Wheelchair activist jailed for impeding traffic in Greenville

WITN reports a man advocating for wheelchair accessibility at Greenville city bus stops posted bond Thursday and is out of the Pitt County jail following his arrest earlier in the day.

Steven Hardy-Braz was charged by Greenville police for impeding traffic. Hardy-Braz was continuing his protests of bus stops he says are not accessible to people with disabilities on South Memorial Drive near Kohls.

Police said the Farmville man was initially warned and asked to move off the highway so he wasn’t impeding traffic. A spokeswoman said Hardy-Braz moved, but then was seen going right back to sitting in the highway and then was arrested.

Police said arresting the man was the final option after he received verbal warnings and written citations.

WITN reported on Hardy-Braz’s protests Wednesday night. According to Hardy-Braz, he is forced to ride his wheelchair in the road because he says bus stops in the city are not accessible. When using his wheelchair, the man says he has to go against traffic, something the city says has become a problem.

He says the city and state are breaking the Americans with Disabilities Act by not having bus stops accessible people with disabilities.

Greenville spokesperson Brock Letchworth says they are studying the city’s transit system which includes steps to improve ADA compliance. “The individual who disrupted traffic on city streets this morning has previously been made aware of the Pitt Area Transit System option for transportation but has elected not to utilize it and instead advocate in a way that endangers himself and other motorists on busy city streets,” said Letchworth.

Hardy-Braz was in on a $1,000 bond secured bond. That bond was changed to unsecured and Hardy-Braz was then released.