Disabled Woman Is Shocked by Death Threat

As an advocate for the rights of the disabled, Shannon Carson is no stranger to fighting discrimination and misconceptions.

But last weekend, Carson--who has cerebral palsy and sometimes uses a wheelchair--said she was shocked to find that someone had slashed her car’s tires and threatened the lives of her and her baby daughter.

Carson said she believes the threats were prompted by her request for a handicapped parking space at her Lake Forest apartment complex.

“We don’t need any cripples here. One night you and your daughter will die if you don’t leave,” read a note Carson said she found Sunday on her windshield.

The incident fits the legal description of a hate crime and appears to be the first of its kind in Orange County, said the director of the county Human Relations Commission.

Carson said the incident occurred one day after she had a run-in with several residents who were unhappy that a space close to the apartment building was going to be reserved for use by the disabled.

Orange County sheriff’s officials are investigating the incident, Lt. Ron Wilkerson said. No arrests have been made.

Repeated phone calls by The Times to the apartment management company were not returned.

Carson and her husband, Mike, who moved to the large complex with their daughter, Amanda, about two months ago, said the incident has shaken and angered them.

“To have someone threatening her life, it made me sick,” Shannon Carson said Friday.

Shannon Carson is program manager for the Dayle McIntosh Center for the Disabled in Laguna Niguel, which promotes independent living for people with disabilities.

She has had cerebral palsy since birth. Surgery about 10 years ago improved her ability to walk, but she can falter, Mike Carson said.

When she is not feeling strong, she uses a wheelchair or sometimes a cane. She has an unrestricted driver’s license and a placard for handicapped parking, she said.

At the Carsons’ apartment complex, each unit is assigned one parking space. If residents have a second car, the resident must use an unassigned space, Mike Carson said.

Shannon Carson said the parking spaces--including her assigned spot--are too narrow for her to maneuver her wheelchair.

“I wanted a space accessible for me,” she said.

So, several weeks ago, she asked the apartment manager to create a handicapped parking space. The manager agreed, and soon blue paint outlined one of the unreserved spots.

When a resident pointed out that the painted space did not adhere to space regulations, an alternate space was designated, although it has not yet been painted, Mike Carson said.

Shannon Carson said she was then approached by several nearby residents who were upset that one of the few spaces near the apartments was going to be off-limits to them. She said several questioned whether she needed a special parking space at all.

Her car was parked in the yet-to-be-painted handicapped space when the tires were slashed and the threatening note put on the windshield, Mike Carson said.

Shannon Carson said that through her own experience and her work with others, she has encountered bad attitudes and discrimination against the disabled, “but nothing ever violent like this.”

Informed of the incident Friday, Rusty Kennedy, director of the Human Relations Commission, said state law defines a hate crime as one motivated by race, religion, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender or disability.

Kennedy said he believes this could be the first reported instance of a hate crime against a disabled person since the county began documenting such information in 1991.

Several residents said Friday that they were shocked to hear about the Carsons’ complaint.

“This has been the most peaceful neighborhood,” Corinne Dobbins said. “I would be surprised to find out that someone has said that.”

Pratibha Bhagwat, who has been living in the apartment complex for three years, also expressed disbelief that neighbors could be so cruel.

“I don’t believe any of my neighbors would do that,” she said. “Some of them are aloof, but most are friendly, nice people.”

Mike Carson said he has been assured by a representative of the apartment management company’s headquarters in Kansas City, Mo., that steps would be taken to make sure that the incident would not be repeated.

He said he was also was assured that the handicapped space will be created.

The Carsons have increased their home security since the threat but have no plans to move.

“No, if you run, then you’re giving these people what they want, and they’ll just do it again,” Mike Carson said.

Contributing to this report was Times staff writer Davan Maharaj.