----- Original Message -----
From: Eleanor Canter
To: joe harcz Comcast ; Darma Canter
Sent: Sunday, October 18, 2015 1:53 PM
Subject: Civil Rights Complaint
Thoughts? Planning to send this to ACLU Michigan Legal Director for advice,
then on to best agencies to file with. Joe, is it going to be ok for me to
share the incident report along with my complaint? Brian thought I better make
sure.
Eleanor
Eleanor Canter
1721 Franklin / Muskegon, MI 49441
231-755-5063
eleanorcanter@xxxxxxxxx
My civil rights were violated on September 8, 2015, when Sara Grivetti
contacted my employer in direct retaliation for my advocacy on social media on
the topic of subminimum wages for people with disabilities. Instead of
silencing me, my employer cancelled participation in Ms. Grivetti’s planned
event on September 17, 2015. On September 17, Ms. Grivetti (Governor-appointed
Chair of the Statewide Independent Living Council – a state agency) and Ellen
Weaver (Event Planning Committee member and representative of the Capitol Area
Center for Independent Living) conspired with the Michigan State Police /
Capitol Police to deprive me of my civil rights, again in direct retaliation
for advocacy on the topic of subminimum wage. Sheltered work and the subminimum
wage it often pays to disabled employees violates the ADA and I was retaliated
against for opposing that violation.
On September 17, a group of approximately twenty individuals with disabilities
opposed to subminimum wages met at the crosswalk leading to the State Capitol
Lawn, where a celebration of the 25th anniversary of the Americans with
Disabilities act was about to begin. That celebration was sponsored by
Michigan’s biggest subminimum wage employers. As we shook hands and introduced
ourselves to each other, we were approached by six state police officers who
informed us that we would not be allowed into the event.
We asked if it was a public event and they said it was not. We asked if
Capitol grounds were open to the public and they replied that they were. We
again asked if this was a public event and they replied that it was but that we
would not be permitted to enter. We told them that we hadn’t broken any laws.
They said that they knew that we intended to disrupt and that they would
physically stop us from entering the event. We asked what criteria were being
used to keep people out of the event. They didn’t answer. We asked if the event
organizers asked the state police to keep us out. They replied that they had.
We asked who specifically gave the orders to keep us out and they stared
straight ahead and refused to answer further questions.
More state police came, and the plain-clothed head of the Capitol police and
the Director of the Capitol. Joe Harcz, a member of our group, tried to pass
the barrier and was brought down by at least three police officers, handcuffed,
and literally dragged up the center aisle of the ADA event, past a crowd of at
least 150 people.
We kept asking questions, and after several hours they told us that we were
determined to be a security threat. I told them that we intended to use our
voices and that we are non-violent demonstrators. We asked how they determined
that we were a security risk and they refused to answer.
This was a public event held on public grounds funded with taxpayer dollars. We
broke no laws. There was absolutely no reason for the police, acting under
Grivetti and Weaver’s direction, to deprive me of my right to participate in
the event. What they did was a direct violation of the retaliation provisions
of the Americans with Disabilities Act and Rehabilitation Act, and several
other laws.
Evidence:
· MSP Incident Report in which Grivetti and Weaver conspire with the
Michigan State Police to deprive of us our civil rights (attached)
· YouTube video of conversation regarding why we were not permitted to
enter
· YouTube Video of Director of the Capitol admitting that we were
excluded for “preventative maintenance”
Name and address of the employer, school, agency or public place or service
about which you want to complain.
· Sara Grivetti: Chair of Statewide Independent Living Council (SILC);
Executive Director of Disability Network/Michigan (Association of Centers for
Independent Living), Michigan ADA Celebration Event Facilitator
o SILC Address: 417 Seymour Ave Suite 10 / Lansing, MI 48933
o Home: 3939 E Old Pine Trail / Midland, MI 48642
· Ellen Weaver: ADA Celebration Committee Member; Representative of the
Capitol Area Center for Independent Living
o CACIL Address: 2812 North Martin Luther King Junior B, Lansing, MI 48906
o Home: unknown
· Michigan State Police / Capitol Police
Dates of any incidents you want to include in your complaint that took places
in the last 180 days.
· September 8 and September 17, 2015
Names of any persons who discriminated against you, if you know their names.
Describe them if you do not know their names.
· Sara Grivetti; Ellen Weaver; Michigan State Police Officers
Names, addresses and telephone numbers of any witnesses to incidents you want
to complain about. If you do not know the names or contact information of
witnesses, provide the best information you have about how to locate them.
· Darma Canter: 1898 Orshal Road / Muskegon, MI 49445 / (231) 719-1373 /
canter2000@xxxxxxx
· Brian Dian: 1721 Franklin / Muskegon, MI 49441 / (231) 719-1373 /
bcdian5@xxxxxxxxx
· Joe Harcz: 1365 E. Mt. Morris Rd. / Mt. Morris, MI 48458 / (810)
516-5262 / joeharcz@xxxxxxxxxxx
· Clark Goodrich: 4634 North Breton Court, SE / Grand Rapids, MI 49508 /
(616) 656-0356 / WeaselADAPT@xxxxxxxxx
· Literally hundreds of others; including several news crews
Copies of any work policies which you feel were unequally applied.
· Capitol Event & Exhibit Planner
Copies of any memos or disciplinary actions you want to complain about.
· N/A
Information about any other actions you have taken about the cited incidents.
· N/A
Names of people, if you know of any, who did the same thing you did and were
not treated the way you were. Be prepared to describe their circumstances
including approximate dates, persons who treated these people differently from
you, and names of persons who could verify the circumstances.
· Darma Canter; Rich Feldman; Laura Hall; Melinda Haus Johnson
· Many people, with and without signs, were allowed to freely enter and
exit the event. Many speakers at the event were allowed to join the protest,
then return to the event. No reason was given as to how it was determined who
was and wasn’t allowed in the event.
Name and contact information for your union representative, if applicable. Name
and address of union local, if applicable.
· N/A
The status of a grievance, if you have filed one.
· N/A
Attachment:
Civil Rights Complaint - EAC.docx
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