Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, November 30, 1993 TAG: 9311300196
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: LAURENCE HAMMACK
DATELINE: LENGTH: Short
W. Radford Thomas had accused Salem police of deliberately ticketing his car even though state law allows handicapped people to park for unlimited time in metered or time-limited public parking spaces.
The lawsuit, filed under the Americans with Disabilities Act, had been scheduled to go to trial this week in U.S. District Court in Roanoke.
Eric Spencer, a Roanoke attorney who represented Thomas, said the case was settled last week. Terms of the settlement are being kept confidential under a gag order.
"All I can tell you is that I'm happy with the settlement," Thomas said Monday.
Thomas, who injured his back five years ago in a traffic accident, had claimed in his suit that police improperly ticketed his car outside Radsue Texas Bar-B-Q, a Main Street restaurant he owns.
Police Chief Harry Haskins wrote a letter of apology, saying the ticket would be voided because it was written by mistake, the lawsuit stated.
A few days later, the suit said, a police officer walked into the restaurant and wrongly claimed that Thomas' handicapped permit was invalid, even though the five-year permit was still current.
A month later, Thomas claimed in the suit, he was ticketed again.
Lawyers for Salem Police Department had asked that the lawsuit be dismissed. But Judge Jackson Kiser had not ruled on that request when the settlement was struck.
by CNB