Facing Disability Bias: Maria's Campus Police Encounter

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Disability bias doesn't always announce itself with slurs or obvious discrimination—sometimes it lurks in the assumptions of those meant to protect us. Maria's powerful story of being detained by campus police after a late-night study session reveals how quickly cerebral palsy can be misinterpreted as intoxication by untrained eyes.

Following an exhausting midterm study marathon at the university library, Maria and her friends were stopped while returning to their dorms after 2 AM. Despite her friends' attempts to explain her condition, an officer subjected Maria to a series of sobriety tests she could never pass due to her disability—a breathalyzer requiring mouth control her dysarthria prevented, coordination tests impossible with her tremoring arm, and walking tests that challenged her basic mobility. What followed was a humiliating detention in a basement holding facility while her friends were released.

The story takes a dramatic turn when the police chief recognizes Maria, having been previously informed about her condition when she enrolled. His intervention—and subsequent firing of the officer—acknowledges the injustice but can't erase the experience. This episode serves as both a cautionary tale and a call for better disability awareness training in law enforcement and other public service sectors.

Maria's willingness to share her experience gives voice to an issue many disabled individuals face—being criminalized for their very existence. Her story prompts listeners to question: how many similar incidents go unreported? What structural changes could prevent such encounters? And how can we each contribute to creating a world where disability isn't automatically viewed through a lens of suspicion?

Subscribe to our podcast for more compelling stories that challenge assumptions and advocate for meaningful change. Share your own experiences through our website or text service—together, we can transform lemons into something sweeter.

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Episode Transcript

Kevin (00:00):
Welcome to our podcast.
When life gives you lemons, I'mKevin and I'm Palmy.

Palmi (00:08):
We consider ourselves disability advocates and intend
to spotlight some disabilityissues and things we find
interesting that we frequentlyencounter when we're out and
about.
Also some history on disabilitythat we find interesting.

Kevin (00:23):
Welcome back everybody.
This episode we are continuingalong with Maria's story, so
listen carefully to theinterview.
It's both humorous and it has apoint.

Maria (00:44):
Is that right?
Yeah, is that right.
Humorous and it has a point.
Exactly, exactly, I was.
It was midterm time.
If any of you went to college,you know you're living on coffee
and ramen noodles and maybe macand cheese, to put you this way

(01:11):
.
That's correct, exactly.
So we had a group project andwe had been at the campus

(01:32):
library for six hours at least,and so we're always lost, and

(01:56):
it's about one or two.
Well, it had to be past twobecause we had to give her a
lease to get back into thedormitories after 2 o'clock.
Well, back then, if you were inKent Library by 11, they would

(02:23):
let you stay until whenever youwere done.
So we're walking back becausethe shuttles have shut down for
the night and DPS is doingrounds.

(02:44):
So we're walking back throughthe terraces.
Now I am lugging a 40-poundbackpack, tired as I can be, I'm
not walking very well.

Palmi (03:08):
You're staggering.
Let's just say yeah.

Maria (03:12):
Exactly.
And then because I'm inRicketts and so DPS flexes down
and we were thinking ID, because, being Cape Girardeau, you

(03:35):
never know who's walking where.
So it was me, another girl andthree guys, which one guy I went
to high school with.

(03:57):
So he knew me pretty well,right, pretty well.
So I'm, you know.
The cop comes up and says whereyou been li ke the library.

(04:18):
Now, mind you, there is a barin Cedar Called the library,
exactly.
Of course he's like yeah, okay,William and Doreen were like

(04:39):
coffee and Frappuccino with theextra squirt of mocha.

Palmi (04:52):
In his mind he's trying to figure out what drug is
called mocha right.

Maria (04:57):
Exactly, exactly, probably.
Never even heard of Frappuccino.
He takes out the breathalyzer.

Palmi (05:12):
Makes her breathe into the breathalyzer.

Maria (05:17):
And now I have dysarthria so my mouth don't close, well,
well, so he does that on all ofus.
Well, all of us is blowing zero, but the staggering freak is

(05:45):
blowing air.
So then he makes us do theright, right, left, right, on
course, with my left arm shake.
So I failed that You're zerofor three at this point.

(06:12):
Right Zero for two Now.
Now, three strikes, you're outright.
So he makes me walk A straightline Down the parking street

(06:36):
that you can't do even if you'resober.
He's like sir, she has cerebralpalsy, she cannot walk, even at

(07:05):
nine o'clock in the morning andher left arm always free.
So he was now figure this out,guys.
He let all the others go andtakes me down to DPS.

(07:30):
Now we're not talking about thenice new remodeled DPS on
Sprigg Street.
No, we're talking about DPS ina 50-year-old dormitory basement

(08:09):
that probably hasn't beencleaned since the 1970s.

Palmi (08:12):
I can imagine what your mom was saying when she came to
pick you up.

Maria (08:18):
We're good at work.
So I went to First Steps beforeI went into college.
Me and my mom had made surethat DPS knew who I was, you

(08:47):
know what my name was.
Make sure they knew I hadsleeping epilepsy and all that,
right.
So so I'm down here in thebunker holding room Wow, this is

(09:09):
in the bunker holding roomwhile this idiot cop is booking
me in and calling my dad.
Well, so the chief walks by theroom and kind of does a double

(09:36):
take, like maybe I just see inthere.
So he comes in and by this timeit's 3 o'clock in the morning.
This time it's 3 o'clock in themorning.
So I'm tired, as I should beprobably acting like I am on

(10:00):
something.
But he's like Maria, what thehell are you doing here?
So I tell him this story Maria,what the hell are you doing in?

Palmi (10:15):
here, so I tell him the story.
Apparently, I'm drunk.

Maria (10:19):
He's like who the F brought you in here?
So I tell him.
And then the ArnoldSchwarzenegger accent.
He's like I'll be back.

(10:42):
I'm like I am drawing the acees, spades and the deck of cards.
Right now I'm cooling my heelsin Cape County jail for next

(11:07):
month while they figure out thesame.
And so he comes back with idiotand he's like why in the world

(11:34):
would you bring her in?
He's like well, commander, shedidn't pass a surprise test.
And he says she was at thelibrary.
She says she was at the libraryand I think she had something.

(12:04):
Now Chief Brown looks at himlike he is stoned out of his
mind.
He's like well, you probablyshould have realized she did not

(12:32):
have the walk of a drunk,because and you can confirm this
my walk isn't what a drunk walkis.
I mean I sway, but not the waya drunk would.

Kevin (13:01):
Right, yeah.

Maria (13:04):
And so he looks at this officer.
He's like, if no, she can'tpass the sobriety test,
anything is possible.
And I'm just sitting here like,oh my god, I'm dead and that

(13:40):
was his job.
Well, so he tells him.
He said I'm taking her back toher dorm and your locker better

(14:01):
be packed and ready by the timeI get back.

Palmi (14:09):
Yeah, Because if you guys wanted to sue, you certainly
could have.
Oh, by far.
Yeah, yeah, thank you fortalking to us and, like I said,
if you ever need anything, we'reright here for you.

Maria (14:23):
Yeah, to you guys.
All right, we'll talk to youlater.
See you All right, bye, bye,thank you.

Kevin (15:58):
Wow Thanks, Maria.
I really enjoyed your talkingto you.
I hope to see you soon.
But anyway, folks, that is acontinuation of Maria's story.
We do have a few housekeepingitems I'd like to go over before

(16:25):
we're done.
As always, our website is www.
whenlifegivesyoulemmons.
net.
On our website you'll seethere's a place where you can
send us fan mail.
That's like a text.

(16:48):
It goes out for free if you'rein the US and I'm not sure about
other countries what it costsyou.
If you prefer, you can contactus via email.
That information is always onthe website and you can look up

(17:10):
some of our older episodes, ifthose interest you, and listen
to those as well.
Next time we're either going tobe talking with Maria about a
new story or talking to afinancial expert who's up on day

(17:36):
trading, Hopefully to give youguys some idea of how to make a
little bit of extra income.

Palmi (17:50):
And that's all the housekeeping I have.

Kevin (17:53):
I want to remind everybody that we want to give a
shout-out to everybody whosends us fan mail.
If you're not able to use fanmail for free, say you want that
shout-out on email, so we dokeep the cost down for you.

(18:15):
And if you're interested insupporting their program, beyond
just saying what you like ordon't like about their program,
you can hit the subscribe buttonon the website and all we're

(18:40):
asking for is a one-timedonation, not a recurring
donation.
If you're having problemsfiguring that out on how to
differentiate between the two,send me an email and I'll try to
make sure you get work around.
What I'll do is try to scriptit out.
If it's a constant problem,I'll read that in a future

(19:03):
episode.
Thank you very much forlistening.

Palmi (19:09):
Sounds good.

Kevin (19:12):
Until next episode, take those lemons and make your own
Lemonade.

Palmi (19:20):
Soundstripe.