A deaf Sauk Village man is suing the village, a police officer and several businesses after he says he was denied business and made to leave a store because of his disability.
Scott Angel was denied the ability to order his usual iced coffee through a Dunkin’ drive-through Feb. 9, receiving a written note saying “You are Not served here” from an employee, according to the lawsuit filed by Keith Hunt of Hunt Law PC. A portion of this exchange was captured on Angel’s phone.
A Dunkin’ employee can be seen handing Angel the note which he then shows in awe to the camera while Taylor Swift plays in the background.
Angel then went inside the gas station mini market at 1445 East Sauk Trail, which is connected to the Dunkin’, to order his coffee at the counter, the lawsuit, filed in the District Court for the Northern District of Illinois’s Eastern Division, states. That’s when Angel was again denied service by the employees and asked to leave by a manager of the gas station. That manager then called Sauk Village police.
“They want you to leave. Just leave. They don’t want you here. They can refuse you,” an officer with a Sauk Village police badge said in another video captured by Angel.
When asked if he thought there was a chance Angel was dismissed because of bad conduct, Hunt wrote in a text that Angel “categorically denies each and every allegation” he ever harassed any employees.
The videos, taken in selfie mode, appear to show Angel’s face as he attempts to reason with people denying him service through sign language, mouthing words, asking for a pen to communicate via writing and showing the police officer an app that turns speech to text.
The suit maintains that Angel was not a threat or belligerent.
The Sauk Village Police Department, Sauk Village and Gas N Wash did not respond to requests for comment. McEnery Management and SV Donuts Inc. could not be reached.
hsanders@chicagotribune.com
