A blind person has claimed they were assaulted in a toilet in Gateshead after being told they couldn't go in with their assistance dog.
Traxion Bell, a retired artist and LGBTQ+ disability rights campaigner, 53, was using the disabled toilet at Trinity Square in Gateshead on the afternoon of Tuesday March 7 when they say they were told that assistance dog Nutmeg was not allowed in the bathroom. Traxion says Nutmeg is always clearly marked as an assistance dog with a bright blue harness, and that was no different on Tuesday.
Assistance dogs were given the same protection in law as guide dogs in the Equality Act 2010, and refusing to allow entry to disabled customers, whether or not they have assistance dogs, is considered direct discrimination. However, whereas the majority of guide dogs are Labradors or Golden Retrievers, assistance dogs can be any breed - such as a dachshund cross, like Traxion's.
Traxion claims that when they tried to enter the disabled toilet, they heard a voice to their left saying "you can't have a dog in there." Not realising that it was directed at them, they carried on into the toilet and says that the woman shouted "louder and more aggressively".
Traxion says that they lifted up the lead marked with assistance dog, and thought that would be the end of it. However a man then appeared and reiterated the point of "no dogs allowed in here," with Traxion claiming that he grabbed their arm and "would have left marks had I not been wearing a padded jacket".
Trinity Square say that this was a passer-by who was coming to the aid of the toilet attendant. However, Traxion could not see the man in question.
The 53-year-old then "ran into" the toilet and said: "I don't know how long I was there. I was shaking, I vomited, I was a mess and this really put me back to being attacked before, I had a meltdown in the toilet.
"I don't know how long I was in there but after a while I thought, I'm going to get locked in but I was worried he was still outside. My brain went into just save the dog, because I had to take her home and feed her, so I just needed to get out of there."
Traxion claims that they then went to make a complaint at the attendants' room, claiming that the staff member who shouted at her had broken the law by "denying entry with the assistance dog and inciting another person to grab and assault them". At this point, Trinity Square's operations manager joined but Traxion believes this "made the situation worse".
Traxion claims that the manager told them to be quiet and when they said they would phone the police, responded by saying: "I wouldn't bother doing that because they won't do anything." However, a statement from Trinity Square said: "He told her that was fine when she said she was going to call the police and certainly didn’t say don’t call them as they won’t do anything."
Traxion finished: "I tried to be polite but I felt they were all quite dismissive.
"People say things when you're blind because they think you're stupid and you don't understand things. I can't help that my eyes don't function, that's not my fault.
"I had been physically attacked, I was frightened and in distress, and I'm being told be quiet and to shut up. I'm shocked I didn't end up in an ambulance to be honest."
A statement from Trinity Square disputed many of Traxion's claims, saying: "The lady concerned made her way into our public toilets with her dog. It wasn’t immediately obvious that the dog was an assistance dog as it was only on closer inspection could the words ‘assistance dog’ be read on the dog’s collar and lead. It wasn’t wearing a more visible blue harness for example.
"Our attendant on duty therefore approached the lady and informed her that dogs were not allowed in the toilets. A member of the public was entering also at this point and as it looked like the lady hadn’t heard our attendant, he reiterated that dogs weren’t allowed.
"We assume she then told him it was an assistance dog, and he then helped the lady open the disabled toilet door so she could enter. On leaving the toilet, the lady looked for our attendant and then proceeded to shout at her, attracting attention from other customers.
"Our operations manager was passing at this point and approached the lady, asking her what the problem was and how he could help. She continued to shout at him despite being asked politely and calmly several times to cease shouting, so they sort out the problem.
"We have CCTV and body cam footage of the whole incident, and this will be shared with the Police should they request it. They have not yet been in touch regarding this event."
"No one from our team made physical contact with the lady concerned or shouted at her, our staff are highly trained in customer service skills and dealt with the situation calmly and professionally. It is possible, that the member of the public tapped her arm as he was trying to attract her attention initially, but this was in no way aggressive as can be seen by the CCTV footage.
Trinity Square are unable to share bodycam or CCTV footage with ChronicleLive due to GDPR restrictions.
A spokesperson for Northumbria Police said: "We are investigating a report of assault which occurred at the toilets of Trinity Square, Gateshead, on Tuesday (March 7). It was reported that a woman was assaulted by an unknown man at about 4.15pm.
"The victim did not suffer any serious physical injuries but was left shaken by the incident. A full investigation has been launched into the circumstances surrounding the incident.
"Anyone with information is asked to contact police via the ‘Tell Us Something’ page of our website or by calling 101 quoting crime number 029037M/23."
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