An Army veteran who was left unable to walk for extended periods after being wounded in Afghanistan says he was kicked out of a Tennessee mall for riding his Segway.
Master Sgt. Michael Trost told WATE.com he was riding the personal transport device through through Foothills Mall in Maryville on Thursday when a security guard told him to leave.
“A security guard approached me and said I was going to have to take out the Segway. I told him it was an ADA, or a handicap piece of equipment,” Trost told the station.
Trost spent several months in the hospital after suffering four gunshot wounds in Afghanistan. He has chronic nerve pains in his legs and uses the Segway to walk long distances, according to the report.
A representative from the mall told WATE.com thatdisabled people are allowed to use Segways in the shopping center as long as they are operated in a “safe manner.”
The mall security guard told Trost he was speeding, but the veteran maintains he was using the device in a safe manner, the news report stated.
“This is not about me. This is about other people who also have ADA equipment,” Trost told the station.
The station reported that the Blount County Government Veteran Affairs office plans to look into the incident.