Texas cops fight a blind man and his paraplegic friend.
On April 09, 2025, Officer Will Rhodes of the DeKalb, Texas, Police Department pulled over a man with a spinal cord injury driving his blind friend. This incident, not a work of fiction but a real and serious event, demands our immediate attention.
It happened in Texas, where everything is bigger and gets blown out of proportion. In a shocking turn of events, Officer Will Rhodes, fearing for his safety, promptly calls for backup. Before long, the backup cops arrived, and they ordered the paraplegic and blind men out of the car.
It did not take long before the person with paraplegia became belligerent. The cops, in a shocking display of disbelief, did not accept that the driver had paraplegia or that the passenger was blind. Even after the blind male passenger pulled out his fake eyes as proof, the cops still did not believe him.
Cop: Step out of the car, sir.
Paraplegic: I do not consent to any searches
Cop: I need you to get out of the car, sir.
Paraplegic: I’m not, I cannot. I do not have a fucking wheelchair. You are an idiot; my legs do not work.
Cop: Okay, we are going to have to search the car.
Paraplegic: That’s illegal, sir.
Cop: No, sir, the odor of marijuana makes it probable cause.
Paraplegic: You can’t search the car with someone in it.
Cop: I’m telling you, you’re gonna have to get the fuck out of the car, dude.
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) does not protect or make people with disabilities immune from the law. However, under certain circumstances, they fall under the umbrella of a particular protected class.
The ADA allows for some differences when interacting with individuals with disabilities. Especially if the disabled person hasn’t broken any laws, the courts can hold police officers personally liable for damage, and they can lose immunity from prosecution and financial settlements.
