in a  person’s home will seldom stay in one place to ensure the homeowner can keep an eye them the entire time. A bat will dart around corners and between rooms. A rodent may dash under furniture and not be in direct line of sight the entire time. A resident would have to be extremely lucky to have the wildlife situated as to remain visible to the homeowner when the homeowner has to open the door for Animal Control. The advantage the nonblind resident has over the resident is the ability to give a different type of approximate truth when they claim to have been able to keep an eye on the wildlife even if the wildlife darts in and out of the person’s line of sight. By contrast, if a blind person were to track a wildlife equally as well nonvisually, but made the truth-adjacent claim that they had kept an eye on the wildlife the entire time, they would obviously not be taken seriously by Animal Control or receive equal assistance even if their ability to track the animal were every bit as effective.  

The fact that the policy is discriminatory against the blind is self evident. For those with an understanding of the capabilities of the blind, the various harmful forms of discrimination faced regularly by blind residents, and the mental gymnastics a thinking person would have to perform to believe that most sighted people who do receive such assistance from Animal Control actually manage to keep their eyes on the wildlife the entire time, it is extremely difficult to imagine a cogent argument to justify this discrimination.      

If you have any advice on how to  proceed on this matter, please let me know.

Thank you,

Mark Coleman

National Federation of the Blind of Nebraska Lincoln Chapter First Vicce President    

From: Cheri L. Howard <CLHoward at lincoln.ne.gov <mailto:CLHoward at lincoln.ne.gov> > 
Sent: Thursday, April 9, 2026 2:35 PM
To: Mark Coleman <markmurraycoleman at gmail.com <mailto:markmurraycoleman at gmail.com> >
Subject: RE: Animal Control Services

Greetings Mark, 

I was provided a copy of the attached letter from City Attorney Rick Tast, which was originally sent via US Mail on January 19, 2026. 

Hoping this additional information is helpful.  Thank you for reaching back out as we do strive to respond to all queries. 

If there were any follow up questions, Rick is most familiar with the situation and Heath Department policies and protocols. 

Warmest regards,

Cheri

402-441-7511

From: Mark Coleman <markmurraycoleman at gmail.com <mailto:markmurraycoleman at gmail.com> > 
Sent: Monday, April 6, 2026 4:23 PM
To: Cheri L. Howard <CLHoward at lincoln.ne.gov <mailto:CLHoward at lincoln.ne.gov> >
Subject: Re: Animal Control Services

Thank you, Cheri. I look forward to hearing back.

Sent from my iPhone

On Apr 4, 2026, at 3:38 PM, Cheri L. Howard <CLHoward at lincoln.ne.gov <mailto:CLHoward at lincoln.ne.gov> > wrote:

Greetings Mark,

Thank you so much for your patience and for the prompt. 

I’ll be glad to follow up on this Monday.  Hope you’re having a good weekend. 

Cheri 

Cheri Howard
Mayor’s Office Manager 
City of Lincoln
Office: 402-441-7511

From: markmurraycoleman at gmail.com <mailto:markmurraycoleman at gmail.com>  <markmurraycoleman at gmail.com <mailto:markmurraycoleman at gmail.com> > 
Sent: Saturday, April 4, 2026 11:21 AM
To: Rick W. Tast <RTast at lincoln.ne.gov <mailto:RTast at lincoln.ne.gov> >
Cc: Denise S. Bollwitt <dbollwitt at lincoln.ne.gov <mailto:dbollwitt at lincoln.ne.gov> >; Mayor <mayor at lincoln.ne.gov <mailto:mayor at lincoln.ne.gov> >; Lincoln Commission on Human Rights <LCHR at lincoln.ne.gov <mailto:LCHR at lincoln.ne.gov> >; Kerry L. Kernen <KKernen at lincoln.ne.gov <mailto:KKernen at lincoln.ne.gov> >
Subject: RE: Animal Control Services

Hello,

I have made several attempts to address the issue that a blind member of the Nebraska Federation of the Blind was reportedly denied services from Animal Control on account of his blindness. I have been ensured each tie that I have reached out that the issue was being looked into and that I would be receiving an answer to my inquiry. However, six months have now passed since the original inquiry was made and I have not received an answer other than the cookie cutter refrain that the situation is being reviewed and that I would be receiving a  response. Has a review been completed? If so, when can I expect the “appropriate response: I was promised.

From: Rick W. Tast <RTast at lincoln.ne.gov <mailto:RTast at lincoln.ne.gov> > 
Sent: Thursday, December 11, 2025 2:00 PM
To: markmurraycoleman at gmail.com <mailto:markmurraycoleman at gmail.com> 
Cc: Denise S. Bollwitt <dbollwitt at lincoln.ne.gov <mailto:dbollwitt at lincoln.ne.gov> >
Subject: Animal Control Services

Mr. Coleman,

The City is currently in the process of reviewing all the circumstances of the event you are seeking information on. When we have completed this review we will send you an appropriate response.  Thank you in advance for your patience.

Rick Tast

Rick Tast, JD | BSN | RN
Asst. City Attorney

City of Lincoln | Office of the City Attorney 
O: 402-441-7281

555 S 10th St | Suite 300
Lincoln, NE 68508 
 <https://lincoln.ne.gov/Attorney> lincoln.ne.gov/Attorney

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