Case Study No. 1332: Pat O'Hanlon

Librarian Kicks Disabled Man Out of Public Library
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On April 11, 2011, Don Stallman was reading on the floor of The Truth or Consequences Public Library when he was approached by Library Director Pat O'Hanlon and told that he was going to be removed from the library.

Mr. Stallman was not disturbing anyone in the library nor did he constitute a "safety hazard." Mr. Stallman remained underneath a table and continued to read until leaving the library an hour later.

The same local police officer who had intially removed him from the library on December 30 ,2010, responded to the scene after Mr. Stallman had already left the building.
Tags: The City of Truth or Consequences Public Library Director Pat O'Hanlon Don Stallman civil rights disability access
Added: 2 years ago
From: backflashproduction
Views: 224

[video opens with a male patron reading under a table in the Truth or Consequences Public Library, as the library director is standing over him]
PAT O'HANLON: I know you are disabled. We have tried to make certain accomodations. You have ignored them all. My instructions are to have you removed from the library.
[he doesn't move, so she walks away]

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From interceder.net:

Don Stallman has suffered from Spinal Adhesive Arachnoiditis for the past eight years. This degenerative physical condition, caused by a previous surgery, has created persistent chronic pain that can only be reduced through the use of prescription medication and the adoption of non-stressful positions for his lower back.

Mr. Stallman has utilized the prone position as an effective means of minimizing his pain when reclining for long periods of time in public, and has NEVER experienced a single incidence of confrontation or discrimination in this regard... until moving to Sierra County, New Mexico in November 2010.

Upon threat of arrest Mr. Stallman was removed by a police officer from The Truth or Consequences Public Library at the request of Library Director, Pat O'Hanlon on December 30, 2010... solely because he was lying on the floor in an out of the way location reading a book.

City Manager David Weiser has banned Mr. Stallman from entering the public library, although clear evidence of his disability has been presented to city officials, and several federal and state agencies have intervened on his behalf.