Disabled Citizens Forced to Stand, Then Retaliation for Expressing Concerns -- ADA COMPLAINT TO JUSTICE DEPARTMENT

St. Augustine's new Mayor, Honorable Nancy Shaver, sworn in by Florida Supreme Court Justice Peggy Quince December 1, 2014 before record crowds, witnessing inauguration of our second woman mayor in 450 years, first time a St. Augustine city official was sworn in by an African-American. (Exhibit A)

Disabled people and elders were among some 50-100 people forced by the three Respondents to stand for more than 53 minutes Mayor Shaver's Inauguration -- a Violation of ADA Reasonable Accommodation Requirements. (Exhibit B) Sent: Sat, Feb 7, 2015 6:49 pm Subject: Ed Slavin v. JOHN PATRICK REGAN, P.E. et al. -- ADA and Retaliation Complaint re: City Managers Refusing to Provide Enough Chairs for New St. Augustine, Florida Mayor's Inauguration ------------------------ Ed Slavin, Complainant, v. JOHN PATRICK REGAN, P.E, City Manager TIMOTHY BURCHFIELD, Assistant City Manager, LORAN LUEDERS, Police Chief Respondents (a/k/a "the three Respondents"), ℅ St. Augustine, Florida Box 210, 75 King Street St. Augustine, Florida-32085-3084 904-825-1006 904-669-1873 (cellular) 904-826-1096 (fax)

 1. I am a person with disabilities, including juvenile rheumatoid arthritis, over the age of 40 .

 2. Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. wrote rabbis June 11, 1964 that our City of St. Augustine was "the most lawless city in America." Three lawless City officials -- Respondents JOHN PATRICK REGAN, P.E, City Manager; TIMOTHY BURCHFIELD, Assistant City Manager; and LORAN LUEDERS, Police Chief of the City of St. Augustine, Florida --- intentionally violated the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act. These three (3) unjust stewards -- three ultra_vires agents -- of our Nation's Oldest City refused to provide sufficient chairs to accommodate the large predicted, anticipated crowd, including persons with disabilities , who attended the inauguration of Nancy Shaver as Mayor on December 1, 2014 at St. Augustine City Hall , 75 King Street. (See Exhibit B, above, photo taken by Commissioner Nancy Sikes-Kline, showing 50-100 standees .

 3. Some 50-100 people stood for more than 53 minutes because the three Respondents (REGAN, BURCHFIELD and LUEDERS) refused to provide chairs: they violated ADA: See Exhibit B (second photo, above). http://staugustine.com/news/local-news/2014-12-02/changing-guard-st-augustine#.VNaHqN5iOqQ (article refers to "those who were seated" standing to applaud) (Exhibit C).

4 . This unjustified denial of a very reasonable accommodation (chairs) violated well-settled, obvious requirements of ADA and 504 : as a direct and proximate result, some 50-100 people (including disabled persons and elders with canes) were illegally forced to stand without chairs . This is in violation of federal law and the duty to reasonably accommodate persons with disabilities. 

5. Respondents' unreasonable refusal to provide sufficient chairs was an intentional act, bordering on sadistic, as the y refused my repeated requests for weeks to provide enough chairs.

 6. Before and after the chair debacle of Respondents' creation, I criticized their failure to provide sufficient chairs by phone, in person and on voicemail -- protected activity. As our Founders wrote in the Declaration of Independence, we Americans have an indefeasible right to resist oppression with "manly firmness."

 7. Some 36 hours later, I was hit with an illegal, retaliatory, baseless no-trespass order by City of St. Augustine City Manager JOHN PATRICK REGAN, P.E.

 8. There was no bona fide public purpose to the no-trespass order by REGAN, who exclaimed to HR December 2, 2014, "We have to do something about Ed Slavin!"

 9. There was no bona fide purpose in failing to provide enough seats at the Mayor's inauguration. 

10. Some 50-100 people were forced to stand for more than 53 minutes as a result of REGAN's violation of ADA and 504. See archived video: http://staugustinegovernment.com/CoSATV1.cfm (Exhibit D)

 11. This refusal to provide chairs and cruelly forcing people to stand for more than 53 minutes violated the federal ADA and 504 duty to provide a reasonable accommodation (chairs).

 12. My ADA rights -- and those of dozens of others -- were recklessly violated.

 13. In addition, I have been retaliated against and defamed in violation of ADA, 504, the First Amendment and other laws.

 14. The retaliatory December 3, 2014 no-trespass order by the three Respondents, led by Respondent St. Augustine City Manager JOHN PATRICK REGAN, P.E., was widely disseminated, chilling protected activity and Respondent REGAN procured and published daily newspaper articles December 4, 2014 and February 6, 2015 .

 15. I repeatedly complained about the failure to provide chairs on and before December 1, 2014 : Respondents issued an illegal "no-trespass" order December 3, 2014, and published defamatory falsehoods: http://staugustine.com/news/local-news/2014-12-03/st-augustine-resident-slavin-issued-no-trespass-order-city-hall (Exhibit E) http://staugustine.com/news/local-news/2015-02-06/no-charges-filed-aganist-slavin#.VNZ70N5iOqR (Exhibit F).

 16. I have suffered damages as a result and seek full remedies.

 17. I request that DOJ conduct a civil, criminal and administrative investigation of the ADA and 504 violations and retaliation for ADA and 504 protected activity.

 18. I request that Respondents be ordered to comply with ADA by providing sufficient seating. See Exhibit G, and that they be ordered to provide the fullest remedies allowable by law to end their illegal no-trespass order, provide just compensation for taking my rights away, and deter further violations of ADA, 504 and protected activity rights under ADA and 504.

 19. I request that Respondents be order to pay all sums personally, without reimbursement by the CIty of St. Augustine, its residents and taxpayers.

 20. I request that Respondents be ordered, at their personal expense, to obtain mandatory sensitivity training on ADA and 504 and retaliation.

 21. By copy of this E-mail, Respondents, and their current employer, the CIty of St. Augustine, are requested to preserve all paper and electronic documents and tangible things, including photos and video and audio tapes, subject to the penalties in the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and other federal laws for destruction of evidence. See Request No. 2015-50 (Exhibit)

 22. I request mediation by the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (FMCS) or Community Relations Service (CRS).

 Respectfully submitted,

Edward Adelbert Slavin, Jr.
www.cleanupcityofstaugustine.blogspot.com
www.fourowls.blogspot.com 
Box 3084
St. Augustine, Florida
32085-3084
904-377-4998