To Whom It May Concern, I'm writing regarding to contest citation SD825683 with a plea of not guilty. This citation was given under the false pretense that when my bike became trapped in the subway doors, I was willfully and recklessly engaging in disorderly conduct, when in fact, as an individual with a documented medical disability, the reality is that I was too sick to react adequately. On July 9th, I was traveling to a doctor’s appointment and using the Metro Red Line to go from Union Station to Hollywood & Highland. At that time, I was ill with a sinus infection but needed to visit my doctor for an important prescription. My principal mode of transportation is a combination of cycling and using public transit, and on this day I was also traveling with my bicycle. As I was attempting to board the subway car with my bicycle, the subway doors began to close and the front tire was stuck between the automatic doors. This has never happened to me before, so I was not sure how to react, and spent several seconds attempting to dislodge the tire (I was unable to easily open the door, and I had difficulty moving the bike forward or backward). Eventually, I was able to pull the bike backward and free the bike. The entire course of events happened quite quickly, and due to my illness and medical disability (HIV, chronic fatigue & pain, medical documentation copies attached), I simply could not react adequately. At this time, Officer Acero (the citing officer) was some distance from me (approximately two-three car lengths, I would roughly estimate about 500 feet). This is important because Officer Acero was physically too far from me to literally observe my actions. However, he saw me struggling yelled at me from a distance, but did nothing to assist me. Just to reiterate, my bike tire became accidentally stuck in the subway door, and Officer Acero did not offer help and only shouted at me from a great distance. Officer Acero did not approach me until after I had freed the bike from the subway doors. At this point he very aggressively and confrontationally yelled at me, “Why are you forcing your way on the train!” Given that he asked me a question, I reasonably and civilly attempted to explain that I was not attempting to force my way onto the train, I was simply unable to react quickly enough and my front tire became accidentally stuck. At this point, Officer Acero became even more confrontational and even more aggressive, yelling at me and claiming that my actions and statements were “disorderly conduct” and that he would issue a “thousand dollar citation” for my “belligerence”.
I tried to explain to Officer Acero that I was on my way to my doctor and am physically and medically disabled and thus the incident was an unfortunate accident, not a case of malicious and disorderly conduct. Officer Acero’s responses were nothing short of insensitive and discriminatory for he then responded with such unintelligent statements like, “If you’re so disabled, why do you have a bike?” I attempted to explain that at present, that is my only form of transportation, and the issue isn’t that I don’t have strength and stamina for long periods of time, and obviously, I am a little slow at times. Again, I offered to show Officer Acero my medical documentation (doctors notes, certification, lab results, etc). Officer Acero callously responded that I could “Tell it to the judge.” I tried to point out that he was issuing a completely unwarranted citation and that he was simply introducing needless stress and difficulty into my life. As someone struggling to deal with HIV, chronic pain, and chronic fatigue, Officer Acero’s actions were not only insensitive; he caused additional medical difficulty and strain. I then proceeded to report this matter as a complaint to the Sherriff’s department, and when contacted by the officer conducting the investigation (according to the documentation I have, the investigating officer’s name was Lieutenant Young), I was subject to additional discrimination. The investigating officer maintained that it was not the responsibility of the Sherriff’s department to consider my physical disability. I attempted to make the point that had I been obviously physically disabled (i.e. in a wheelchair, or on crutches), surely the Sherriff’s department would not argue that it is acceptable to harass and cite a citizen of the United States for “disorderly conduct” when obvious physical limitations impair movement. In my case, my disability is less obvious, but no less real. There was nothing “disorderly” about my conduct; I was simply ill and unable to react quickly to the closing doors. Furthermore, I attempted to explain to the investigating officer that Officer Acero acted in a needlessly aggressive manner. For example, Officer Acero is the one that asked me to explain my actions, and upon complying with this request for explanation, I was then accused of acting in a confrontational manner justifying the citation. This does not make sense, it is utterly irrational to demand that someone explain their actions and then accuse them of acting unruly when the individual complies and offers an explanation. The investigating officer seemed incapable of understanding the actual issues and felt that I was unnecessarily upset at Officer Acero’s “rudeness.” Let me be clear that Officer Acero was more than rude he was discriminatory, and he acted in a vindictive and harassing manner against a citizen of the United
States who was simply traveling to a doctor’s appointment and had the misfortune of a slight accident due to a medically documented disability. This kind of behavior is utterly disruptive to the civic life of our community. The LA Sherriff’s department should be doing things that are productive and helpful, rather than harassing ill and disabled individuals who are posing no credible threat. Thus, I ask the court to dismiss this citation, on both the grounds that it is utterly unwarranted, and also that as I am currently disabled, and on a very limited income, with very high medical expenses, I simply cannot pay a 1005.00 fine.
Sincerely,
Daniel Kauwe c/o Coleys 933 Begonia Ave Costa Mesa, CA 92626 401-225-8990 Attachments: Copy of Letter to Ombudsman’s Office Medical Certification Dr. Lavi Medical Certification Dr. Mahdad CA EDD Disability Doctors Certificate CARE/HIPP Physician’s Statement Sheriff’s Comment Services Report 216239