A UFMG (Federal University of Minas Gerais) opened an investigation to investigate alleged offenses and discriminatory acts committed by a university engineering professor against a person with a disability.
“UFMG confirms that it received, through its ombudsman, a complaint about the case, which will follow the appropriate administrative process at the Institution, with rigor in investigating the facts, observing procedural rites, and adopting all applicable measures, in accordance with the law”, said the university in a statement.
According to reports made through the social network of the Cozinha Santo Antônio restaurant, in the Santo Antônio neighborhood, in Belo Horizonte, a man in a wheelchair, identified as Pedro, his wife and his caregiver, were walking towards the establishment when they came across a car parked in front of the ramp intended for wheelchair users.
When approaching the owner of the vehicle, who frequented a bar ahead, he removed the car but mocked Pedro’s physical condition.
“Bye wheelchair user! I hope you walk around a lot”, he reportedly said.
According to the report, the man returned at night to the Santo Antônio restaurant to hurl new insults. The professor, whose name was not revealed, would also be a consultant for the Minas Gerais government.
“(He) came in proudly and with a smile on his face, I thought he was going to apologize, but he came very close to me and said: “And then he walked again?”, he said.
The entire action would have been recorded using cameras, with witnesses, and a police report was registered at a specialized police station.
The State Commission for the Defense of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities of the OAB-MG (Brazilian Bar Association – Minas Gerais section) also released a statement in support of the wheelchair user’s family:
“The report exposes a succession of violations that cannot be naturalized: parking on pedestrian crossings, obstruction of the access ramp, essential accessibility equipment, and statements that trivialize and delegitimize the physical condition of a person with a disability. This is not an exaggeration. It is a matter of law”, he stated.
