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Почетна / Категории / Етикети APTA - American Public Transit Association + jail 25
- ADAPT (448)
Reno Gazette-Journal 5-2-89 Nevada [Headline] Handicapped protest expenses: $116,000 Last month's disturbances by handicapped activists at John Ascuaga’s Nugget and other locations in Sparks cost taxpayers at least $116,000, according to preliminary figures reported Monday. The estimates are from the Sparks Police Department, the Washoe County Sheriff's Office and Sparks - Municipal Court. About 75 members of the American Disabled for Accessible Public Transportation demonstrated outside the Nugget, where the American Public Transit Association was holding its Western regional meeting. The members of the Denver, Colo.-based group picketed to support their demands for more wheelchair ramps on public transportation. There were 72 arrest during nearly a week of protests. About half that number went to jail. Sparks police estimated their expenses in controlling the group at $79,275. The sheriff's Department, which runs the consolidated city-county jail, placed its costs at $34,164. Municipal Court Judge Donald Gladstone expects his costs will run about $3,000. Sparks City Manager Pat Thompson says the expenses can be paid out of contingency funds. - ADAPT (421)
[This article continues in ADAPT 422 but the entire text of the article is included here for easier reading.] Title: MUC police arrest 20 on Day 2 of protests by wheelchair activists By: Susan Semenak, of The Gazette 10/4/88 Large contingents of Montreal Urban Community police were mobilized yesterday for the second day in a row to deal with wheelchair protesters who were demonstrating for better public transit facilities for handicapped people. Twenty protesters were arrested, 10 in a demonstration atop Mount Royal and 10 who chained themselves to the doors of the under-parking garage at Place Ville Marie, across the street from the Queen Elizabeth Hotel, where the American Public Transit Association — the protesters' target — is holding its convention. Most of the demonstrators were members of ADAPT — American Disabled for Accessible Public Transit. In the demonstration on the mountain, 35 protesters tied up 100 specially trained police for about four hours yesterday afternoon. [Subheading] Refusing to clear road Ten were arrested after refusing to clear the road leading to the Mount Royal chalet, where the transit association had organized a lunch. After pleading guilty in municipal court last night to charges of mischief and obstructing police, five demonstrators paid fines of $50 while five others refused, to pay and were sent to jail for three days. A mother and her 12-year-old daughter were released after the Place Ville Marie protest. The eight other activist pleaded guilty to charges of mischief and obstructing police. All eight chose to go to jail for three days rather than pay $50 fines. [Subheading] Placed on probation All those who pleaded guilty yesterday were placed on probation until the convention ends Thursday. Judge Louis Jacques Leger barred them from the island of Montreal and from demonstrating and banned them from the mountain and from a wide downtown area around the Queen Elizabeth Hotel. Police said last night that of the 48 activists arrested yesterday and Sunday, only one was a Quebecer. Protest organizer Rev. Wade Blank of Colorado told Leger. "I am personally grieved and saddened that this court has chosen to punish people who have already been greatly punished by society." Const. Normand Tremblay said the Montreal Urban Community police were out in full force yesterday to prevent the wheelchair protesters from repeating the disturbance they had caused Sunday, when they chained themselves to railings at the Sheraton Centre hotel and blocked traffic on Dorchester Blvd. for nearly two hours. Twenty-eight of the handicapped activists were arrested Sunday. After pleading guilty to mischief charges, five paid $25 fines and were released, while 23 others opted to serve three-day jail terms at Bordeaux and Tanguay jails. "We are joining our friends in jail and it's worth it," said Lillibeth Novaro, one of those arrested on the mountain yesterday, as a policeman wheeled her to a school bus hired to take the protesters to police headquarters and municipal court. "There are millions of people in wheelchairs who need to take the bus to go to work and be equal members of society," she said. Novaro ended up paying her $50 fine and didn't go to jail. 'We want equal access' "We pay taxes like everybody else and we want equal access to mass transit," said Molly Blank, who drove four days from Colorado with her husband and 18-year-old handicapped daughter to join the protest. Police blocked roads leading to the chalet and the lookout atop the mountain with barricades and patrol cars to prevent the protesters from confronting the luncheon guests. The police force's tactical squad had been tracking the demonstrators' movements since morning. Urgences Sante doctors were on hand to verify that none of the protesters had been injured during the arrests. "We know these people are here to cause problems and we are here to prevent that," Tremblay told reporters as a helicopter the MUC had rented for the day from provincial police hovered overhead. "We are allowing them to protest and express themselves, but we cannot allow them to make trouble. And we want to take all the necessary precautions to ensure that nobody is injured”. The special police team assembled to deal with the protesters took a day-long course last week to learn how to "handle" the handicapped — from identifying disabilities and deactivating wheelchairs to carrying the disabled without injuring them. Tremblay said police consulted their counterparts in six U.S. cities where the group has staged previous demonstrations. Phyllis Young, a transit official from Duluth, Minn., who attended the luncheon on Mount Royal, said the wheelchair protesters have been turning up at public transit conventions for the past five years. "This is nothing. In San Francisco they chained themselves to trolleys and ran over one policeman in their wheelchairs and gave him a concussion," Young said. "Another year they all laid down on the street and blocked traffic for a whole day." Tremblay said police could not stop the protesters from coming to Montreal because they have no criminal record — the only laws they had broken are municipal bylaws. Instead, MUC police smiled and chatted as they wheeled the protesters away. But some had donned kneepads under their uniforms in case the protesters became aggressive. Maria Barila, a Montrealer arrested on the mountain, said officials at the Office des personnes handicapes du Quebec — the government agency that oversees services to the disabled — discouraged local disabled people from turning out at the demonstrations. "Some people were told they could lose their welfare cheques," said Barila. "Others were told that things could get violent." Francois Gagnon, also of Montreal, said specialized buses for the handicapped provided by the Montreal Urban Community Transit Corp. are "a joke." He said the disabled would prefer to ride the same buses and Metros as everyone else. “They call It door-to-door service, but sometimes it takes two hours for a disabled person to get from home to work in those mini-vans they provide," said Gagnon, winding his way up the mountain in his wheelchair. Meanwhile, Murielle Lariviere-Lebret, president of the Adapted Transport Users Association, said her group morally supports ADAPT protesters demanding accessible transport for all. But her group, which speaks on transit for 18 associations of the handicapped here, would not join demonstrations or urge members to do so. Instead, it prefers to concentrate on getting more and better minibuses and taxis to serve handicapped commuters in the MUC. Over the longer term, it favors adapting the regular bus and Metro service so it is accessible to the handicapped. [Subheading] Position denounced This position was denounced by Jean-Francois Gagnon, a member of the Quebec Association of Handicapped Consumers, who said the handicapped had to become more radical to get what they want from the MUC and Quebec. But MUCTC managing director Louise Roy said the transit corporation has no intention of adapting buses or Metro stations to accommodate the handicapped. "Our intention was never to make the Metro system completely accessible she said. "We are working on improving our adapted door-to-door service, and I think that's much more realistic." Adding wheelchair-lift platforms on regular buses would cost $15,000 per bus, which Roy said is too expensive. Instead, the MUCTC will spend $16,000 on improving adapted transit services next year. "Each year our ridership on adapted transit increases by 30 per cent. Last year we served 500,000 people," she said. Service is offered through adapted mini-buses and taxis. Riders pay the same price they would to ride a bus and the rest of the cost is absorbed by the MUCTC, Roy said. - ADAPT (423)
[Headline] "We Will Ride" [Subheading] Disabled Protesters Clash with Transit Authorities National Group Fights for Accessible Transit Disclosure Jan-Feb, 1989 [This article continues on ADAPT 420 but the entire text is included here for easier reading.] "These protests are the continuation of an ongoing assault," says Stephanie Thomas of American Disabled for Accessible Public Transit (ADAPT). In October, ADAPT disrupted the annual convention of the American Public Transit Authority (APTA) in Montreal with a series of protests. "We want all buses to be made accessible to disabled people," says Stephanie Thomas, who lives in Austin, Texas. "And we will continue these confrontations until that happens!" ADAPT is getting closer and closer to that goal. Last year, a task force created by APTA proposed lifts on all new buses. Nevertheless, at the Board of Directors' meeting in Montreal in October, APTA reaffirmed its current policy on transportation for disabled persons. In many cities, transportation for disabled persons means some kind of a pickup service. "It's a segregated system," says Stephanie Thomas, "and it never works out as well as it sounds. Riding public transportation is a civil right." For this civil right, ADAPT turns to civil disobedience. ADAPT has become such a force at APTA conventions that local police now prepare in advance for the group's demonstrations. In Montreal, police watched videos of ADAPT demonstrations in the U.S. and 100 police were put through a day-long training session on how to deal with the anticipated protests. But that didn't stop the ADAPT protesters, who continue to fight tenaciously for accessible transit. The four day series of actions in Montreal began on Sunday, October 1st. Despite a torrential downpour and near freezing temperatures, 120 members of ADAPT marched down Boulevard Rene Levesque to the Hotel Queen Elizabeth, APTA's 1988 convention site. ADAPT protesters were joined by representatives of their local counterpart — Le Mouvement des Consommateurs Handicapes de Quebec (MCHQ) or the Movement of Disabled Consumers of Quebec. ADAPT members swarmed across the road to enter the hotel, despite at least a one-to-one ratio of police to protesters. Even as a wall of police barricades was hastily erected, protesters climbed down from their chairs and crawled under the barriers. They were carried back by the police, but no arrests were made. That evening ADAPT took a more undercover approach. "No small feat for over 100 wheelchairs," commented Stephanie Thomas. Sneaking through back alleys and a back door, 15 people in wheelchairs were carried down a flight of stairs into one of the satellite hotels in which APTA members were staying. Meanwhile, two other `groups` converged on the front door using their wheelchairs to push aside makeshift barriers of luggage carts. Singing and chanting, ADAPT took over the lobby — blocking elevators, escalators, and stairs as APTA members looked on in shock, Finally, the police selectively arrested 28 of the demonstrators, including two who had chained themselves to the stairway. That night, a judge sentenced members of the group to a $50 fine, to be paid on the spot, or they would be faced with three days in jail, with a probation banning those arrested from entering downtown Montreal for six months. Twenty of the group refused to pay the fine and went to prison. Nevertheless, this put no damper on ADAPT's actions. Next hit: the APTA Spouses' Luncheon and Fashion Show, a favorite ADAPT target. The luncheon was held at a chalet atop Mount Royal on Mon-day, October 3. Ten more ADAPT members were arrested, as the APTA buses were stopped and the spouses were forced to walk past chanting demonstrators. On Monday night, October 3, 20 wheelchair users penetrated the Queen Elizabeth Hotel through an underground shopping area. 7 year old Jennifer Keelan, who uses a wheelchair, and her mother, were taken into custody and threatened with arrest, but were later let go. Meanwhile, in two Montreal prisons, the system was showing its inability to deal with severely disabled inmates. The ADAPT inmates were on a hunger strike. Officials decided that, due to good behavior, everyone would be out by Tuesday morning. ADAPT swung into the final phase of operation Tuesday morning. As requested by MCHQ, it was time to hit the local transit system — which is completely inaccessible to people with mobility impairments. Buses were stopped for an hour at a local bus transfer site, while a local woman crawled from her wheelchair aboard a bus and tried unsuccessfully to ride. "We are sorry for the inconvenience, but we are inconvenienced all our lives," said Wade Blank of ADAPT to the crowd. Blank is the founder of ADAPT. On Wednesday, October 5, ADAPT entered the Longueuil METRO subway station and once again tried to ride. The station had no ramps or elevators, and narrow turnstyles. 50 ADAPT members sang and chanted in the cavernous station — and cheered as 15 others crawled out of their wheelchairs, down the steps, and across the floor to the turnstyles where police blocked their passage. From the dirty platform floor, ADAPT held a press conference. We explained our simple desire to use the public transit that our taxes pay for," says Stephanie Thomas. "Lack of access is degrading for people with disabilities." The pressure on APTA is clearly mounting. APTA is now considering a resolution which strongly supports mainline transit access — ADAPT's demand from the start. In addition, Le Mouvement des Consommateurs Handicapes de Quebec has learned first hand the effectiveness of direct action techniques and has vowed to continue the pressure locally in Montreal. "In Quebec, now they are saying 'Nous serons transporte!', says Stephanie Thomas. "That means what we have been saying all along, and will continue to say: 'We will ride!" Photo by Tom Olin: On a Montreal street Mike Auberger pushing his knees through a police barricade as two officers try and hold him back. In the background another ADAPT person is also up against the barricades held by police. Caption: Mike Auberger of American Disabled for Accessible Public Transit (ADAPT) breaking through police barricade at the Queen Elizabeth Hotel where the American Public Transit Authority (APTA) was staying for its convention last October. - ADAPT (248)
Cincinnati Enquirer 5/28/86 Disabled protesters released on promise to leave city by David Wells, The Cincinnati Enquirer Leaders of last week's disabled rights protests of Cincinnati left jail four days early Tuesday after Municipal Judge J. Howard Sundermann agreed to reduce their sentences. Last Friday, Sundermann sentenced Robert Kafka of Austin, Texas, George Cooper of Dallas and Michael Auberger of Denver to spend 10 days in jail for disorderly conduct. The judge gave each man credit for two days already served, but said they would have to remain incarcerated until this Friday. He modified those sentences Tuesday, saying the medical condition of at least one man seemed to be deteriorating and all three promised to leave Cincinnati if released. The men are members of American Disabled for Accessible Public Transportation (ADAPT). They came to Cincinnati last week to demonstrate against the American Public Transit Association, which was holding a convention at the Westin Hotel. The group also demonstrated against Queen City Metro in an effort to get the company to include wheelchair lifts on all new buses. The rest of 17 protesters arrested last Wednesday with Auberger, Kafka and Cooper were released by Friday, but Sundermann said the three leaders deserved more severe sentences than the others because they disobeyed an earlier court order. The three first were arrested for disorderly conduct May 18 during a demonstration against Queen City Metro at Government Square. They were released on bond and told to stay out of Cincinnati until their trials. Sundermann modified that order last Wednesday morning, saying the men could rejoin the ongoing protests as long as they did not break any laws. Within three hours, Kafka, Auberger and Cooper were rearrested, accused of blocking the Fourth Street entrance to Metro headquarters by chaining their wheelchairs together. “They apologized for that this morning," Sundermann said. “They said they just got caught up in the spirit of the protest.” Sundermann agreed to reduce the sentences on a motion from defense attorney Joni Wilkens, who noted that Auberger had been taken to University Hospital Sunday because of a recurrent medical problem related to his disability. Assistant City Prosecutor Charles Rubenstein did not object to the reduction of the sentences. All three men are confined to wheelchairs, and Wilkens said she was afraid continued time in jail might impair their health. After leaving jail Tuesday, Kafka said the three “felt we had made our point and raised awareness (of) the problems of the disabled." - ADAPT (239)
THE CINCINNATI ENQUIRER THURSDAY, MAY 22, 1986 section B PHOTO by the Cincinnati Enquirer's Michael E. Keating: From inside a van you see a man with long braids, a headband and a trimmed beard (Mike Auberger) sitting in a motorized wheelchair. He is wearing an ADAPT "no steps" logo shirt with a band across his chest. His expression is calm, almost removed from the situation. On either side and behind him police officers stand as a lift raises him up to van level. Through the window of the front door you can see a crowd standing by. Caption reads: Michael Auberger, Denver, Colo., is loaded into a police van Wednesday after being arrested for trespassing at Queen City Metro headquarters, where handicapped activists are protesting the lack of access to city buses. [Headline] Disabled protesters won’t post bail BY DAVID WELLS The Cincinnati Enquirer Eleven disabled men remain in the Hamilton County Justice Center Wednesday, unwilling to post bonds set by the court after they were arrested downtown Wednesday, during a protest over lack of public transportation for the handicapped. Municipal Judge David Albanese ordered five other protesters released against their will, saying their medical conditions could not be adequately treated in the jail. All 16 protesters pleaded not guilty. "This is the first time in the history of our movement that the disabled haw been locked up in jail overnight for making their protests,” said the Rev. Wade Blank, a founder of ADAPT (American Disabled for Accessible Public Transportation), to which all the protesters belong. The protesters plan to stay in jail because "bonds just play the game they want us to play," said William Bolte, one of those arrested. "We aren't just going to pay a bond and go away." The ADAPT members came to Cincinnati this week from all over the United States to demonstrate before a convention of the American Public Transit Association being held at the Westin Hotel. ADAPT wants the transit association to pass a resolution in support of full accessibility to public ...[the rest is missing.] Boxed Text: Rights violations charged By Tony Puch, The Cincinnati Enquirer The Cincinnati Human Relations Commission is considering an investigation into allegations against Westin Hotel of violating the civil rights of some handicapped citizens. Robert Harris, the commission's community representative for the disabled, said he had received four "solid" complaints and four to six possible complaints about the Westin's policies toward the handicapped while the ... (Pease see WESTIN, back page, this section) [We are missing second part of this story] - ADAPT (443)
Two different articles included here Wednesday, April 12, 1989 Las Vegas Review Journal p7B [Headline] Handicapped protesters refuse food in Sparks Associated Press: SPARKS — Handicapped demonstrators who have been jailed as a result of their picketing outside a gathering of public transportation officials are now refusing to eat, Washoe County Sheriff Vince Swinney said Tuesday. Swinney said 30 people serving three-day sentences are only drinking water but won't take any meals. About 75 members of a national group calling itself The American Disabled for Accessible Public Transit have been demonstrating outside the Sparks Nugget, where the American Public Transit Association is holding its regional meeting. The protesters contend the transit association is not doing enough to make it easier for people in wheelchairs to gain access to public transportation. Swinney said he realizes the handicapped face a number of barriers, but called the demands the demonstrators are putting on the sheriffs office, on police and on the courts an “inappropriate use of the criminal justice system to educate the public to what is a public problem." He said he doesn't know how much the overtime and extra staffing is going to cost Sparks and the county. Swinney and the jail were to have been the target of a Tuesday news conference called by protest organizer Mike Auberger of Denver, who earlier said the jailed demonstrators had not received proper medical treatment. But Auberger said most of the problems at the jail were worked out in a two-hour conference with officials. Swinney said the jail has brought in an extra doctor with expertise in helping handicapped patients and has called for additional nurses who can work with the handicapped. Meanwhile, Swinney said the inmates' hunger strike is causing him concern over one of the prisoners, a woman with a history of seizures brought on by a chemical imbalance when she doesn't eat. The sheriff said most of the protesters are serving their three days in regular cells or the infirmary because the jail has only two cells for the handicapped. Forty-nine people were arrested Sunday and while most were not fined or jailed, they were told not to get arrested again. Those who were among the 25 arrested on Monday received sentences and fines of $265 to $315 in exchange for their guilty pleas. end of article 1 Reno Gazette-Journal Thursday, April 13, 1989 [Headline] Most handicapped protesters decide to remain in jail By Susan Voyles/Gazette-Journal Sparks Municipal Judge Don Gladstone late Wednesday offered to release 30 jailed handicapped protesters if they pay $100 of their fins and promise to pay the rest later. Two accepted the offer, but Mike Auberger, leader of the American Disabled for Accessible Public Transit (ADAPT), said he doubts many other members of his group will. The prisoners are entering their third day of a hunger strike in the Washoe County jail today in protest of sentences by Gladstone they claim are too harsh. The 30 protesters were arrested in demonstrations held on Sunday and Monday against the American Public Transit Association, which ended its western regional meeting at John Ascuaga‘s Nugget on Wednesday. ADAPT is picketing the transit group because many of its members operate public bus systems that do not have lifts for wheelchairs. Of the 30, 27 pleaded guilty or no contest to charges of obstructing sidewalks and fire entrances. Most of them were sentenced to three days in jail, which would end today or tomorrow, and given $580 in fines. Gladstone said he will allow them to pay $100 in fines each if they promise to pay the rest later in installments or do community service work in their home towns. Auberger said his group has only $500 to pay the $3,200 in fines needed to release the group. Those arrested would have to sit in jail for another 23 days in order to pay off their fines, which are reduced at a rate of $25 a day. "But I wouldn't be surprised if they say they'll serve the days rather than give them any money," Auberger said. Auberger and others said Sparks is the only city where the handicapped demonstrators have been jailed for such offenses as obstructing sidewalks. Pat Gilbert, a Reno attorney, was to meet with the 30 protesters Wednesday night to see what they want to do. Gladstone was prepared to hold hearings in the jail to begin releasing them. Two people already have been released for medical reasons after receiving treatment at local hospitals, and one woman, still in jail, is having up to 80 seizures a day, Auberger said. Washoe County Sheriff Vince Swinney declined to comment on the condition of the prisoners Wednesday, saying it only provides more fuel for the media to publicize their plight. However, several officers said the jail now has two doctors and ll nurses on duty, two more than were on Tuesday and nine more than the number of nurses usually assigned to the jail. In an initial court hearing, Gladstone lectured the demonstrators, saying their mass arrests have “tarnished” their cause. “I think you need new leadership" he said. After the hearing Wednesday, Auberger and a band of about 20 demonstrators peacefully protested in front of the Nugget, making a final stand against the transit association. Auberger said most of those who aren't in jail will be leaving town today, although a few will stay to help those in jail. Sparks police say it will take at least a week and half to determine the overtime and other expenses incurred because of the demonstrators. Jerry Peltier, a transit association board member from Richland, Wash., said the protest had no impact on the 500 member group. Parley Johnson, spokesman for the Nugget, said the demonstration cost the Nugget extra money for security guards. He also said business at the Nugget slowed the last few days. - ADAPT (243)
May 22, 1986 - Cheyenne Wyoming State Tribune—27 [Headline] Handicapped Protesters Arrested CINCINNATI (UPI) — A group of handicapped protesters charged with disorderly conduct and criminal trespass refused to post bond and spent the night in the Hamilton County Justice Center. The demonstrators, protesting the lack of access to public transportation for the disabled, were arrested Wednesday for blocking entrances to the Westin Hotel and the building housing offices of the city's bus system. The Westin was singled out because the American Public Transportation Association was holding a regional conference there this week. Barricades had been erected to keep the protesters from entering the hotel. Several of those arrested were released on unsecured appearance bonds for medical reasons. The first defendant's trial was scheduled for next Wednesday. “If the Cincinnati transit system, police and judicial system deny access to disabled people, why can't the disabled block the access to the system,” said Michael Auberger of Denver before his arrest. “We just want to be treated like everyone else.” Auberger was among those who spent the night in jail. About 40 wheelchair-bound members of American Disabled for Accessible Public Transportation, based in Denver, participated in the demonstration. Fourteen were arrested and charged with disorderly conduct. Robert Kafka of Austin, Texas, George Cooper of Dallas and Auberger, all of whom had been arrested earlier in the week, were charged with criminal trespassing for blocking the entrance to the building where Queen City Metro's offices are located. The three men, confined to wheelchairs, had been arrested Monday for refusing to get off a bus they had paid to board. A Hamilton County Judge had ordered them to leave Cincinnati until their trial, but another judge rescinded the order Wednesday morning. Auberger, Cooper and Kafka attempted to speak to Queen City officials but were not permitted to enter their offices. When they returned to the ground floor, they chained their wheelchairs together to block the entrance. One worker was forced to use an alternative route to return to her office. "We asked one lady to wait a few minutes," Auberger said. “The disabled are told to wait a lifetime.” The Rev. Wade Blank, director of ADAPT, said some staff members would remain in Cincinnati and that local clergy would be asked to monitor and support those arrested. - ADAPT (216)
[Headline] Protest by disabled clogs downtown L.B. PRESS-TELEGRAM (AM/PM)/THURSDAY, Oct. 10, 1985, p. A10 FROM/A1 batch of arrests in the 200 block of Pine. At that point, protest leader Rev. Wade Blank, of Denver, told police there would be no further disruptions. Blank thanked the police for the way the department had handled the demonstration and said the remaining protesters were tired and hungry. During the afternoon, police Lt. Norm Benson conferred at length with protest leaders, pointing out that, despite whatever police sympathies there might be for the cause, the event took patrolmen off their rounds and posed an impediment to emergency vehicles. Benson even made a call to the Bonaventure Hotel in downtown Los Angeles, where the American Public Transit Association is holding a convention, in an attempt to reach Laurence Jackson, general manager and president of Long Beach Transit and new president of the APTA, to urge him to speak by phone with an ADAPT spokesperson. Guy Heston, the bus company’s director of marketing, interviewed at the scene of the bus tie-ups, said the request to talk with Jackson was untenable because "they came unannounced, and, as you know, he has commitments at the convention." An ADAPT spokesman, Jim Parker of El Paso, told a reporter as he was being steered toward a Dial-a-Lift van for the trip to the Long Beach jail, "This is probably going to be the largest mass arrest of disabled people in the history of this country." He stressed that the targets of Wednesday's demonstration and one Monday in the office of Rep. Glenn Anderson, D-Long Beach, were the APTA, which closes its four-day convention today in Los Angeles, and Anderson, as chairman of the House subcommittee on surface transportation. "One very important thing for the people of Long Beach, Los Angeles County and California to understand," Parker said, "is that this is not aimed at them, because California and cities like Long Beach and Los Angeles are really models for the country to look at. "Most of the buses have lifts on them, and all new buses purchased will have lifts. "I guess, for the first time, disabled people have come to the city where the president of APTA resides . . . to help pull the federal government back into the issue again, along with APTA." ADAPT asserts that it was a legal action by APTA, followed by an administrative order in early months of the first Reagan administration, that killed a law mandating phased in accessibility for the disabled to public transit across the country. The order left the decision up to local option. Jackson could not be reached for comment Wednesday, but Long Beach Transit Assistant General Manager Patrick Butters said that nine of 18 fixed routes in Long Beach are wheelchair accessible, while 85 percent of all the company's public buses in the city are equipped with wheelchair lifts. "On an ongoing basis we’ve been increasing that" percentage, said Butters. A committee on the handicapped advises Long Beach Transit on which bus routes to offer lift service on, said Butters. "We’ve tried to hit the routes that are most heavily traveled," he said. An average of 12 to 14 persons a day who are confined to wheelchairs ride on fixed Long Beach Transit routes, said Butters. In addition to regular bus service, Dial-a-Lift service is available in Long Beach, Lakewood and Signal Hill, he added. At the height of the protest, Frank Lozano and Martin Walton took a stand in front of an RTD bus that had eight Long Beach Transit buses backed up behind it at Pine and Broadway. The passengers of those idled buses, workers and schoolchildren heading for home, were not happy with the delay. "Hey, I just want to go home; take a shower, eat some supper and watch the ball game," said one man. But Lozano, who is blind, and Walton, confined to a wheelchair, held their ground. "No, it doesn't surprise me,” Lozano said of the anger from the riders. "I realize that there are many people who are unaware of the issues." California is one of two states – Michigan is the other — that mandate that all new public transit buses be equipped with wheelchair lifts. The demonstrators said they were aware of this but believe that Jackson and APTA can pressure the other 48 states into enacting similar legislation. Press-Telegram staff writer Don Currie contributed to this article. Photo located on top middle of the page. Woman in an electric wheelchair wearing ADAPT stickers raises her hand in a power fist and yells. Meanwhile two informed officers load her onto a lift equipped paratransit van. The driver of the van stands in the doorway waiting. A person in a wheelchair watches from the side. Photo credit: Michael Rondou/Press-Telegram Caption: Protester is lifted onto a Dial-a-Lift van, which has the access she wants on buses, after her arrest on Long Beach Boulevard. - ADAPT (449)
The Daily Sparks Tribune Tuesday April 11, 1989 Photo 1 by Ken Johnston: Man (Bill Bolte) in a wheelchair, wearing glasses, bent forward, almost lying in his lap. He is holding up a sign that is only partially readable, "Give me a lift -- Not [the shaft]." Photo 2: A policeman in a cap and mirror sunglasses pushes a woman in a motorized wheelchair (Kim Horton) away from a glassy doorway. Kim is wearing the black ADAPT shirt with the access logo. Caption reads: Proving a point——-Bill Bolte of Los Angeles (above photo 1) got his message across Monday at John Ascuaga’s Nugget during the second day of protests aimed at the American Public Transit Association. Bolte said he will be out protesting again today. Kimberly Horton (below, photo 2) gets taken away after her arrest by Sparks police for blocking the entrance to the Sparks casino. The ADAPT handicapped rights group vows to continue picketing until the transit association's convention ends Wednesday. [Headline] 25 arrested on second day of demonstrations [Subheading] Protesters straining nerves, budgets By Faith Bremner Tribune Staff The handicapped protests in downtown Sparks are costing local residents time and money. Time in the sense that police officers who would otherwise be helping local citizens are spending their time keeping the peace on B Street. Money in the sense that the police and the court are working overtime just to keep up with the 100 or so demonstrators who are protesting the American Public Transportation Association's (APTA) convention at the Nugget this week. “ While (the Sparks Police) are out there handling these individuals and if you call 911, the response times change dramatically," Sparks Municipal Court Judge Andy Cray said. The demonstrators come from all over the country and are members of the Denver, Colo. based American Disabled for Accessible Public Transportation (ADAPT). They are demonstrating against APTA because that organization opposes the federal government forcing public transit authorities to install wheelchair lifts on all buses purchased with federal funds. APTA represents public transit authorities around the United States and Canada. In two days of protests, Sparks Police have arrested 72 demonstrators, mostly on charges of blocking fire access to the Nugget, obstructing police officers and assault and battery, Cray said. Most of those arrested Sunday, the first day of the protest, were given warnings and had their fines suspended, Cray said. Those who were rearrested Monday were given three day jail terms and fines ranging from $200 to $500, he said. The arrested were brought into court directly from B Street and checked out by two nurses, then arraigned and transported to jail via a special lift-equipped van, Cray said. The two judges worked until midnight both nights, Cray said, just to handle the crowd. Likewise the sheriff and the police department are working their crews overtime. The Sparks Police have canceled all days off and vacations and during the demonstrations called in all available officers Lt. Tony Zamboni said. "Everybody's tired and we've put in some long hours but morale is still relatively high," Zamboni said. Likewise, the Nugget is working its security guards overtime, spokesman Parley Johnson said. “I think it's hurting us a little bit but you have to feel sorry for these people,"Johnson said. “It's a tough situation. There but for the grace of God go I.” It has been business as usual at the Nugget, Johnson said, and few customers have been inconvenienced. “Most of our customers didn't realize what was going on," Johnson said. Meanwhile, ADAPT co-founder Mike Auberger complained that the Washoe County Consolidated Jail is unprepared to house the handicapped prisoners. As of this morning about 30 protesters were still in jail, Auberger said. Auberger, a quadriplegic, was arrested Sunday and posted bail and was released late Monday night. "There were only three people handling 30 people's medical needs and helping them to transfer from their chairs to the beds or the bathroom, the litany of what it takes for a disabled person to survive," Auberger said. “Most of the nurses and staff at the jail clearly had never dealt with disabled people. They had no idea what you were asking for." But Sheriff Vince Swinney denied that the jail is unprepared to handle the handicapped. “Somebody should realize this is what these people want to do," Swinney said of the group that has staged numerous similar demonstrations around the country. “If they were treated like royalty, they wouldn't be happy. And the media is playing it up 100 percent. I really think that we who have been here and will continue to be here deserve some credibility.“ - ADAPT (329)
The Phoenix Gazette, Saturday, April 4, 1987 Picture top left by Rick Giase of The Phoenix Gazette: Two police barricades cover most of the view of a city street. Between them a motorcycle police officer sits on his cycle in front of a building. Caption: A Phoenix police officer watchers over barricades that were set up Friday at the Hyatt Regency. Title: Police prepare for wheelchair demonstration By Scott Luck and Scott Craven Phoenix police have set up a command post at the downtown Hyatt Regency to monitor actions of a group of wheelchair activists that plans to protest a convention this weekend. Although the American Public Transit Association convention is not scheduled to begin until Sunday, 20 officers Friday blockaded Monroe Street by the Hyatt. In addition to the officers, two police buses were at the scene, which police spokesman Ken Johnson said would be used, if needed, to take protesters to jail. The protesting group, American Disabled for Accessible Public Transit, plans to picket the convention to demand installation of wheelchair lifts in every bus and transit system that receives federal transportation funds. The group says efforts by the APTA to install equipment for the disabled have been unacceptable. The group has held similar protests in other cities across the country. Members have chained themselves to buses, obstructed bus routes, thrown themselves on to the steps of buses without lifts and generally raised havoc. The conference is scheduled to run until Wednesday. ADAPT organizer Michael Auberger said he is trying to draw 150 people together to participate in demonstrations throughout the week. “I can’t imagine why the police would be there today (Friday), especially in that location,” Auberger said. “I met with the police chief, and I didn’t tell him anything that would lead him to believe we were going to demonstrate today.” Johnson said police chief Ruben Ortega met with Auberger to help minimize any problems that might arise but said Auberger did not outline any plans for his groups protest. “We understand they (ADAPT) have a right to demonstrate just as anybody else would, but were going to make sure the demonstration is done lawfully and peacefully Johnson said.” Past ADAPT demonstrations have led to numerous arrests. “We would rather not make any arrests, but we will if we're forced to,” Johnson said. “This is something between them (ADAPT) and the transit people and we don’t want to be caught in the middle. We must, however, be prepared for the worst.” Picture to the left by Nancy Engebreston of The Phoenix Gazette: A quadriplegic man (Mike Auberger) in a motorized wheelchair sits with his arms hanging by his sides. His hair is pulled tightly back and he has a neat beard. He is wearing an ADAPT T-shirt that is partially obscured by a chest strap on his wheelchair. Caption reads: Wheelchair activist Michael Auberger. The end - ADAPT (444)
The Dally Sparks Tribune Monday, April 10, 1989 - Vol. 77, No. 236 © 1989 Sparks Tribune Co. 25 cents [Headline] Protesters, police clash at Nugget One demonstrator hurt; 7 in jail begin a hunger strike By Steve Timko - Tribune Staff Seven handicapped-rights advocates sent to the Washoe County jail Sunday night by Sparks Municipal Court Judge Don Gladstone are staging a hunger strike until they are free from jail. And one member of American Disabled for Accessible Public Transit (ADAPT) that protested at John Ascuaga's Nugget Sunday said her knee was broken when a Nugget security officer accidentally hit her leg with a door. Approximately 75 ADAPT members paraded down B Street and converged on the Nugget to protest the American Public Transit Association (APTA) meeting that is continuing through Sunday. The transit association opposes installation of wheelchair lifts on new public buses and the disabled group sought a meeting with its leaders inside the casino to discuss the issue. Nugget employees stood inside the casino doors, refusing to allow access to the ADAPT members. In response, the ADAPT members, most of them in wheelchairs, blocked the entrances to the hotel casino. Meeting organizers said they would meet at 1 p.m. today at Western Village Casino to consider what form of protest, if any, the group should stage today. "We‘ll definitely be taking an action, but we'll be discussing what we're going to do," organizer Stephanie Thomas said. Forty-nine people were arrested Sunday and seven were sent to jail. ADAPT leaders said this morning at the Washoe County jail that the seven being held were staging a hunger strike. Five of the seven pleaded not guilty to misdemeanor charges during their arraignment Sunday night in Sparks Municipal Court for refusing to give information that would allow them to be released on their own recognizance. They have trials set for next Monday. One was cited for contempt of court by Gladstone and sentenced to two days in jail and another was sent to jail until he pays his fine. ADAPT member Beverly Furnice, a cerebral palsy victim, said this morning she is finished protesting after her knee was broken Sunday. Furnice was in her wheelchair near the southeast door on the 11th Street side of the building when a security officer hit her leg, she said. She knew immediately it was broken, Furnice said. “It hurt. I hollered, ‘It hurt my leg. It hurt my leg,'" Furnice said. She went to Sparks Family Hospital where they bandaged her leg, she said. "l'm sorry to hear that," Nugget spokesman Parley Johnson said. “We made every possible effort to ensure the safety of all involved," Johnson said. “However, if we have someone trying to get in, ...and we're trying to get the doors closed, what can I say? The person (trying to get in) is contributing to the problem. "We could not allow the group to come in and disrupt our business and cause problems with our customers," the Nugget spokesman said. “And we have every right to do this." ADAPT protesters are staying at Western Village and took their protest down B Street to the Nugget about 3 p.m. Sparks police made some preliminary arrests and by 5 p.m. all of the ADAPT protesters had moved away from the casino doors. But then at 5:07 p.m.,a phalanx of about a dozen in wheelchairs charged down Nugget Avenue between interstate 80 and the Nugget parking lot and the doors were again barricaded. Just about every Nugget entrance seemed to be blocked at one point or another. ADAPT protester Harlan Hahn of Santa Monica,Calif., was talking to a reporter when Pam Fyock of San Luis Obispo, Calif., who is also confined to a wheelchair, scolded him and other protestors as she left the Nugget. “Just arrest them and haul their ass off," Fyock said of protesters. “They're inconveniencing all of us." After Fyock's comments, however, a transportation association member from Denver said he supported the protestors in their efforts to require more handicapped access to public transportation. “Based on my experience. we don't have problems providing access to the handicapped," said Kevin Sampson of the Denver Regional Transportation Department. “In Chicago, they have hardly any (handicapped access). In Denver, we have almost 600. What the hell is wrong with Chicago?" Sampson said. Hahn, a political science professor at the University of Southern California, compared the handicapped protests to the civil rights protests by the blacks in the 1950s and 1960s against being forced to sit in the back of the bus. "Sparks is the site of a civil rights struggle that began with the Montgomery Boycott," Hahn said. ADAPT protest organizer Stephanie Adams said the Sparks protest has been a little rougher than protests in other cities, citing Furnice's broken knee as one example. "They don't usually handcuff us" when they are arrested, Adams said. Protesters were also pushed and kicked as they tried to enter doors, she said. “Having people serve time for a first offense is not typical," she added. This was the seventh straight year the disabled group had staged a protest at a meeting of the transit group. PHOTO 1 (above) by Joanne Haskin: An African American protester [ET, Ernest Taylor] in a manual wheelchair is bent double on his lap, grimacing, as police officers on each side hold his arms behind his back. PHOTO 2 (right) by Joanne Haskin: A police officer holds a bull horn to his mouth, and a clip board in front of him. Behind him the scene is crowded with several other policemen's heads. All are wearing caps with the Sparks police star logo on the front, and the officer in front has the leaf insignia on the brim. Caption reads: Protest arrests — Sparks police handcuff an unidentified protester (above), one of 49 people arrested Sunday afternoon when members of a handicapped rights group attempted to block the entrances to John Ascuaga's Nugget. The group was protesting the policies of the a public transportation group holding a convention at the Nugget. More than two dozen Sparks police officers, aided by the Nugget's security staff, attempted to maintain order during the demonstration. - ADAPT (456)
PHOTO by Patrick Forden/Gazette Journal; The photo is looking up at Mike Auberger in a non-ADAPT T-shirt and jeans, with a short beard and mustache, hands on his hips. His chair is somewhat visible and his left leg elevated. He is sitting in the doorway of a fancy Casino with a Nugget Casino sign over the door. Caption reads: ORGANIZER: Mike Auberger of Denver says his cause is worth going to jail for. TITLE: Disabled group plans protest at transit meeting in Sparks By Susan Voyles/Gazette-Journal Up to 150 wheelchair-bound people are expected to protest outside John Ascuaga’s Nugget beginning Sunday, and Sparks police say they are ready. The protest is being staged by a national group called The American Disabled for Accessible Public Transit, and its target is the western regional meeting of the American Public Transit Association. As many as 700 people representing public bus systems, including many that don’t have buses with lifts to handle wheelchairs, are expected to attend. In protests at 16 other cities in recent years, disabled protesters have held marches, crawled onto or chained themselves to buses, and barricaded hotels where the public transit association held its meetings. “We try to make their conventions as inaccessible to them as they have made transportation to disabled people ” said protest organizer Mike Auberger of Denver. “They can’t just come and have fun." Auberger, 34, said he met earlier this week with representatives of Sparks police, the Washoe County Sheriff’s Department and Nugget security. He was handed a 32-page list of possible violations, including felonious assault, that his group could be charged with. “From what I heard, the police department’s tactic is going to be to intimidate,” Auberger said. “I wouldn’t be surprised to see the police on Sunday in riot gear.” Auberger, who arrived in town Monday to prepare for the protests, said he expects about 150 handicapped people from around the country to show up. Auberger said he met with members of the Sparks and Reno police, the Washoe County Sheriff’s Department and court marshals Tuesday. “It’s definitely threatening but I think the people coming in here are well aware of what could happen to them,” Auberger said. Already Auberger has had a confrontation, albeit a friendly one, with Nugget security and Sparks police. Monday when Auberger was casing the outside of the Nugget, with video camera in hand, a security guard and a police officer approached him and knew him by name, he said. “It gave me a real feeling for how the police are going to respond and how the casino security will respond," Auberger said. “It was like the casino burped and the police said ‘Excuse me,’ and that’s not normal." Auberger said his group has yet to begin drawing up strategy on how it will carry out its demonstration. However, Auberger predicted his group won’t be happy with being confined to B Street. “(The location) is very visible to traffic on B Street but it won’t be visible to APTA members,” Auberger said. “The spot is perfect if your issue is with the public or if it's directed at the Nugget." Auberger said his group is not violent although it is confrontational. Zamboni showed the press a 10-minute video tape of an ADAPT demonstration held in San Francisco Sept. 28, 1987. The video tape showed demonstrators blocking a SAMTRANS bus and tying their wheelchairs to the vehicle's wheelspokes and sitting on the Powell Street cable-car tum-around. It also showed police handcuffing protestors to their wheelchairs and the protestors chanting "We want to ride,” and "We want access." - ADAPT (396)
St Louis Post Dispatch May 19, 1988 Title: Protesters Plead Guilty, Are Released By William C. Lhotka and Mark Schlinkman Of the Post-Dispatch Staff Thirty-seven disabled people arrested at wheelchair protests here this week entered guilty pleas Wednesday afternoon to charges of peace disturbance and then were released under an agreement worked out by lawyers. The court action came after members of the American Disabled for Accessible Public Transit (ADAPT) held a final protest rally outside Union Station, where an association of transit systems completed its five-day regional convention Wednesday. No new arrests were made at the 45-minute gathering, which involved about 90 people, most of them in wheelchairs. But about 2:15 a.m. Wednesday, two able-bodied men who police said were associated with ADAPT were arrested on assault charges after fighting with police on the parking lot of the Holiday Inn, 2211 Market Street. Police were called to the scene by hotel security guards who reported a disturbance. The incident had no connection with any protest or demonstration. Police said one of the officers had suffered a potentially serious eye injury. In an interview Wednesday afternoon, an ADAPT leader, the Rev. Wade Blank of Denver, denied that the two men were members of The organization. He said they were with a disabled woman from Lawrence, Kan., who had arrived in St. Louis early Wednesday. Blank said she apparently had come here to take part in the rally later in the day; he said he was unsure whether she had done so. Most of the members of ADAPT here have been staying at the Holiday Inn on Market. The protesters want the transit group, the American Public Transit Association, to push for the installation of mechanical wheelchair lifts on all buses in the United States. Association officials say that they support access for the disabled but that each local system should have the right to decide for itself how to provide such access. Protesters were arrested Sunday for blocking entrances and hallways at the Omni International Hotel at Union Station and on Tuesday for blocking buses entering and leaving the Greyhound Lines depot at 801 North Broadway. Under the agreement worked out by prosecutors and defense attorneys, Associate Circuit Judge Thomas C. Grady accepted the time the defendants served in jail after their arrests in lieu of any further sentence or fines. The judge also waived court costs. The agreement meant that the demonstrators were free to leave St. Louis. On the other hand, they have misdemeanor convictions on their records. Three of the 37 faced charges from both the Sunday and Tuesday protests. Arrested in the separate incident early Wednesday were Mike Knowlen, 22, of Lawrence, Kan.., and Dana Dower, 22, of Viburnum Mo. Police said Dower faced a felony charge of second-degree assault and misdemeanor charges of peace disturbance, resisting arrest and destruction of city property. Police said Knowlen faced misdemeanor charges of third-degree assault, peace disturbance, cruelty to an animal and interfering with an arrest. Police said the fight had erupted as police officers attempted to arrest Knowlen. Police said Knowlen had been slapping and swinging a dog by its tail on the lot and had been shouting profanities. In the scuffle, police said, Dower fell face forward onto the trunk lid of a police car. Police said Officer Barry Hinchey had been treated at Bethesda Eye Institute for an injured retina after he was struck on the face Hinchey also was treated, at St. Louis University Hospital, for a human bite wound. Officer Mark Chambers was also treated there for bruises. Bill Bryan of the Post-Dispatch staff contributed information for this article. - ADAPT (278)
Jim Naubacher disabled In Detroit [column] Drawing of a man's head Title: He’s got access -—— to anger Before the week even started, I was teed off. The American Public Transit Association was coming to Detrolt and so were American Disabled for Accessible Puplic Transit. APTA versus ADAPT. There was insensitivity to handicappers on the part of city officials; apathy and collaboration by local handicappers nervous about ADAPT's presence, and a general lack of commitment by anyone other than ADAPT to the principle of public transit for all, accessible buses for all. I wrote a column in mid-September outlining the approaching confrontation. lt had happened in other cities. ADAPT, an outgrowth of an independent living organization in Denver called Atlantis, had fought for and won a commitment from the City of Denver for total accessibility on its main buses. ADAPT wanted the American Public Transit Association, at its 1983 Denver national convention, to take a similar public stand. lt did not, and ADAPT promised to appear each time APTA convened and protest that decision. Then I turned the story over to others, since I knew I could not be impartial. They covered the story with words and pictures, but let me tell you about some of the strange, ironic, disappointing and disturbing things that took place beginning Oct. 3 in Detroit. SAD BUT perhaps not unexpected was the reaction of city officials. In many ways, the city acted like any other city would react. It had wooed and won the APTA and promised APTA officials a safe and peaceful convention in the face of expected ADAPT protests. APTA had faced challenges from ADAPT in Denver, Los Angeles, Washington, San Antonio and Cincinnati before the Detroit convention. City officials were pretty sure they knew what to expect. What would ADAPT do? They would "do" civil disobedience. They would block buses that were not lift-equipped for wheelchair users. Wheelchair users would try to crawl onto some of these inaccessible buses. But while putting the best face possible on a woefully inadequate mass transit system, the city put the worse possible face on its position toward a mass translt system that is accessible to all. Just before the APTA delegates arrived, Mayor Young announced that the City of Detroit was buying 100 new buses. He emphasized that the service-poor city would use its own money. Thls point was notable, since Young made no mention of the new buses' accessibility. Federal regulations require non-discrimination toward handicapped riders and require communities to develop a plan to make their systems accessible. Michigan law requires that each bus bought with the aid of state money must be lift-equipped. ln response to questions, city officlals said that perhaps as many as 20 - one of five — of the new buses would be lift-equipped. NOT COINCIDENTALLY, the City of Detroit had entered into an out-of-court settlement 14 months earlier in a federal lawsuit brought by four handicappers against the city on a variety of complaints of non-compliance with federal law regarding non-discriminatlon and accommodation of handicappers. in that settlement, the city had agreed to maintain the lifts on buses and to train drivers in their proper use. But little has been accomplished. Young's announcement that the city had bought at least 80 percent inaccessible buses underlined the city's position regarding access. it also reminded handicappers that the settlement had not committed the city to providing future accessible, well maintained buses. In the meantime. efforts were under way to neutralize ADAPT. The Detroit City Council denied the group a parade permit. ADAPT had contacted Rosa Parks, the Detroit woman whose refused to move to the back of a Montgomery, Ala., bus in 1955 gained national attention and sparked protests during a different civil rights struggle. Her representatives said she would not lead a parade, but would hold a news conference. She later said she might attend a press conference, but did not. CBS reporter Ed Bradley from "60 Minutes" delivered a keynote speech at the APTA convention Oct. 6. Bradley said he had investigated ADAPT found their complaints "didn't hold water." FORD MOTOR CO. allowed a [bus] full of APTA delegates to use its private property to gain access to a coctail party site that ADAPT members planned to barricade. The Southeastern Michigan Transportatlon Authorities (SEMTA), which has committed itself to total access of its bus systems by the end of decade, loaned the Detroit police an accessible van so they could [take] ADAPT protesters to jail. Frank Cl[-]one of the plaintiffs in the federal lawsuit against Detroit, provided sensitivity training to Detroit police officers who were expected to be arresting ADAPT wheelchair users. But the training only extended [so] far. Although there was no "arm twisting or head-beating," as a [police] representative described it, police were unable to appropriately house protesters and provide medical necessities, food and bedding to some who were arrested. On Oct. 7, Detroit Recorder's [County?] Judge George Crockett felt compelled to issue a writ of habeas corpus, freeing them because of these conditions.J As ADAPT members went home Oct. 8-9, I was still teed off. This will not be the end of the debate on transportation access in Detroit and across the country. - ADAPT (250)
Cincy orders protesters out A May bus protest in Cincinnati has been described “as the most effective, courageous and fun action ever accomplished in the movement for disabled rights," according to literature mailed out by the American Disabled for Accessible Public Transit (ADAPT). Some 85 members of ADAPT were in Cincinnati in mid-May to picket a regional convention of its arch-enemy, the American Public Transit Association (APTA) and to dramatize what a lack of accessible buses means to the disabled population of that Ohio city. The action began with the customary march on the convention hotel on Sunday, May 18. No arrests were made but marchers were greeted at the Westin Hotel by police and double barricades. None of the protestors was allowed into the hotel. Pointing out that other people were passed through the barricades, Bob Kafka of Austin, Texas, said the wheelchair protestors were being discriminated against. However, Cincinnati police captain Dale Menkhaus said that such actions, were proper when taken to protect private property from any group seeking to disrupt other lawful gatherings. The following day Kafka and fellow Texan George Cooper of Dallas dragged themselves onto a City Metro bus, paid their fares, and were arrested. They were reportedly told that “it’s not safe for disabled people to be on the regular bus.” The two were later released on $3,000 bond and ordered out of town, an action that ADAPT leaders described as blatantly unconstitutional. A third protestor, Mike Auberger of Denver, who is a former resident of Cincinnati, was arrested when he attempted to block the bus on which Cooper and Kafka were riding. Auberger said he originally left Cincinnati because of that city's “nineteenth century” attitude toward persons with disabilities. None of the Queen City Metro buses are accessible to the disabled, although 87 of the buses do have lifts which have been bolted down. Metro officials estimate it would cost them $350,000 to return those lifts to operational status. A local Cincinnati disabled activist said that's why she agrees with ADAPT’s goals, even if she can't go along with their methods. Dixie Harmon, co-chairperson of the Specialized Transportation Advisory Committee to Queen City Metro and a member of the Greater Cincinnati Coalition of Persons with Disabilities, said that the city’s service for disabled riders was inadequate. A disabled person must request space 24 hours in advance from Access, the paratransit system, but even then there's not always a space. “They dictate our lives to us because we have to go and come as there's space available.” ADAPT members said that's why they were willing to go to jail to publicize their cause. Police, however, made no arrests when 15 wheelchair protestors rolled onto a highway where vehicles were traveling at 40 miles per hour and blocked seven buses that were carrying APTA delegates and their spouses to a dinner at the Pro Football Hall of Fame in nearby Canton. Police were caught by surprise, as they had barricades to turn back protestors at the entrance to the Hall of Fame. Two local disabled leaders who were accompanying the APTA delegation to the dinner were taunted as “Uncle Toms” in front of TV cameras. Early the next day ADAPT members were back in front of the Weston Hotel where they erected a huge cross and hung a wheelchair from it in a mock crucifixion. On the final day of the convention, 17 protestors were arrested when they blocked the hotel driveway and refused police orders to move. Many of those arrested were ordered to jail unless they agreed to leave town. Three protestors, Auberger, Cooper and Kafka, decided the time had come for disabled protestors to do “hard time” and ended up serving 10 days. Five other protestors were turned out of jail because they had special medical problems or speech impairments. Others were released after pleading “no contest” to the charges in hastily organized trials. “Even the story we had left town and the protest was over made TV news," an ADAPT spokesperson said.