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

[DeeAnne Hedrick]

that is sad that they had to do that....our rights need to strengthened somehow...just because we need to use service animals give the officials no reason to do such an act as what had been described below. If I think of anything to assist I will promptly let everyone know my idea for feedback.

DeeAnne Hedrick
 
> Date: Fri, 29 May 2009 13:24:48 -0400
> From: craig.borne at dot.gov
> To: nagdu at nfbnet.org
> Subject: [nagdu] Man's dog in a McDonald's results in Taser use
> 
> 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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