Man Punished for Confronting Illegally Parked Man in Handicapped Spot

posted on Apr 07 by Admin in the Disability News, Opinion and Discussion, Wheelchair Accessibility Laws category

Jamie McGarry has been suspended from his gym, Hurley Health and Fitness, in Flint, Michigan due to confronting a man who was illegally parked in a designated handicapped parking spot. The gym says that McGarry took the situation too far and blew it out of proportion, but he feels differently.

McGarry had just finished his workout routine and was getting ready to leave the gym’s facility when he noticed a man (early 20′s) pull into the handicap spot next to him who was not disabled and did not have a handicap sticker on his vehicle. McGarry says he confronted the man and simply told him he was not allowed to park there, and the man assured McGarry he would only be parked there a few minutes. After continuing to quarrel and hearing swear words, McGarry decided to do what he felt was necessary.

McGarry backed his car up and parked it directly behind the man’s car, leaving the man unable to move his car out of the handicap spot. McGarry then proceeded to retrieve his wheelchair and went to call security. After security arrived, the men continued to argue between one another. Feeling frustrated that nothing was being resolved, McGarry simply left. Later, he was informed that his membership to the gym had been revoked due to the dispute.

The spokes woman for Hurley Medical Center, Ilene Cantor, stated that McGarry’s actions were not justified. “The handicapped parking space was blocked by Mr. McGarry, preventing the vehicle from being able to exit, as well as prolonging the time the public was prevented from using the handicapped parking spot – which made a bad situation worse. We value all of our HHFC members, and this unfortunate incident could have been avoided.”

Capt. Darryl Patterson of the Flint Police advised that if you ever witness a person parking/parked illegally in handicapped spot, get their license plate number and report them to your local police to avoid conflict.

Attorney for the Michigan Protection and Advocacy service who takes complaints from people with disabilities stated he understand McGarry’s frustration. “For any of our clients, it’s a great frustration when they need to go somewhere and the parking spots designated for them aren’t available to them.” However upon saying so he also agreed with Capt. Patterson.

McGarry then switched to another gym, Planet Fitness, and witnessed a driver illegally parking in a handicap spot. Once again he pulled his car behind the individual’s vehicle and alerted the employees which resulted in the police being called. The owner of the vehicle was issued a ticket. “The disparity between the two situations were like night and day, “McGarry stated.

McGarry has used a wheelchair since the age of 20 due to a complication during surgery. He says, “Pretty simply, I just feel that it was flat out wrong. It’s a wrong that needs to be righted. I simply can’t let it go. It’s more than just how it affects me. I was just sticking up for the rights of the entire disabled community.”