Kirk's Community Speech for Burnsville High School
I presented this speech to several classes at Burnsville High School on 5/9/2012.
Hello! I know that this is going to sound corny but if I could, I would be sitting on top of a desk right now in an effort to show you body language to indicate I want this to be a relaxed atmosphere conducive to you feeling comfortable to ask many questions! I know that it’s difficult to ask strangers questions especially to an individual who has unique characteristics such as I do! But folks, nearly over half of the U.S. population today has disabilities! And later today or tomorrow, you could acquire a disability by having a vehicle accident, being a crime victim, and etc. Plus many careers such as in criminal justice, human resources, public relations, health care, and etc. would demand you to interact with all walks of life and develop a rapport with them to effectively assist them or get information from them! Nevertheless, even if your work won’t involve people with disabilities, it is still very probable that you will need to interact with some such as you may have a spouse or a child with a disability, your children may have friends with disabilities, or your neighborhood more than likely has at least one person with a disability even if it is not visible to you! Thus I highly suggest that you start practicing today with me! Furthermore, this is the perfect opportunity to ask any type of questions to prevent feeling embarrassed or ignorant later! Okay, I will stop lecturing about asking questions; at least for now, LOL!
I have had Cerebral Palsy since I was born. I am not mentally challenged and I can't die from it. I have total hearing and vision, but my eyes tend to wander when I read something that's long, thus my personal care attendants often times read things to me because its just quicker. As you can see, I use an electronic voice computer; it's both audible and readable. It's slow, because I can only type with one thumb. So I have developed a hand language using numbers and letters, which anyone can learn in 10 minutes. But I also know the regular sign language letters. Thus I occasionally talk through my personal care attendants, because sometimes it's quicker.
In an effort to give a smattering of facts and my own perspective about my disability, I am going to now give you a brief description of how I acquired Cerebral Palsy, (CP) how others can Acquire CP, and then my philosophy mainly about my own CP. Thus hopefully you will become more comfortable with CP itself. First of all, I lacked oxygen during birth due to the umbilical cord being around my neck I believe. And lacking oxygen at birth is the most common way of acquiring CP. However people can acquire it from a severe blow to the head such as falling from a tree or vehicle accidents etc. All CP is brain damage. And some people with CP have mental retardation, but I have always viewed mental retardation not being caused by the CP even though I suppose it is in some cases. Anyway CP is really the luck of the draw. Some cases just one leg or arm is affected. And other cases have much less mobility than I have. I'm Athetoid with some spasticity. The more spasticity that a person has the less mobility they have, because essentially spasticity means tight or rigid muscles, whereas Athetoid essentially means overly loose and hard to control muscles. I could be a lot quote worse or quote better off just depending on the amount of oxygen deprived somewhat I guess. But I think it's more with luck fate and God, because the human body really isn't scientific in that five billion things could affect it.
My mother really believes that if the doctor would have decided to do a C-section, I wouldn't have CP. But who knows and who cares! I'm here and I am living life to the fullest! She occasionally asks me if I wish they'd have sued the doctor. My feeling is what's done is done! Even though I occasionally wish I could talk the traditional way, I'm thankful for what I have! And I believe that there is a good reason why I'm quote disabled which I'll find out after I die. But if I'm wrong, so be it! And once again, I truly do not let my Cerebral Palsy stop me from doing anything that's important to me anyway!
Even though my physical disability is called quite severe, as I just said, I truly make a gallant effort to live life to the fullest, and I really don't allow it to stop me from accomplishing anything that I want to do! For example, I have skydived; I have traveled by myself quite a bit even to Australia, and I live alone. Also I have several degrees in criminal justice. In 2000, I was hired as a part-time program assistant at the center for criminal justice and law enforcement, (CCJLE), but technically it is now called The Law Enforcement Criminal Justice Education Center (L.E.C.J.E.C). And I still help train future law enforcement officers by role-playing in scenarios there. Also in 2004, I was hired as a part-time overnight security guard at Concordia University, and I worked at Concordia for six years until my position was eliminated in 2010 due to budget cuts. Also currently I serve on the board of the Minnesota Association of Women Police, and I have managed their website in the past (mnwomenpolice.org). Furthermore, I occasionally teach some classes at Concordia in their Master's criminal justice online program in hope of becoming an adjunct professor in the future. I just wanted to tell you a little about myself, so you would feel comfortable with me, because I am really just a regular guy on the inside! And to give you an indication that I am in fact just a regular guy on the inside; as I mentioned earlier, I ventured to Australia alone a few years ago, because I had been chatting to a woman online for about nine months. I went for eleven days, and I had a very nice time! Some people call me crazy or a risk taker by going to Australia, going skydiving, or just by living alone. However, the fact is that typically I only take calculated risks, because I think every thing out well and always have reasons for my actions! Anyway I do take many calculated risks, because again, I never want to allow my disability to prevent me from doing anything that I truly want to do!
To give you some understanding of how my disability challenges me in doing things such as school work, designing scenarios for criminal justice students at L.E.C.J.E.C., and other writing activities; again since I can only type with one thumb, it usually takes me about four hours to type one page. Thus I have learned how to say a lot with the least amount of words. Also my care attendants can’t help me type papers, because I truly do my best thinking and work very late at night and frankly that’s when I have time to do computer work, and some of my care attendants leave around 10 PM. By the way, when I type papers or emails, I use a word prediction program that keeps guessing more words as I type more letters. Furthermore, even though it takes me a considerable amount of time to type, I tend to prefer to conduct business or to communicate with friends via email because it’s more private and I feel more independent. When I call people especially relating to business, it’s almost necessary most of the time to have a care attendant help me communicate, because the person on the other end wouldn’t be very conducive to waiting while I type messages on my voice computer. Thus the conversation ends up not being very private with a care attendant listening. However, sometimes it’s easier and quicker to make calls in stead of writing emails, and sometimes I obviously like hearing a human voice giving me instant feedback especially when it’s a female friend. LOL! I just wanted to share all of these things with you just so you can better understand me and my disability.
I gathered that one of the reasons why I was asked to speak today was to give you some perspective that people with disabilities obviously can be as dedicated to their career choice as any person can be! Thus I will now tell you more about my law enforcement knowledge and experience. Well, not to sound cynical, but I knew that I would have a major battle of my life in trying to get hired by a law enforcement agency with having a quote, severe disability. Thus I began obtaining knowledge and experience when I was 14 with becoming a Bloomington Police Explorer. I competed in many regional and national competitions and helped with the security with President Gorbachev as an explorer when he visited from Russia. I was an explorer for 7 years and I left as a lieutenant. In high school for 3 Summers I worked security for the local Veteran’s Hospital. Almost all through my high school years, I was involved in a Students Against Drunk Driving Program. Also, in my last year in high school I was the bailiff for many competitions for my high schools mock trial club and my final competition took place in the states supreme court. Furthermore, I completed a six month unique college unusual internship at Normandale involving several Law Enforcement agencies such as the Hennepin and Carver County Dispatch Centers, the State Patrol, the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, but primarily with Bloomington and Chanhassen.
Since I obtained my 2 year degree at Normandale Community College in 1999, I have worked for many law enforcement trainings across the state besides working for the police academy (L.E.C.J.E.C.). Also in 2002, I completed the St. Paul Police Citizen’s Academy in hope of getting myself employed by the department in the future. Furthermore, I obtained my Bachelor's in Criminal Justice in 2004 and then my Master's in Criminal Justice in 2006 both from Concordia University. Thus as you can see, I am a true cop junkie, LOL! However, quite sadly, I needed to be in order to prove my strength, agility, intelligence, independence, and capabilities to the law enforcement community! Even though it is frustrating sometimes that I have needed to do extra things to prove myself, I believe that the extra challenges along the way have helped me to be stronger and more mature!
I think that another reason why I was requested to speak today was to talk about how persons with disabilities should be treated. Well, it should be simple, if you know what the golden rule is, treat others as you want to be treated! However, in reality, it’s not that simple! When it comes down to it, who is really alike? No one! Thus how the heck do you really know how others want to be treated other than most likely with respect and kindness? I feel that you really don’t in all essence! For instance, I have a unique philosophy about how I personally want to be treated. For example, when I used to talk to my peers in public schools, I would begin by saying I don’t want to be treated like anyone else because I am my own person; I am just Kirk Wetzlich. I did that to get there attention, because people always tend to say "treat disabled people like anyone else". And I wholeheartedly agree with treating people equally as best as possible! However, everyone on earth has different qualities and challenges! Thus as any type of professionals or just as society members, I ask that you recognize and appreciate the unique qualities and challenges that individuals have, and be willing to try to accommodate for their desires and challenges! I understand why it can often be uncomfortable to be around persons with disabilities, because they don't fit the typical person that is known and accepted automatically by society. However, it's sad because even though persons with disabilities are especially different, essentially everyone has the same needs, desires, and basic functions! Thus even though I personally avoid assuming things and I preach to criminal justice students never to assume anything in law enforcement due to possible negative or even fatal effects it can have on them, I would like you to assume that persons with disabilities have average functions of their five senses, and that their thinking process is average unless you find out different. Don’t assume that standard or common accommodations will work for people who have similar disabilities, and don’t assume that every individual with a disability needs or wants accommodations. Furthermore, try to let the individuals tell you what they desire and need! However, try to make individuals feel comfortable talking to you! For example, if the individual is in a wheelchair, kneel down to talk to them, so you don’t intimidate them. However, if you’re thinking about being a police officer someday, remember that perceived victims could really be the suspects. Thus you want to always be cautious about kneeling down, because individuals could ram you easily by an electric wheelchair. Anyway another way to make an individual feel comfortable talking to you, if they use an alternative communication style is to say that you have lots of time to talk so they don’t need to rush. However, be aware that some individuals may get mad by you saying that, because they might feel that you’re belittling them. Thus I would say that the best rule of thumb is just to talk to them as how you would others. By the way, always look at them even if they are using an interpreter, because they’re still the ones who are talking to you. And don’t talk to them as children if they are adults with average intellect! The reason why I made that last point is that I believe persons with disabilities often get treated as children, because some people just assume if one part of an individual is affected by a disability, then all of their five senses and their intelligence must be affected too. In fact, I had a big fear of that happening to me, and it helped me to be motivated and become very independent. And occasionally strangers do treat me as if my disability affects my intelligence and hearing. However, I don’t let it bother me, because I obviously know that they’re just ignorant!
Some bad terms to use for persons with disabilities are the following in my point of view: handicapped because it really means crippled, don’t call it a condition because it usually means good or bad like the weather forecast, and don’t call a disability a disease. While a few disabilities could be classified as being quote, diseases, such as Muscular Dystrophy and Multiple sclerosis because they attack the body, people often characterize diseases as being contagious or being bad. Furthermore, try not to say quote, that person is disabled; rather say quote, that person has a disability. Technically I believe the quote, in-terms, are physically or mentally impaired or impairments. But personally I hate those terms! I would prefer to be referred to as having physical challenges or being physically challenged with Cerebral Palsy. And I tend to refer to someone who has a mental disability as being mentally challenged. However, I have no problem with the terms, physically disabled or mentally disabled, whichever the case may be! I just wanted to tell you my opinion about the different terminology that is used.
Now, since I typically don’t have a care attendant with me when I work or just when I am out and about obviously partly due to my crazy nocturnal behavior of enjoying working and being out late at night; I want to talk about how you could feel comfortable to effectively interact with me personally if we would ever meet in public. You could always easily interact with me! First never feel bad about telling me too repeat myself, because my computer talks fast and is hard to understand. And whenever you were physically near me, you could always read what I was saying at the top of the screen if you couldn’t understand the voice. Also if I ever wanted to tell you a super long private message without sound, I would flip up the key guard, and switch to a big text screen, so you could read it easier. By the way, since I probably wouldn't already have a message ready to tell you, it would usually take me about five minutes to type ten words. And sometimes it may appear I am getting frustrated or having trouble, because my hands and feet tend to move around a lot when I type. But I am always cool and never get frustrated!
Since I hopefully have minimized any fear or anxiety that you may have had about interacting with people who have disabilities, I highly recommend that you take or create an opportunity to befriend someone with a disability, because if you do, I believe that it will have a great impact on both of your lives! For example, I met many good friends in high school and college who gave me a lot of self confidence just by seeing beyond my disability and wanting to hang out with me! And the confidence that they subtly and unknowingly gave me did greatly contribute to my successful life today! Thus please look beyond disabilities and see the person for who they are on the inside with appreciating their unique qualities and differences!
Now, I want to kind of switch topics and give you an indication that some professional people still are pretty ignorant about people with disabilities even in a very public serving profession such as the criminal justice system! For example, I took a diversity class for my BA, and one of our discussion questions reflected on the fact that persons with disabilities often get excluded from diversity discussions about our criminal justice system. I of course needed to give my opinion as to why that is. I said that honestly I don’t know why we, persons with disabilities, are frequently excluded especially when we are at a higher risk of being crime victims and we’re becoming over half of the general population. However, I think it’s because criminal justice professionals typically don’t see very many persons with disabilities committing crimes at a substantial rate. And I think our criminal justice system tends to focus more on criminals rather than victims even though we essentially fight crime for victims and to protect society. On the other hand we do have some persons with disabilities who commit crimes such as gang members who acquire a disability. However, criminal justice professionals shouldn’t need us, persons with disabilities, to be criminals in order to include us in diversity discussions. Furthermore, some of my classmates gave their opinion on this issue with saying it may be due to the fact that it can be uncomfortable to go up to people with disabilities and ask questions etc. In fact, one of my classmates commented that some police officers are afraid to search people who have disabilities. Another one of my classmates commented that she didn’t think too much about persons with disabilities being criminals, until she arrested a female shoplifter who was in a wheelchair with only having the use of one hand. Those comments are frightening and indicate that criminal justice professionals definitely need more training! Especially due to the fact that there are quite a few persons with disabilities in down town areas who are creeps who hide weapons and drugs under them, or underneath their seat cushions of their wheelchair, and some pee themselves when officers search them. Furthermore, police officers must not be uncomfortable to question persons with disabilities, because they can be real credible witnesses! Also of course persons with disabilities who are victims deserve to be properly treated by police officers and by all other criminal justice professionals! Therefore, I decided to create a training guide for my Master’s capstone thesis on how criminal justice professionals can effectively interact with people who have disabilities as criminals, victims and witnesses. In fact, I actually have already implemented a good portion of the guide into the training at the police academy (L.E.C.J.E.C).
Obviously I have always known that I will probably never be a licensed police officer due to the physical requirements and demands. However, there are a lot of beneficial things I can do for law enforcement! I have really enjoyed both of my recent past and present jobs especially getting to work at Concordia, because being a security officer was probably the closest that I will be to having actual police officer duties and responsibilities! Thus becoming a Concordia security officer was a real joyful milestone for me! However, my goal is of course still to work for a law enforcement agency more directly fighting crime! Nevertheless, until I accomplish that goal or even if I don’t, I feel very fortunate to have been a security officer, and I am glad to be training future police officers, because I of course know that I am in an okay place for now and that I'm benefiting society! At Concordia University, I worked twice a week from 11 PM to 7 AM, and I patrolled the entire grounds by myself monitoring for: suspicious activity, safety hazards, building vandalism, dormitory violations, parking violators, and vehicle vandalism and theft. My job duties also included: assisting officers with alarm calls, ensuring interior and exterior doors were locked, giving students and staff escorts, and taking radio calls from dispatch.
At L.E.C.J.E.C., I teach how to handcuff, interview, weapon and full search, transport persons with disabilities and how to disable electric wheelchairs. And I play suspects with guns and knives and I have shot many students because they ignored my hands etc. Also of course I play victims and witnesses. Currently I mainly work in two types of classes at L.E.C.J.E.C.: a report writing class and a crimes in progress class. In the report writing class I'm a witness to a sex for drugs deal that went sour with a knife threat. I only witness a few things that match with the victim's story. My job is to guide the students as to what's important to ask or not for their report so they are solid for court. Meaning that as the students go through the particular scenario, I teach what types of questions will be beneficial so their report will have the crucial information to get a conviction for the case. Plus so the defense attorney can't discredit the cop or shoot down the case just because the cop didn't have the crucial information in the report. Also we don't want students wasting time asking not important questions to the victim or witness especially when the suspect could be still around. But some students don't want to take enough time with the victim and witness, and they want to rush to the suspect not having enough probable cause or information to make the arrest. Plus of course part of my job is teaching them how to deal with a witness who has a disability. For example, in this particular scenario, students need to ask if I can stay on scene to positively identify the suspect once they locate him in a bar. When they ask that question, I say that my bus is coming in three minutes, and imply that it’s the last MTC accessible bus of the day. I then ask how they would transport me and my electric wheelchair. Most students don’t know how to answer that question. Thus I tell my students that even though some persons with disabilities think that Metro Mobility sucks because sometimes they're not very reliable; we are just suggesting that police officers mention Metro Mobility to persons with disabilities, so they know that the responding police officer understands what they need, and that they will get safe and accessible transportation to their destination, because most persons with disabilities are familiar with Metro Mobility. Also I tell students that Airport Town Taxi has a few wheelchair accessible vans, and they are often more available and reliable than Metro Mobility. Another example of what I teach is that students need to be aware that they need to ask persons with disabilities how they could be contacted later for a follow up interview by the investigator. I say that in my situation of having a voice computer, it would be best to leave me a voice mail, so that I could call them back when I had a care attendant with me to help to communicate faster. There are many more examples such as those that I could share with you that are important for police officers to know in order to properly interact with people who have disabilities!
In the crimes in progress class, I do a lot of different scenarios. For example, in one scenario; I stole a watch from a store and of course I deny it. I run if the students don't handle the call right and I teach ways to handcuff and search me etc. In another scenario; I'm a drug dealer and I just made a deal and I have a gun and I run away when the students arrive on scene. Students generally assume that the other role-player is the drug dealer. Also they don't know how to stop my electric wheelchair or what force they can use. So I coach them on different things with each type of scenario. In another one; I went to a motel with a prostitute and she stole all of my money without giving me anything so I call the cops. In another one; I vandalize a car because it's in the handicapped spot illegally and the owner assaulted me. Another one is that I witness a car break in and I saw him throw something, which turns out to be a gun. In another one; I call the police because my brother hit me while being my care attendant and living with me. Furthermore, in another scenario; I am on a date and she calls the police, because I threaten her with a gun to perform a sexual act. In all of the scenarios I make it real as much as possible! For example, I swear and hassle the students a lot while we're acting out the scenarios, so they get used to dealing with people who are like the population that cops deal with on the street on most days.
As I have already indicated, I like my job at L.E.C.J.E.C., because even though I can't be a street cop, part of my style is continually getting on the street by sharing my knowledge and advice about law enforcement procedures and techniques with many future cops! Most of the teachers at L.E.C.J.E.C. are police officers. Many teachers have commented that they wish that I was there when they went through the academy, because they never received training on criminals who have disabilities which there are a lot of on the street.
Although my disability challenges me everyday and makes it difficult to do and get everything I want, I never complain about it, because it can't be changed! There has been many times where people have tried to stop me from doing what I want to do, but I have never quit! For example, I needed to take an Advanced First Aid Class to get my first college degree at Normandale Community College. The teacher of the class didn't want to deal with my disability, because obviously I couldn't do some of the physical skills like for CPR and the Heimlich Maneuver, so the teacher would have needed to adapt the class work for me which he clearly didn't want to do. The sad thing is that the college's disability services people sided with the teacher, because in their minds I needed to do the physical skills to pass the course. Luckily at that time I was still getting help from my high school's special needs liaison counselor because I was under Post Secondary Options for a short time. She suggested that I talk to Normandale's head instructor of the health classes about my situation with the First Aid Teacher. The head instructor agreed to meet with me once a week and orally test me on the physical skills of the course if I would still take the regular class to get the whole experience. So I took the regular class and worked with the head instructor. It was like taking two classes for the same credit, but it was no big deal and I got an A. After that experience, I really felt that I could handle any challenge that came my way, so I'm glad that it happened because it gave me a lot of courage and confidence! Another example of when people have tried to stop me from doing what I want to do happened in college too. I was planning to attend a general college police academy after I was done at Normandale. In November of 97 I received a rejection letter from the director of the police academy saying I couldn't be accepted because I didn't have a driver's license which was an excuse for not dealing with my disability. I was really crushed because the assistant director of the academy had been positive about accepting me ever since I graduated from high school. Thus the assistant director suggested that I go back to Normandale and get more credits to get a Criminal Justice Degree instead of a Law Enforcement Degree. The assistant director said if I would try to get the rest of the credits by that June, she believed that the director would accept me to the academy that summer. I needed to get about 36 more credits in 2 quarters but I said to myself that I'm going to do it and I did! I asked the Bloomington Police Department and the Chanhassen Public Safety Division for a 300-hour combined internship over both quarters because I could get 12 of the 36 credits for it. Both departments agreed right away because I knew both of the police chiefs. In June of 98 I was going to have most of the remaining credits for my Criminal Justice Degree at Normandale except for one class that wasn't offered until the Fall. Thus in that April I wrote to the academy director explaining that I was now going for the Criminal Justice Degree to have more job opportunities with my disability. Also I explained that I was doing a police internship which was giving me several ideas as to what jobs that I could get with my disability. So I asked to be accepted to the academy in that June. The director did accept me for that June of 98. I took all of the summer classes at the police academy. In that August we had a week off, so I went to Colorado for the break thinking that everything was cool and that I would finish the academy in December. But when I returned from Colorado six days later, there was a message on my answering machine saying that I couldn't ever come back to the academy. Evidently they didn't tell their lawyer that I was attending the academy until I completed the Summer classes, hoping that the lawyer would let me continue and get credit. But the lawyer didn't go for it and told Mylan, the academy's assistant director, that if she let me take more classes, Mylan would be fired. Anyway Mylan told me to write a letter to the lawyer and the president of that college explaining my situation. So I sent one to them early September of 98 explaining about my 10 years of law enforcement experience and why I should be let back in the academy. But I didn't want to waste that Fall just by waiting to hear about the academy, so I quickly registered for the Fall semester at Normandale to take that one last class that I needed to get for my Criminal Justice Degree. Late that September of 98, I got a call from the assistant director saying that I could return to the academy in January of 99 to complete the program but still for no credit. As I went through the academy, I shocked the teachers by my knowledge and capabilities even in the classes that required physical skills. So before I completed all the courses there, I had the nerve to ask for the program assistant job there that I still have. Thus I decided not to fight to get some credit, because I didn't want to rock the boat for getting the job by asking for credit. Honestly, I had written a tactful nasty letter requesting for credit but I never mailed it and that's just choosing your fights wisely in life, LOL! There has been many more examples of when people or things have tried to stop me from doing what I have wanted to do. However, generally I have never given up by not taking no for the final answer, or by finding a back door to let me accomplish it! Of course some people in my life have helped to push me to keep going like some teachers, family members, and friends. However, only God and myself are with me 24 7, and really the only person who can make things happen for me is myself! Honestly, the older that I become the more cynical I get privately deep down, because I still don't have a serious girlfriend, or a full-time job that I want. Nevertheless, I plan to never quit, because I want to live and enjoy life as best as I can!
Before I close, I offer you to remember and share the following elementary sayings that I keep in mind to stay on track and always grow in life! Always know your limitations, but try to do everything that you really want to do. Live life for today but always plan for tomorrow, and always hope for the best but prepare for the worst. Most of the time, the best person that you can count on is yourself. Also don't let anyone tell you what you can and can't do, because really you're the only one who knows that! Furthermore, a friend gave me a saying when I graduated with my first college degree. The saying had a picture of a person on top of a mountain. The saying is the following, "Achievement" "Unless you try to do something beyond what you have already mastered, you will never grow."
Throughout your entire lives, I welcome you to contact me with any questions that come up regarding people with disabilities! You can always contact me at kcop1123@yahoo.com My website is WWW.KIRKSTIPS.COM By the way, I have posted this speech on my website in case you would like to review it. I have it titled on my website as, Kirk's Community Speech for Burnsville High School. My website also has my Master's thesis about how criminal justice professionals can effectively interact with people who have disabilities as criminals, victims, and witnesses. My website also has some of my lectures and speeches that I present at the Law Enforcement Criminal Justice Education Center, various colleges and universities, and in the community, and my resume etc. on it. Now, I will close with answering any questions that you may have. And again as I indicated at the beginning, this is the perfect opportunity for you to ask any type of questions about persons with disabilities, because I never get embarrassed answering anything, and I truly feel that the only dumb question is the one that isn't asked! And I truly want you to be informed as much as possible, so you will be comfortable to interact with people who have disabilities! Remember that there are no dumb questions, just dumb answers, LOL! With that said, thank you for attentively listening!
Hello! I know that this is going to sound corny but if I could, I would be sitting on top of a desk right now in an effort to show you body language to indicate I want this to be a relaxed atmosphere conducive to you feeling comfortable to ask many questions! I know that it’s difficult to ask strangers questions especially to an individual who has unique characteristics such as I do! But folks, nearly over half of the U.S. population today has disabilities! And later today or tomorrow, you could acquire a disability by having a vehicle accident, being a crime victim, and etc. Plus many careers such as in criminal justice, human resources, public relations, health care, and etc. would demand you to interact with all walks of life and develop a rapport with them to effectively assist them or get information from them! Nevertheless, even if your work won’t involve people with disabilities, it is still very probable that you will need to interact with some such as you may have a spouse or a child with a disability, your children may have friends with disabilities, or your neighborhood more than likely has at least one person with a disability even if it is not visible to you! Thus I highly suggest that you start practicing today with me! Furthermore, this is the perfect opportunity to ask any type of questions to prevent feeling embarrassed or ignorant later! Okay, I will stop lecturing about asking questions; at least for now, LOL!
I have had Cerebral Palsy since I was born. I am not mentally challenged and I can't die from it. I have total hearing and vision, but my eyes tend to wander when I read something that's long, thus my personal care attendants often times read things to me because its just quicker. As you can see, I use an electronic voice computer; it's both audible and readable. It's slow, because I can only type with one thumb. So I have developed a hand language using numbers and letters, which anyone can learn in 10 minutes. But I also know the regular sign language letters. Thus I occasionally talk through my personal care attendants, because sometimes it's quicker.
In an effort to give a smattering of facts and my own perspective about my disability, I am going to now give you a brief description of how I acquired Cerebral Palsy, (CP) how others can Acquire CP, and then my philosophy mainly about my own CP. Thus hopefully you will become more comfortable with CP itself. First of all, I lacked oxygen during birth due to the umbilical cord being around my neck I believe. And lacking oxygen at birth is the most common way of acquiring CP. However people can acquire it from a severe blow to the head such as falling from a tree or vehicle accidents etc. All CP is brain damage. And some people with CP have mental retardation, but I have always viewed mental retardation not being caused by the CP even though I suppose it is in some cases. Anyway CP is really the luck of the draw. Some cases just one leg or arm is affected. And other cases have much less mobility than I have. I'm Athetoid with some spasticity. The more spasticity that a person has the less mobility they have, because essentially spasticity means tight or rigid muscles, whereas Athetoid essentially means overly loose and hard to control muscles. I could be a lot quote worse or quote better off just depending on the amount of oxygen deprived somewhat I guess. But I think it's more with luck fate and God, because the human body really isn't scientific in that five billion things could affect it.
My mother really believes that if the doctor would have decided to do a C-section, I wouldn't have CP. But who knows and who cares! I'm here and I am living life to the fullest! She occasionally asks me if I wish they'd have sued the doctor. My feeling is what's done is done! Even though I occasionally wish I could talk the traditional way, I'm thankful for what I have! And I believe that there is a good reason why I'm quote disabled which I'll find out after I die. But if I'm wrong, so be it! And once again, I truly do not let my Cerebral Palsy stop me from doing anything that's important to me anyway!
Even though my physical disability is called quite severe, as I just said, I truly make a gallant effort to live life to the fullest, and I really don't allow it to stop me from accomplishing anything that I want to do! For example, I have skydived; I have traveled by myself quite a bit even to Australia, and I live alone. Also I have several degrees in criminal justice. In 2000, I was hired as a part-time program assistant at the center for criminal justice and law enforcement, (CCJLE), but technically it is now called The Law Enforcement Criminal Justice Education Center (L.E.C.J.E.C). And I still help train future law enforcement officers by role-playing in scenarios there. Also in 2004, I was hired as a part-time overnight security guard at Concordia University, and I worked at Concordia for six years until my position was eliminated in 2010 due to budget cuts. Also currently I serve on the board of the Minnesota Association of Women Police, and I have managed their website in the past (mnwomenpolice.org). Furthermore, I occasionally teach some classes at Concordia in their Master's criminal justice online program in hope of becoming an adjunct professor in the future. I just wanted to tell you a little about myself, so you would feel comfortable with me, because I am really just a regular guy on the inside! And to give you an indication that I am in fact just a regular guy on the inside; as I mentioned earlier, I ventured to Australia alone a few years ago, because I had been chatting to a woman online for about nine months. I went for eleven days, and I had a very nice time! Some people call me crazy or a risk taker by going to Australia, going skydiving, or just by living alone. However, the fact is that typically I only take calculated risks, because I think every thing out well and always have reasons for my actions! Anyway I do take many calculated risks, because again, I never want to allow my disability to prevent me from doing anything that I truly want to do!
To give you some understanding of how my disability challenges me in doing things such as school work, designing scenarios for criminal justice students at L.E.C.J.E.C., and other writing activities; again since I can only type with one thumb, it usually takes me about four hours to type one page. Thus I have learned how to say a lot with the least amount of words. Also my care attendants can’t help me type papers, because I truly do my best thinking and work very late at night and frankly that’s when I have time to do computer work, and some of my care attendants leave around 10 PM. By the way, when I type papers or emails, I use a word prediction program that keeps guessing more words as I type more letters. Furthermore, even though it takes me a considerable amount of time to type, I tend to prefer to conduct business or to communicate with friends via email because it’s more private and I feel more independent. When I call people especially relating to business, it’s almost necessary most of the time to have a care attendant help me communicate, because the person on the other end wouldn’t be very conducive to waiting while I type messages on my voice computer. Thus the conversation ends up not being very private with a care attendant listening. However, sometimes it’s easier and quicker to make calls in stead of writing emails, and sometimes I obviously like hearing a human voice giving me instant feedback especially when it’s a female friend. LOL! I just wanted to share all of these things with you just so you can better understand me and my disability.
I gathered that one of the reasons why I was asked to speak today was to give you some perspective that people with disabilities obviously can be as dedicated to their career choice as any person can be! Thus I will now tell you more about my law enforcement knowledge and experience. Well, not to sound cynical, but I knew that I would have a major battle of my life in trying to get hired by a law enforcement agency with having a quote, severe disability. Thus I began obtaining knowledge and experience when I was 14 with becoming a Bloomington Police Explorer. I competed in many regional and national competitions and helped with the security with President Gorbachev as an explorer when he visited from Russia. I was an explorer for 7 years and I left as a lieutenant. In high school for 3 Summers I worked security for the local Veteran’s Hospital. Almost all through my high school years, I was involved in a Students Against Drunk Driving Program. Also, in my last year in high school I was the bailiff for many competitions for my high schools mock trial club and my final competition took place in the states supreme court. Furthermore, I completed a six month unique college unusual internship at Normandale involving several Law Enforcement agencies such as the Hennepin and Carver County Dispatch Centers, the State Patrol, the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, but primarily with Bloomington and Chanhassen.
Since I obtained my 2 year degree at Normandale Community College in 1999, I have worked for many law enforcement trainings across the state besides working for the police academy (L.E.C.J.E.C.). Also in 2002, I completed the St. Paul Police Citizen’s Academy in hope of getting myself employed by the department in the future. Furthermore, I obtained my Bachelor's in Criminal Justice in 2004 and then my Master's in Criminal Justice in 2006 both from Concordia University. Thus as you can see, I am a true cop junkie, LOL! However, quite sadly, I needed to be in order to prove my strength, agility, intelligence, independence, and capabilities to the law enforcement community! Even though it is frustrating sometimes that I have needed to do extra things to prove myself, I believe that the extra challenges along the way have helped me to be stronger and more mature!
I think that another reason why I was requested to speak today was to talk about how persons with disabilities should be treated. Well, it should be simple, if you know what the golden rule is, treat others as you want to be treated! However, in reality, it’s not that simple! When it comes down to it, who is really alike? No one! Thus how the heck do you really know how others want to be treated other than most likely with respect and kindness? I feel that you really don’t in all essence! For instance, I have a unique philosophy about how I personally want to be treated. For example, when I used to talk to my peers in public schools, I would begin by saying I don’t want to be treated like anyone else because I am my own person; I am just Kirk Wetzlich. I did that to get there attention, because people always tend to say "treat disabled people like anyone else". And I wholeheartedly agree with treating people equally as best as possible! However, everyone on earth has different qualities and challenges! Thus as any type of professionals or just as society members, I ask that you recognize and appreciate the unique qualities and challenges that individuals have, and be willing to try to accommodate for their desires and challenges! I understand why it can often be uncomfortable to be around persons with disabilities, because they don't fit the typical person that is known and accepted automatically by society. However, it's sad because even though persons with disabilities are especially different, essentially everyone has the same needs, desires, and basic functions! Thus even though I personally avoid assuming things and I preach to criminal justice students never to assume anything in law enforcement due to possible negative or even fatal effects it can have on them, I would like you to assume that persons with disabilities have average functions of their five senses, and that their thinking process is average unless you find out different. Don’t assume that standard or common accommodations will work for people who have similar disabilities, and don’t assume that every individual with a disability needs or wants accommodations. Furthermore, try to let the individuals tell you what they desire and need! However, try to make individuals feel comfortable talking to you! For example, if the individual is in a wheelchair, kneel down to talk to them, so you don’t intimidate them. However, if you’re thinking about being a police officer someday, remember that perceived victims could really be the suspects. Thus you want to always be cautious about kneeling down, because individuals could ram you easily by an electric wheelchair. Anyway another way to make an individual feel comfortable talking to you, if they use an alternative communication style is to say that you have lots of time to talk so they don’t need to rush. However, be aware that some individuals may get mad by you saying that, because they might feel that you’re belittling them. Thus I would say that the best rule of thumb is just to talk to them as how you would others. By the way, always look at them even if they are using an interpreter, because they’re still the ones who are talking to you. And don’t talk to them as children if they are adults with average intellect! The reason why I made that last point is that I believe persons with disabilities often get treated as children, because some people just assume if one part of an individual is affected by a disability, then all of their five senses and their intelligence must be affected too. In fact, I had a big fear of that happening to me, and it helped me to be motivated and become very independent. And occasionally strangers do treat me as if my disability affects my intelligence and hearing. However, I don’t let it bother me, because I obviously know that they’re just ignorant!
Some bad terms to use for persons with disabilities are the following in my point of view: handicapped because it really means crippled, don’t call it a condition because it usually means good or bad like the weather forecast, and don’t call a disability a disease. While a few disabilities could be classified as being quote, diseases, such as Muscular Dystrophy and Multiple sclerosis because they attack the body, people often characterize diseases as being contagious or being bad. Furthermore, try not to say quote, that person is disabled; rather say quote, that person has a disability. Technically I believe the quote, in-terms, are physically or mentally impaired or impairments. But personally I hate those terms! I would prefer to be referred to as having physical challenges or being physically challenged with Cerebral Palsy. And I tend to refer to someone who has a mental disability as being mentally challenged. However, I have no problem with the terms, physically disabled or mentally disabled, whichever the case may be! I just wanted to tell you my opinion about the different terminology that is used.
Now, since I typically don’t have a care attendant with me when I work or just when I am out and about obviously partly due to my crazy nocturnal behavior of enjoying working and being out late at night; I want to talk about how you could feel comfortable to effectively interact with me personally if we would ever meet in public. You could always easily interact with me! First never feel bad about telling me too repeat myself, because my computer talks fast and is hard to understand. And whenever you were physically near me, you could always read what I was saying at the top of the screen if you couldn’t understand the voice. Also if I ever wanted to tell you a super long private message without sound, I would flip up the key guard, and switch to a big text screen, so you could read it easier. By the way, since I probably wouldn't already have a message ready to tell you, it would usually take me about five minutes to type ten words. And sometimes it may appear I am getting frustrated or having trouble, because my hands and feet tend to move around a lot when I type. But I am always cool and never get frustrated!
Since I hopefully have minimized any fear or anxiety that you may have had about interacting with people who have disabilities, I highly recommend that you take or create an opportunity to befriend someone with a disability, because if you do, I believe that it will have a great impact on both of your lives! For example, I met many good friends in high school and college who gave me a lot of self confidence just by seeing beyond my disability and wanting to hang out with me! And the confidence that they subtly and unknowingly gave me did greatly contribute to my successful life today! Thus please look beyond disabilities and see the person for who they are on the inside with appreciating their unique qualities and differences!
Now, I want to kind of switch topics and give you an indication that some professional people still are pretty ignorant about people with disabilities even in a very public serving profession such as the criminal justice system! For example, I took a diversity class for my BA, and one of our discussion questions reflected on the fact that persons with disabilities often get excluded from diversity discussions about our criminal justice system. I of course needed to give my opinion as to why that is. I said that honestly I don’t know why we, persons with disabilities, are frequently excluded especially when we are at a higher risk of being crime victims and we’re becoming over half of the general population. However, I think it’s because criminal justice professionals typically don’t see very many persons with disabilities committing crimes at a substantial rate. And I think our criminal justice system tends to focus more on criminals rather than victims even though we essentially fight crime for victims and to protect society. On the other hand we do have some persons with disabilities who commit crimes such as gang members who acquire a disability. However, criminal justice professionals shouldn’t need us, persons with disabilities, to be criminals in order to include us in diversity discussions. Furthermore, some of my classmates gave their opinion on this issue with saying it may be due to the fact that it can be uncomfortable to go up to people with disabilities and ask questions etc. In fact, one of my classmates commented that some police officers are afraid to search people who have disabilities. Another one of my classmates commented that she didn’t think too much about persons with disabilities being criminals, until she arrested a female shoplifter who was in a wheelchair with only having the use of one hand. Those comments are frightening and indicate that criminal justice professionals definitely need more training! Especially due to the fact that there are quite a few persons with disabilities in down town areas who are creeps who hide weapons and drugs under them, or underneath their seat cushions of their wheelchair, and some pee themselves when officers search them. Furthermore, police officers must not be uncomfortable to question persons with disabilities, because they can be real credible witnesses! Also of course persons with disabilities who are victims deserve to be properly treated by police officers and by all other criminal justice professionals! Therefore, I decided to create a training guide for my Master’s capstone thesis on how criminal justice professionals can effectively interact with people who have disabilities as criminals, victims and witnesses. In fact, I actually have already implemented a good portion of the guide into the training at the police academy (L.E.C.J.E.C).
Obviously I have always known that I will probably never be a licensed police officer due to the physical requirements and demands. However, there are a lot of beneficial things I can do for law enforcement! I have really enjoyed both of my recent past and present jobs especially getting to work at Concordia, because being a security officer was probably the closest that I will be to having actual police officer duties and responsibilities! Thus becoming a Concordia security officer was a real joyful milestone for me! However, my goal is of course still to work for a law enforcement agency more directly fighting crime! Nevertheless, until I accomplish that goal or even if I don’t, I feel very fortunate to have been a security officer, and I am glad to be training future police officers, because I of course know that I am in an okay place for now and that I'm benefiting society! At Concordia University, I worked twice a week from 11 PM to 7 AM, and I patrolled the entire grounds by myself monitoring for: suspicious activity, safety hazards, building vandalism, dormitory violations, parking violators, and vehicle vandalism and theft. My job duties also included: assisting officers with alarm calls, ensuring interior and exterior doors were locked, giving students and staff escorts, and taking radio calls from dispatch.
At L.E.C.J.E.C., I teach how to handcuff, interview, weapon and full search, transport persons with disabilities and how to disable electric wheelchairs. And I play suspects with guns and knives and I have shot many students because they ignored my hands etc. Also of course I play victims and witnesses. Currently I mainly work in two types of classes at L.E.C.J.E.C.: a report writing class and a crimes in progress class. In the report writing class I'm a witness to a sex for drugs deal that went sour with a knife threat. I only witness a few things that match with the victim's story. My job is to guide the students as to what's important to ask or not for their report so they are solid for court. Meaning that as the students go through the particular scenario, I teach what types of questions will be beneficial so their report will have the crucial information to get a conviction for the case. Plus so the defense attorney can't discredit the cop or shoot down the case just because the cop didn't have the crucial information in the report. Also we don't want students wasting time asking not important questions to the victim or witness especially when the suspect could be still around. But some students don't want to take enough time with the victim and witness, and they want to rush to the suspect not having enough probable cause or information to make the arrest. Plus of course part of my job is teaching them how to deal with a witness who has a disability. For example, in this particular scenario, students need to ask if I can stay on scene to positively identify the suspect once they locate him in a bar. When they ask that question, I say that my bus is coming in three minutes, and imply that it’s the last MTC accessible bus of the day. I then ask how they would transport me and my electric wheelchair. Most students don’t know how to answer that question. Thus I tell my students that even though some persons with disabilities think that Metro Mobility sucks because sometimes they're not very reliable; we are just suggesting that police officers mention Metro Mobility to persons with disabilities, so they know that the responding police officer understands what they need, and that they will get safe and accessible transportation to their destination, because most persons with disabilities are familiar with Metro Mobility. Also I tell students that Airport Town Taxi has a few wheelchair accessible vans, and they are often more available and reliable than Metro Mobility. Another example of what I teach is that students need to be aware that they need to ask persons with disabilities how they could be contacted later for a follow up interview by the investigator. I say that in my situation of having a voice computer, it would be best to leave me a voice mail, so that I could call them back when I had a care attendant with me to help to communicate faster. There are many more examples such as those that I could share with you that are important for police officers to know in order to properly interact with people who have disabilities!
In the crimes in progress class, I do a lot of different scenarios. For example, in one scenario; I stole a watch from a store and of course I deny it. I run if the students don't handle the call right and I teach ways to handcuff and search me etc. In another scenario; I'm a drug dealer and I just made a deal and I have a gun and I run away when the students arrive on scene. Students generally assume that the other role-player is the drug dealer. Also they don't know how to stop my electric wheelchair or what force they can use. So I coach them on different things with each type of scenario. In another one; I went to a motel with a prostitute and she stole all of my money without giving me anything so I call the cops. In another one; I vandalize a car because it's in the handicapped spot illegally and the owner assaulted me. Another one is that I witness a car break in and I saw him throw something, which turns out to be a gun. In another one; I call the police because my brother hit me while being my care attendant and living with me. Furthermore, in another scenario; I am on a date and she calls the police, because I threaten her with a gun to perform a sexual act. In all of the scenarios I make it real as much as possible! For example, I swear and hassle the students a lot while we're acting out the scenarios, so they get used to dealing with people who are like the population that cops deal with on the street on most days.
As I have already indicated, I like my job at L.E.C.J.E.C., because even though I can't be a street cop, part of my style is continually getting on the street by sharing my knowledge and advice about law enforcement procedures and techniques with many future cops! Most of the teachers at L.E.C.J.E.C. are police officers. Many teachers have commented that they wish that I was there when they went through the academy, because they never received training on criminals who have disabilities which there are a lot of on the street.
Although my disability challenges me everyday and makes it difficult to do and get everything I want, I never complain about it, because it can't be changed! There has been many times where people have tried to stop me from doing what I want to do, but I have never quit! For example, I needed to take an Advanced First Aid Class to get my first college degree at Normandale Community College. The teacher of the class didn't want to deal with my disability, because obviously I couldn't do some of the physical skills like for CPR and the Heimlich Maneuver, so the teacher would have needed to adapt the class work for me which he clearly didn't want to do. The sad thing is that the college's disability services people sided with the teacher, because in their minds I needed to do the physical skills to pass the course. Luckily at that time I was still getting help from my high school's special needs liaison counselor because I was under Post Secondary Options for a short time. She suggested that I talk to Normandale's head instructor of the health classes about my situation with the First Aid Teacher. The head instructor agreed to meet with me once a week and orally test me on the physical skills of the course if I would still take the regular class to get the whole experience. So I took the regular class and worked with the head instructor. It was like taking two classes for the same credit, but it was no big deal and I got an A. After that experience, I really felt that I could handle any challenge that came my way, so I'm glad that it happened because it gave me a lot of courage and confidence! Another example of when people have tried to stop me from doing what I want to do happened in college too. I was planning to attend a general college police academy after I was done at Normandale. In November of 97 I received a rejection letter from the director of the police academy saying I couldn't be accepted because I didn't have a driver's license which was an excuse for not dealing with my disability. I was really crushed because the assistant director of the academy had been positive about accepting me ever since I graduated from high school. Thus the assistant director suggested that I go back to Normandale and get more credits to get a Criminal Justice Degree instead of a Law Enforcement Degree. The assistant director said if I would try to get the rest of the credits by that June, she believed that the director would accept me to the academy that summer. I needed to get about 36 more credits in 2 quarters but I said to myself that I'm going to do it and I did! I asked the Bloomington Police Department and the Chanhassen Public Safety Division for a 300-hour combined internship over both quarters because I could get 12 of the 36 credits for it. Both departments agreed right away because I knew both of the police chiefs. In June of 98 I was going to have most of the remaining credits for my Criminal Justice Degree at Normandale except for one class that wasn't offered until the Fall. Thus in that April I wrote to the academy director explaining that I was now going for the Criminal Justice Degree to have more job opportunities with my disability. Also I explained that I was doing a police internship which was giving me several ideas as to what jobs that I could get with my disability. So I asked to be accepted to the academy in that June. The director did accept me for that June of 98. I took all of the summer classes at the police academy. In that August we had a week off, so I went to Colorado for the break thinking that everything was cool and that I would finish the academy in December. But when I returned from Colorado six days later, there was a message on my answering machine saying that I couldn't ever come back to the academy. Evidently they didn't tell their lawyer that I was attending the academy until I completed the Summer classes, hoping that the lawyer would let me continue and get credit. But the lawyer didn't go for it and told Mylan, the academy's assistant director, that if she let me take more classes, Mylan would be fired. Anyway Mylan told me to write a letter to the lawyer and the president of that college explaining my situation. So I sent one to them early September of 98 explaining about my 10 years of law enforcement experience and why I should be let back in the academy. But I didn't want to waste that Fall just by waiting to hear about the academy, so I quickly registered for the Fall semester at Normandale to take that one last class that I needed to get for my Criminal Justice Degree. Late that September of 98, I got a call from the assistant director saying that I could return to the academy in January of 99 to complete the program but still for no credit. As I went through the academy, I shocked the teachers by my knowledge and capabilities even in the classes that required physical skills. So before I completed all the courses there, I had the nerve to ask for the program assistant job there that I still have. Thus I decided not to fight to get some credit, because I didn't want to rock the boat for getting the job by asking for credit. Honestly, I had written a tactful nasty letter requesting for credit but I never mailed it and that's just choosing your fights wisely in life, LOL! There has been many more examples of when people or things have tried to stop me from doing what I have wanted to do. However, generally I have never given up by not taking no for the final answer, or by finding a back door to let me accomplish it! Of course some people in my life have helped to push me to keep going like some teachers, family members, and friends. However, only God and myself are with me 24 7, and really the only person who can make things happen for me is myself! Honestly, the older that I become the more cynical I get privately deep down, because I still don't have a serious girlfriend, or a full-time job that I want. Nevertheless, I plan to never quit, because I want to live and enjoy life as best as I can!
Before I close, I offer you to remember and share the following elementary sayings that I keep in mind to stay on track and always grow in life! Always know your limitations, but try to do everything that you really want to do. Live life for today but always plan for tomorrow, and always hope for the best but prepare for the worst. Most of the time, the best person that you can count on is yourself. Also don't let anyone tell you what you can and can't do, because really you're the only one who knows that! Furthermore, a friend gave me a saying when I graduated with my first college degree. The saying had a picture of a person on top of a mountain. The saying is the following, "Achievement" "Unless you try to do something beyond what you have already mastered, you will never grow."
Throughout your entire lives, I welcome you to contact me with any questions that come up regarding people with disabilities! You can always contact me at kcop1123@yahoo.com My website is WWW.KIRKSTIPS.COM By the way, I have posted this speech on my website in case you would like to review it. I have it titled on my website as, Kirk's Community Speech for Burnsville High School. My website also has my Master's thesis about how criminal justice professionals can effectively interact with people who have disabilities as criminals, victims, and witnesses. My website also has some of my lectures and speeches that I present at the Law Enforcement Criminal Justice Education Center, various colleges and universities, and in the community, and my resume etc. on it. Now, I will close with answering any questions that you may have. And again as I indicated at the beginning, this is the perfect opportunity for you to ask any type of questions about persons with disabilities, because I never get embarrassed answering anything, and I truly feel that the only dumb question is the one that isn't asked! And I truly want you to be informed as much as possible, so you will be comfortable to interact with people who have disabilities! Remember that there are no dumb questions, just dumb answers, LOL! With that said, thank you for attentively listening!