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(For background on Cindy Earnshaw, click here)
As most of you have been made aware, a federal lawsuit was filed on Mach 10, 2008 against the City of Overland Park (Kansas) and its police department for the way they destroyed my career because it was easier for them to destoy an exemplary employee with a developmental disability (an autism-spectrum disorder called Asperger Syndrome/high-functioning autism) than it was to constructively remedy their utter mismanagement of their own bullying, hostile, discriminatory and retaliatory working environment.
I received the following email this morning from a man in South Carolina whose young son has Asperger Disorder. Since he realizes that I am the future of his child, he contacted CNN and asked them to pay attention to what is going on here in Kansas with my situation. As April is Autism Awareness Month, CNN has been covering the issue of autism extensively.
I have been living it extensively.
If you are so inclined and wish to similarly contact CNN, please visit their website at www.cnn.com and click on "contact us" at the bottom of the page. You can then either send them a "news tip" or an idea for a story.
I can be contacted at earnshaw@peoplestelecom.net or Judy can be contacted by phone at 913.256.9501 for more information.
Also see:
http://www.sunpublications.com/articles/2008/04/03/overland_park_sun/news/doc47f3dfc5168a5902822605.txt#blogcomments
http://www.kmbc.com/news/13296425/detail.html
They killed me, but I'm not dead yet.
Speak now...while my life is still holding open the door for you and your kids.
Best regards,
Cindy
KANSAS CITY , Mo. -- Cindy Earnshaw said it was her dream job to work as an Overland Park, Kan., Animal Control officer. But after nine years of exemplary job evaluations, Earnshaw was deemed unfit for duty. Earnshaw said it is because of her disability.
"I crawled my whole life to get there. When I got there, I was good and gave it 100 percent," Earnshaw told KMBC's Lara Moritz.
Earnshaw said she felt most comfortable in her uniform, driving her Animal Control truck and taking care of animals in Overland Park.
"I so loved my job, and I was so passionate about it, and was able to serve my citizens and my animals, which kind of compensated," Earnshaw said.
Earnshaw said the job compensated her for what she claims was constant bullying by her fellow Animal Control officers.
"I'm there to work, you know. All I got for that was torment and abuse and bullying. They articulated, 'You are purposely trying to make us look bad,'" Earnshaw said.
Moritz reported that Earnshaw suffers from Asperger's Syndrome. It is a social disorder that makes it difficult, almost impossible to engage in small talk. Earnshaw said her co-workers did not understand it, so they made fun of her and often excluded her.
"They are often perceived as odd, unusual, aloof, isolated and in situations where there's not adequate structure and supervision, they are often ridiculed, teased and harassed," Earnshaw's psychologist Dr. Doug Geenens said.
Earnshaw's disorder did not affect her job performance, Moritz reported.
In fact, out of 80,000 citizen calls she responded to in nine years, she received only one citizen complaint.
Moritz said she examined every single one of Earnshaw's job performance evaluations. All of them were above average and most of the time they were excellent, Moritz reported.
Earnshaw received 15 letters of commendation from two police chiefs in her nine years with police department.
In 2004, one of Earnshaw's superiors sent her an e-mail saying, "You've received more commendations and gifts from citizens this year than I've ever heard of someone receiving."
"I still did my job well every day, even when I was being tormented every day," Earnshaw said.
Earnshaw said that in staff meetings, her co-workers would dismiss her ideas, purposely making her feel inadequate.
"They would roll their eyes. They would laugh. They would make it clear that, 'See? Cindy's the only one that doesn't go along with the rest of us,'" Earnshaw said.
Earnshaw asked her superiors to stop the bullying. In a 2003 e-mail to her sargeant she writes, "I do not come to work to be yelled at, insulted, harassed, called names, disregarded, disrepected ... I do not request the affection of my co-workers, but I do demand they not be allowed to abuse me."
Earnshaw said her supervisors assured her that something would get done.
"It's quite devastating when you realize it doesn't matter how good you are, you're still going to lose out to the bullies," Earnshaw said.
In March 2006, her supervisor gave her a glowing performance evaluation and recommended a pay raise. In October 2006, a lieutenant colonel sent an e-mail to all of the Animal Control officers saying he expected them to "treat each other with dignity and respect."
But by this time, Earnshaw said the bullying had become so out of control that she worried for her safety.
"I had become physically afraid to come to work," Earnshaw said.
In November 2006, Earnshaw was asked to see the Police Department psychologist who stated that "Cindy's not capable of performing the essential duties of an ACO (Animal Control Officer) given the extensive history of problematic peer interactions ... Cindy's unlikely to benefit from further treatment in terms of job-related functioning as an Animal Control Officer."
"What's wrong, and the reason I'm not there, is because I can't take the bullying anymore. I can't take their negligence," Earnshaw said.
Earnshaw recently resigned from her position at the Overland Park Police Department. Moritz reported that Earnshaw has hired a lawyer and has contacted the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission , which is now investigating her claims of employment discrimination.
Overland Park city officials would not talk with Moritz on camera, but they did send a statement.
"The city has in place appropriate policies that follow state and federal law to deal effectively with issues related to disabilities and the city constantly follows those policies. The city is cooperating fully in the agency's investigations. The city is confident that when the agency's investigation is complete, the city's handling of this matter will be found to have been appropriate.
But for Earnshaw, not being able to do the job she loves, hurts her the most, Moritz reported.
"How do you call your mom and say you can't go back to work, but it's not because you did something wrong. People automatically think you did something wrong or this wouldn't be happening to you. That's how demoralized I was when I left there. They crushed the life out of me," Earnshaw said.
Copyright 2007 by TheKansasCityChannel.com
http://www.thekansascitychannel.com/news/13296425/detail.html
All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
As a result of this travesty, Cindy has no job, no structure, no health insurance, no retirement, and no income. Even more, since people on the autism spectrum often have great difficulty "transitioning" skills from one setting to another, her prospects for future successful emplyment are hardly guaranteed. The sheer injury inflicted from this traumatic experience alone further dims future prospects.
Mothers from Hell 2 (MFH2)
is a national group of parents, relatives, friends, and anyone who just plain 'gets it' fighting chipped tooth and broken press-on nail for the appropriate education, community acceptance, desperately needed services, rights of and entitlements for people with disabilities. (Hey, we're moms, we can rattle off really long sentences like that without stopping for air!)
Our name is not about our advocacy philosophy, but a name bestowed on us for daring to stand up for our kids .
is for every individual with a disability to automatically receive the services and inclusion they are entitled to in order to reach their fullest potential.
is to advocate for disability rights.
We support efforts to move people out of spirit-killing institutions and into their community.
We believe that the money that the state pays for institutions should follow the person out of the institution and into their community.
We abhor the practice of imprisoning people for the "crime" of having a disability.
A Statement from MOTHERS FROM HELL (2)
Discrimination is not to be tolerated in the USA , right? So, why is it okay for people with disabilities to be harassed, abused and neglected?
Mothers From Hell (2) is speaking out, demanding equal treatment of those with disabilities. The individuals who harassed and abused Cindy Earnshaw should be fired. Their behavior is an example of how NOT to treat people with disabilities in the workforce.
We cannot allow harassment and discrimination against those with disabilities. As advocates, family members and friends of people with disabilities, we’ve got to take a stand. Send a message to Cindy Earnshaw’s co-workers and employers that discrimination is NOT okay, and that individuals with disabilities are equal and valued members of our community.
Light a fire with this quote from Dante (who was quite the expert on the Inferno…): "The hottest places in Hell are reserved for those who, in time of great moral crisis, maintain their neutrality."
The choice is yours. Stand up and be counted in the fight against discrimination. As another of our leaders said, “Justice for ALL!”—and all means all.
Mothers From Hell (2): Advocating for disability rights. WE WILL NOT BE SILENCED!
Please respond to: Kimberly Morrell
1517 Walnut St
Peru , IL 61354-2004
(815) 224-4568
Thank you for your time and attention to this matter!
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