A Denver policeman in a marked car partially blocked a disability spot at the headquarters of the Colorado Cross-Disability Coalition last month, The Denver Post reports.
He blocked the access of a van driven by the legal director of the organisation, who is a wheelchair user. Legal director Kevin Williams said he wanted to draw attention to the incident because he routinely receives complaints about Denver police parking in disability spots.
The irony is this was at the CDC office. And who did they block? The guy who sues people for violating the Americans with Disabilities Act.” Denver police public information officer Doug Schepman said in a statement that the officer who parked the vehicle was responding to a call for a hold-up or panic alarm, and said the call is “one of the highest priority calls indicating a person’s life is potentially endangered.”
Police investigated the Feb. 24 parking incident after an earlier complaint and the involved officer will not face discipline, Schepman said. The vehicle was moved from the spot within minutes, the statement said. Josh Winkler, a board co-chair for the Colorado Cross-Disability Coalition, spotted the Denver police vehicle and snapped a photo in the Empire Park business plaza around 2:30 p.m. Feb. 24.
The image shows a Denver police SUV stopped partially in a clearly marked handicap spot and partially in the orange-striped area adjacent to the spot. The striped area is labeled with a sign that says, “Wheelchair Access Aisle / Absolutely No Parking.” The SUV was parked on the right side of Williams’ van, which is specially equipped so that Williams can drive it. The van has a wheelchair lift on the right side, and it was impossible for Williams to get into his vehicle while the police SUV was parked next to it, he said. “We don’t know how long it was parked there, but the law is also very clear,” Williams said. “Stopping, standing or parking in any space that has a sign specifically designating that you can’t park there is unlawful.”
The Colorado Cross-Disability Coalition is a statewide organisation that advocates for people with disabilities. It has hundreds of members, Williams said.
