Charges Are Dismissed for 3 Handicapped Protesters

Charges were dropped Tuesday against three wheelchair-bound protesters who used their bodies to block busy traffic at the downtown Greyhound Bus Depot as a part of a nationwide Labor Day protest against alleged discrimination by the bus line.

“They stated that if we demonstrate again, we will be prosecuted,” one of the three, Diane Coleman, said after a brief hearing with the Los Angeles city attorney’s representatives. “We will demonstrate again.”

The three protesters held placards and had their wheelchairs adorned with plastic chains and Styrofoam balls at the hearing conducted at the city prosecutor’s Chinatown offices.

‘Ball and Chain’

“The ball and chain of discrimination is heavier than any action the city can impose,” Coleman said.

A warrant was issued about a month ago for the arrest of a fourth protester, Bill Bolte, who will be prosecuted for trespassing because he was arrested for the same offense a month before the Sept. 5 demonstration, Deputy City Atty. Alice Hand said Tuesday.

First-time offenders are given a warning, she said. On the second offense, they are prosecuted. The maximum penalty is six months in jail or $1,000 fine, Hand said.

Coleman, flanked by the other two protesters--Randy Horton and Lillibeth Navarro--said the city was discriminating because their supporters were not allowed to attend the hearing. Dozens of handicapped people and other activists filled the hall outside the hearing room.

“They are all closed hearings,” Hand explained. “Extras are never allowed.”

Coleman complained Tuesday of the trouble it took for the protesters and their handicapped supporters to reach the fourth-floor hearing room only to be told after the 15-minute session that the charges were dismissed.

“They could have sent us a letter,” she said.

The Labor Day protests in a dozen cities were coordinated by Americans Disabled for Accessible Public Transportation, a group that has been protesting Greyhound’s policies since 1984.

Departing Buses Delayed

More than 30 protesters delayed departing buses for up to an hour as they demanded an end to the bus company’s policy requiring a doctor’s permission and an attendant for wheelchair-confined people to ride. They also asked the company to fit all its buses with lifts. Horton clambered out of his chair and lay down behind the wheels of a bus; he was not injured.

Calling the policies “apartheid against disabled people,” the demonstrators urged people to divest themselves of Greyhound stock.