The Cincinnati Post, Thursday, May 22,1986 IB

[Headline] Wheelchair protesters irk traffic reporter
By David Wecker
Post staff reporter

Traffic is John Phillips’ life. And when something disrupts traffic's normal ebb and flow, he gets steamed.

As WLW's airborne traffic reporter, Phillips didn't appreciate those handicapped activists who were downtown blocking Queen City Metro buses with their wheelchairs earlier this week. Hey, he figured, people were trying to get to work. And here were these protesters in wheelchairs holding up traffic.

By Wednesday, Phillips had taken about all he could take. He mentioned on the air that it would be a good idea to call in the fire department and hose down the protesters. A good cold blast would clear them out, by cracky.

It sounded a bit harsh, considering the protesters were simply seeking improvements in access to the city's public transit system. But Phillips, no softy here, wasn't making any apologies.

“If you have to be at work downtown," he said, and people interfere, “whether they're handicapped or not... I say hose them down. Water cannons work just fine in Europe."

Created on

Thursday 11 July 2013

Posted on

Wednesday 8 June 2016

Tags

blocking buses, disrupt traffic, water hose, work

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