If You Hate This Cop For Questioning A Disabled Veteran's Handicapped Status You Need To Get Out More

Fox News- A Florida police officer is under investigation after he allegedly ordered an Army veteran to remove his car from a handicapped-accessible parking spot despite the veteran’s vehicle displaying a disabled placard.

The incident, caught on James’ cellphone video, shows an angry exchange between James and Wilson after the officer allegedly asked the veteran to move his Dodge Magnum out of the disabled parking spot outside a Walgreens because he did not look disabled.

Wilson is seen on the video challenging James, 29, saying the veteran is “in the wrong” because he “can walk.”

“What I’m saying is there are people in wheelchairs who can’t get out and you just get out of the car and float right into the store,” Wilson says to James.

“You are not the arbitrator of my disability; you don’t get to decide if I’m disabled or not,” says James, who reveals during the exchange that he served tours in Afghanistan and Iraq. James also explains that he has screws in his leg and suffered a traumatic brain injury.

“Move the camera out of my face,” Wilson says.

“You can’t do that, officer. You broke my phone. You don’t get to decide if I’m disabled or not.”

"To me, having a disability is already a stigma," James said in an interview Tuesday with the Sun-Sentinel. "I don't want to stand out in front of a Walgreens and be berated because of my injuries. I don't want to have to sit there and shout out at the top of my lungs explaining to you that my body is broken through no fault of my own."



Okay, let's throw the disclaimer out there and get it out of the way. All the man, and women, that served overseas in an attempt to keep this country safe are heroes. Every last one of them deserves our respect (etc., etc., etc.). With that said, that doesn't mean that they can just run around doing whatever they want. Truth be told, if the worst abuse of a handicapped pass was a veteran with an achy leg using it to ease the pain of reoccurring injuries from war then I would be fine with it. However, with the inclusion of fat people into the handicapped category (which is complete bullshit, but an issue for another day), there's just no more room for a fully functioning war hero to park 10 steps from the front door of Walgreens. Especially if our goal, first and foremost, is to make sure that the people that literally can't maneuver themselves due to lack of functioning limbs have premiere parking.

It's easy to criticize a cop that confronted a veteran of war. Especially when it has become increasingly easy to chastise the actions of the police force. This, however, is a example of a cop doing his job. A cop that is maintaining the integrity of the handicapped spot is a cop that I can support. Protecting this country doesn't mean you are exempt from questioning, and it definitely doesn't mean you are exempt from being asshole. The guy that DROVE to Walgreens, only to complain about a traumatic brain injury when he got there is just that, an ASSHOLE. If your head hurts too much to walk a hundred feet then your head hurts wayyyyyy too much to operate a motor vehicle. So, no. I don't care that he has a migraine or that his leg hurts. I don't care that this cop broke his phone. His response to a reasonable line of questioning was to make a viral video, scream at the top of lungs, and play the 'war card' to such an extent that I know longer felt bad for him. 

I may not be able to tell the difference between men and women anymore in this country, but I am pretty sure I can tell the difference between disabled and not disabled. I can DEFINITELY tell the difference between someone that has been "blown up 8 times" and someone who hasn't.

Bill Burr said it best....
(start at 2:40)

P.S. We probably could have avoided this whole scene given that the parking lot was basically empty, but it's the principle behind the matter.