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How do you inform people you have PD when you can't speak? Should we PWP's be required to wear a sign?? Too many people, like Rush Limbaugh, have preconceived notions as to what Parkinson's is like. Kendall has had more than one encounter with local police according to this article.Ray Different stories emerge from Parkinson's sufferer's confrontation with police By IRV OSLIN Times-Gazette Staff Writer Bob Kendall has launched an e-mail campaign publicizing what he calls mistreatment by City Police officers. Kendall, 48, 822 Ellis Ave., was diagnosed 15 years ago with Parkinson's disease. He has been confronted on several occasions by City Police officers who mistook his disease-induced unsteadiness for intoxication. Kendall moved to Ashland from Millersburg three years ago and said he never had problems with police before he came here. During the most recent incident late last month, Kendall claimed he was tackled and handcuffed after officers confronted him at Sandusky and Dorchester streets. City Police officials described the incident differently. "He was not cooperating with the officer and did not say he had Parkinson's until he was put in handcuffs," City Police Capt. Dave Marcelli said.Kendall wasn't tackled but stumbled to the ground when officers were trying to handcuff him, according to Marcelli. The incident, which triggered a letter-writing campaign and spread across the Internet on blogs, occurred in the early morning hours of Aug. 27. As Kendall described it, he walked from his home near Brookside Park to the Circle K convenience store on Cottage Street. He prefers to walk at night and in the early morning because he is tired of being harassed and taunted by people who don't understand or care that he has Parkinson's. Kendall has been diagnosed with other conditions and needs to walk for exercise. He purchased a Polar Pop at about 1 a.m., according to an affidavit written by a store clerk, then began to walk home on Sandusky Street. A State Highway Patrol trooper spotted him and, believing he was intoxicated, radioed for a City Police cruiser. A resident had phoned in a similar report, according to Police Chief Bill Miracle. Kendall said he waved the patrol cruiser on, but the trooper stopped and remained at the scene, waiting for a City Police unit.According to Kendall's version of the story, Officer Aaron Kline, who has been with the department for about a year, arrived and asked him if he had been drinking. When Kendall said he doesn't drink, Kline then asked him where he'd been. Kendall said that when he told Kline and the trooper he had been at Circle K, they acted in a sarcastic manner and said, "Yeah, right." According to Kendall, at that point Kline told him to stop moving and he responded that he couldn't. Kendall claimed the officers then tackled and handcuffed him. When Kendall demanded that a supervisor be brought to the scene, one of the responding officers recognized him and advised Kline that Kendall has Parkinson's. Although there is no detailed written report of the incident, Marcelli said Kline told him Kendall didn't advise officers he had Parkinson's until he was handcuffed. Kendall could have avoided the whole confrontation if he had told the trooper or Kline, Marcelli said. Kendall went to see Miracle the next day, but Miracle wasn't available and he talked with Marcelli. During that conversation, Kendall acknowledged he hadn't told the officers he had Parkinson's before being handcuffed, Marcelli said in an interview Thursday. Kendall said Marcelli advised him to purchase a medical bracelet identifying himself as being diagnosed with Parkinson's. Kendall and his partner, Jodie Turner, who also was diagnosed 15 years ago with Parkinson's, resented Marcelli's comment. "I talked to Marcelli and the conversation went good until he told me I should go out and buy a shiny bracelet," Kendall said. "That's discrimination if I ever heard it." "They are insisting you wear a scarlet letter, and that's not really necessary," Turner said. Marcelli responded that the comment was not meant to be sarcastic or discriminatory, that it was just a suggestion to help prevent future misunderstandings. Kendall was offered the opportunity to come in and discuss the situation with Kline and police officials, according to Marcelli and Miracle. However, he canceled an appointment to do so and has not attempted to schedule another one. "We attempted to work with him," Miracle said. "He is invited to come to the police station at any time if he truly wants to." For now, Kendall is weighing his legal options. He and Turner vowed to continue their letter-writing campaign. They said they don't want to become prisoners in their own home and want to stand up for the rights of others with Parkinson's. "I'm not doing this just for me," he said. "I'm doing this for other people who have Parkinson's and are going through this." The campaign has generated blog comments highly critical of the City Police Department. At least one of the comments was forwarded by e-mail to Miracle, members of City Council and county commissioners. Some of the comments cite a need for more sensitivity training. The City Police Department recognized that long ago, according to Miracle. "We try to train our officers to be sensitive to these things," he said. "I don't think the officer did anything particularly wrong." Marcelli explained that officers have a duty to respond to reports of pedestrians who appear to be experiencing difficulty. "Regardless of the reason, we're still responsible to make sure they are OK and get home safely," he said. n Irv Oslin can be reached at 419-281-0581 ext. 240 or at ioslin@ times-gazette.com. About Parkinson's Disease Parkinson's disease is a brain disorder that occurs when certain nerve cells in the brain die or become impaired and cannot produce adequate supplies of dopamine. Dopamine allows smooth and coordinated movement of the body and muscles. The disease affects 1.5 million Americans. About 60,000 new cases are diagnosed each year in the U.S. The majority of those affected by Parkinson's are 65 or older. However, 15 percent of those diagnosed are under 50 years of age and 5 percent to 10 percent are 40 or younger. Parkinson's is the second-most common neurodegenerative disease -- after Alzheimer's. Symptoms of Parkinson's continue to get worse over time and there is no cure. The primary symptoms of Parkinson's disease are: n Tremors n Slowed movement n Rigidity or stiffness n Difficulty with balance Other signs of Parkinson's might include: n Small, cramped handwriting n Blank facial expression n Shuffling walk n Muffled speech n Depression Information provided on the National Parkinson Foundation Web site Rayilyn Brown Director AZNPF Arizona Chapter National Parkinson Foundation [log in to unmask] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn