A disabled Marine Corps veteran has settled with the U.S. government for $250,000 after he says he was falsely arrested and roughed up at Sequoia National Park when he parked in a handicapped parking space.
Dominic Esquibel, who received the Navy Cross during Operation Iraqi Freedom, sued the National Park Service and the Department of Interior.
Esquibel says it all happened in December 2012, during a family visit to Sequoia National Park in California. According to The Fresno Bee, who first reported the story, Esquibel pulled into a handicapped parking space after entering the park so he could use the restroom. He hung his handicapped placard on the rearview mirror. But as he walked to the restroom, a park service employee yelled at him that he couldn't park there as he didn't appear disabled.
Esquibel, who suffered major injuries to his right leg and arm during the war in Iraq, was forcibly arrested by a park ranger who demanded to see his handicapped driver’s license. Esquibel said he didn't require that type of license because his car did not have any adaptive equipment. He says he offered paperwork to prove his handicapped status, but the ranger refused it. The charges were dropped in 2014, but Esquibel continued with a civil suit as he wanted his name cleared.
Later, the National Park Service employee admitted in court records that she wanted to save the handicapped parking place for a co-worker.