I tend to side with the scooter user, Mr. Dodson, at least until the video is released. Found the following: Casey: Roanoke man contests scooter-related arrest
Casey: Roanoke man contests scooter-related arrest Larry Wayne Dodson said he’s been paralyzed from the chest down since a van fell on him at work in an auto repair shop eight years ago. The 52-year-old C... View on www.roanoke.com Preview by Yahoo There’s another side to the story, of course. Here’s the police version in an email from Amy Whittaker, Roanoke County’s spokeswoman. “Mr. Dodson was impeding traffic on 419/Electric Road near Tanglewood Mall. Actually, traffic had to evade Mr. Dodson and officers [made] repeated efforts to calm him down before finally having to arrest him. “Mr. Dodson was traveling south in the right northbound turn lane; thus, traveling against traffic. By law, people using motorized wheelchairs or bicycles must travel with the flow of traffic. “Officer Jacobs saw Mr. Dodson, activated her emergency lights and pulled over. Mr. Dodson became hostile and agitated and began shouting obscenities at the officer. Officer Jacobs explained the law to Mr. Dodson and he continued to use profanity and argue with her. She offered to give him a ride home and he refused. She called for back up. “She explained to him that he needed to stop yelling at her or he would be arrested but he continued to yell. He was asked two times to place his arms behind his back or be removed from the wheelchair and arrested. Mr. Dodson made no attempt to comply with the officers’ requests. They removed him from the wheelchair, handcuffed him and took him to jail.” Dodson said Jacobs never offered to drive him home. Jacobs’ act of pulling him over is the only thing that impeded traffic, he added. He denies police ever told him to put his hands behind his back. “You know what I want to see?” Dodson told me. “The video on the dashcam from the lady police officer’s cruiser. The whole thing that went down is on that.” Whittaker declined to release the video, “because this is an active case.” Counting the cops, the ambulance crew and the people who drove Dodson to the jail, at least seven government employees were involved in the arrest and transportation of Dodson. That’s not counting the tow truck, and the ride service. Somebody paid for those — and it wasn’t Dodson. This whole to-do began with a paralyzed guy riding an electric scooter on the wrong side of a road. Couldn’t this have been handled with a bit of common sense and discretion? “They have to pick on a little old man in a wheelchair,” Dodson told me. He said nobody he’s told this story to can believe it. He hasn’t yet filed a complaint with Roanoke County police, but he intends to. “I’ve got to get someone who’s good to write that letter for me,” he said. On Saturday, July 5, 2014 12:16 PM, Don Price <[email protected]> wrote: Wheelchair, you're talking about a different incident. Don. On Saturday, July 5, 2014 12:05 PM, "[email protected]" <[email protected]> wrote: The beginning of the story mentioned an electric scooter. In the later part of the same story, it mentioned wheelchair. I'll wait until the entire story is released before passing judgement. But I hope they guy is ok. Best Wishes In a message dated 7/5/2014 11:58:30 A.M. Central Daylight Time, [email protected] writes: This Makes me mad! > > > > >http://thefreethoughtproject.com/police-arrest-parapalegic-man/ > > > > > >
