A disabled Brookings woman has filed a civil rights suit against Brookings police, alleging they unlawfully stopped her and violated the federal Americans with Disabilities Act when they cited her for riding her mobile electric scooter on a sidewalk without a helmet and then chased her when she continued to ride home.

Jennifer Gayman, 49, is seeking $500,000 in damages, plus a judgment for unspecified punitive damages under the federal suit filed in the U.S. District Court in Medford this week.

Neither Brookings Public Safety Director Kelby McCrae nor the city manager Janell Howard returned messages seeking comment Wednesday.

Gayman suffers from a degenerative eye disease and pulmonary disease and relies on a mobile scooter to get around.

Gayman was headed home shortly after midnight on Nov. 19, 2018, after a night with friends doing karaoke when two officers stopped her on the sidewalk. They told her she couldn’t operate her scooter on the sidewalk, in a crosswalk or without a helmet, according to her suit.

She challenged their contention as the officers could be seen on their body camera footage trying to search the internet to find the appropriate state law.

The officers cited her for operating the scooter in a crosswalk, unsafe operation of the scooter and failure to wear protective headgear.

The officers then advised Gayman she couldn’t continue to ride the scooter home, about one to two miles away. The officers also didn’t offer her a ride.

“I want to go home. You guys are pulling me over for no reason,’’ she could be heard telling them, based on the police body camera footage obtained by her lawyer. “You take my disability act, and you’re throwing it in the garbage.’’

Fed up and confident she he had a legal right to use her mobile scooter, Grayman continued to ride it home early that morning in the dark.

The officers, in their patrol cars, then chased after Gayman, traveling with emergency lights and sirens activated, driving about 15 miles an hour behind her for the next several minutes.

They also radioed for backup, alleging Gayman was “eluding’’ police.

As Gayman arrived home and entered her garage, officers surrounded her and arrested her, adding two charges, attempting to elude police and interfering with an officer.

Curry County prosecutors took Gayman to trial, and she was convicted of attempting to elude police. A judge sentenced her to five days in jail and 18 months of probation.

Attorney Jacob Johnstun, who is representing Gayman in her civil suit, said the officers looked up state law on scooters but didn’t take into account how the law applies to a disabled woman.

The suit contends the officers violated her rights under federal disabilities law, which says government municipalities must provide accommodations for people with disabilities who require the assistance of a mobility aid or device.

Under the American with Disabilities Act, “certain local rules and laws do not apply to persons with disabilities while they are utilizing their mobility devices,’’ such as the requirement of the use of a helmet or other protective head gear while using a scooter under Oregon state law, Johnstun argues in the suit.

“It is ridiculous,’’ Johnstun said. “It strains belief that any officer can really believe that the law required a disabled woman to have to get off their scooter and walk it across the crosswalk.’’

The suit alleges Brookings police failed to train its officers on the federal Americans with Disabilities Act and on ADA-approved mobility devices and failed to withdraw the charges against Gayman after provided evidence about the required accommodations.

-- Maxine Bernstein

Email at mbernstein@oregonian.com; 503-221-8212

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