A disabled civil rights chief was escorted out of an AMC theater in Greenville, North Carolina, by police over his incapacity lodging earlier this week.
On Tuesday, Rev. William J. Barber II, 60, and his 90-year-old mom went to see ‘The Colour Purple.’ Barber introduced his personal chair to the theater as a result of he has a uncommon type of arthritis often called ankylosing spondylitis, an inflammatory illness that makes it exhausting for him to take a seat in or rise from low chairs. Barber mentioned he positioned his chair in a bit for visitors with disabilities, however theater staff deemed it a “fireplace hazard,” he mentioned during a press conference Friday.
“Our plans have been interrupted when the managers of the AMC theater right here in Greenville selected to name the police fairly than accommodate my seen incapacity,” he mentioned.
Based on NBC News, a Greenville police supervisor arrived on the theater after receiving a name about trespassing and a patron who was “arguing with staff, and so they wished to have them faraway from the enterprise.”
In the course of the press convention, Barber emphasised how utilizing phrases like “arguing” and “trespassing” to explain a Black man “may have had unhealthy leads to the mistaken fingers.” Whereas he believes it “ought to have by no means been a police escalation state of affairs,” the previous president of the North Carolina NAACP mentioned that the police officer dealt with it properly upon arrival.
In a video posted on Fb the identical day of the incident, Barber could be heard agreeing to depart the theater after being requested to by the officer. Simply outdoors of the theater, Barber is seen shaking the officer’s hand, who later apologized to Barber on the finish of the video. Because the minister left the constructing, he repeated that his chair has gone with him to locations such because the White Home and Broadway exhibits.
The chief of the Greenville Police Division reached out to Barber asking to satisfy him and discuss in regards to the state of affairs, Barber mentioned in the course of the press convention. The division didn’t instantly reply to JS’s request for remark.
According to ABC11, AMC apologized to Barber on Wednesday and mentioned it plans to evaluate its insurance policies to “be certain that conditions like this don’t happen once more.”
“We sincerely apologize to Bishop Barber for a way he was handled, and for the frustration and inconvenience delivered to him, his household, and his visitors,” the assertion learn.
“AMC welcomes visitors with disabilities. We have now plenty of lodging in place at our theatres always, and our theatre groups work exhausting to accommodate visitors who’ve wants that fall outdoors of the traditional course of enterprise. We encourage visitors who require particular seating to talk with a supervisor upfront to see what can greatest be accommodated on the theater to make sure a protected and fulfilling expertise for the visitor and people round them.”
In the course of the press convention, Barber mentioned he forgave AMC Theatres and won’t be urgent costs. He additionally has plans to satisfy with AMC Chairman and CEO Adam Aron subsequent week in Greenville to debate the state of affairs.
“We plan to speak extensively,” Barber mentioned.
