ADAPT demands integration - Gets Jail

One hundred and twenty ADAPT activists were arrested today outside the California State Office Building demanding that the Governor implement the U.S. Supreme Court's Olmstead decision. Governor Davis and his administration stood solidly with the interests of institutions in long-term care over more desirable and less expensive community possibilities.

ADAPT asked the Governor to allow residents of Laguna Honda, which is scheduled to be rebuild, to use the money to live in the community if they choose. Laguna Honda now spends over $100,000.00, much in state dollars, for the care of one person a year. Nationally, the 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act and the Olmstead decision have created a trend away from the costly institutionalization of citizens.

ADAPT demanded that California "develop, fund an implement by February of next year, a comprehensive, effectively working plan that will end inappropriate state institutionalizations. The demand is a parallel of what many states are doing to comply with the 1999 U.S. Supreme Court's Olmstead decision, but California has made no steps to put an end to the systematic bias of facilities over people.

At noon over 500 ADAPT activists circled the state office building and blocked the north and south entrances as well as blocking traffic on all four intersections surrounding the state building. Robert Oaks, the Director of the Regional Governor's Office, eventually met with five ADAPT representatives.

"He [Oaks] said that he cannot get in touch with the governor," said Barbara Toomer who was one of the five ADAPT representatives, "so we said 'thank you' and we left."

ADAPT continued to apply pressure. At 2:30 in the afternoon, about 25 people blocking the south entrance, climbed out of their wheelchairs toward the line of California State Police at the top of the stairs. The state police arrested five ADAPT activists that were dragged or carried into the building without their wheelchairs.

"We talked about if the cops wanted to be in a nursing home," said Stacy Ritt of Kansas who was one of the five pulled into the building by the state police. "The officers treated us with a lot of respect."

At noon the group of ADAPT activists that took and blocked the north entrance were faced with several state police that were determined to allow people to get into the state office building. Officer A.J. Zerilli announced: "You are not restricting access to this building."

Bob Kafka and Barbara Bounds got out of their wheelchairs to more completely block entrance to the building while Michael Heinrich lay blocking the path. As the officers struggled to allow people to crawl over the ADAPT block, the mass inched forward persistently. Finally the tide was overwhelming and the state troopers surrendered the door. From the inside, Officer Zerilli and others listened to ADAPT chant "just like a nursing home, you can't get out."

"I was trying to get inside," said Chris Colsey of Memphis. "They pulled me out of my wheelchair and dragged me behind this pole away from the door. I came back, so they dragged me away again."

In the streets the ADAPT activists were keeping the pressure up and facing many angry motorists. Marshall Brown was hit by (unhurt) a Blue VW that attempted to run through the blockade at the corner of McAllister and Larkin. 

The cops picked up my whole powerchair," said Alfredo Juarez who was one of a handful of people blocking the east side garage entrance. "When they put me down, I got right back in front of the garage."

ADAPT kept the pressure on all afternoon. Drafts of the Governor's commitments were passed back and forth as the governor's staff worked to end the standoff. Ultimately, Governor Davis refused to meaningfully represent the state of California in a meeting with ADAPT scheduled for Wednesday at 9:00 a.m. Governor Davis sent the clear message to California citizens that institutions are the priority over homes and community.

"The Governor is trying to sweep us under the rug," said Zen Garcia of Georgia ADAPT. "The only reason institutions like that exist is to keep us out of the mainstream."

At 4:40 p.m. Alex Fagen of the San Francisco Police Department declared an unlawful assembly. He personally made an announcement to all the groups of ADAPT with a loudspeaker and provided a sign-language interpreter. Arrests began at Polk and McAllister in an attempt to clear the streets. 

"This state has no intention to comply with Olmstead," said Tom Cagle as he waited to be arrested, "they haven't even done an inventory of people that want community care. The are not even going to ask."

The streets reopened at 5:50 p.m.

- Tim Wheat