Social Security guard charged in fracas over service dog

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By David Ibata

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Melissa McMann, who is visually impaired, recalls minor incidents in which people challenged her about her service dog, but nothing like what happened last week with a security guard at a Social Security Administration office in Winder.

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A security guard at a Social Security office faces charges after he's accused of trying to forcibly remove Melissa McMann, who is visually impaired, from the building because she had her service dog with her.

Manuel Bojorquez, Channel 2 Action News A security guard at a Social Security office faces charges after he's accused of trying to forcibly remove Melissa McMann, who is visually impaired, from the building because she had her service dog with her.

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“Usually, once we educate people and explain the purpose of the dog, that’s all it takes to get people to understand why the dog is there and he’s not just a regular, run-of-the-mill dog,” the Winder resident said of Hurbie, her 5-year-old yellow Labrador.

“We have never run into an incident like this where it escalated so quickly,” she said in a telephone interview with the AJC. “My arm is still bruised, and I still have pain to my shoulder, but otherwise I’m doing OK.”

The guard, Leroy Huff, faces a charge of simple battery after he allegedly grabbed the 38-year-old McMann and tried to remove her from the office.

The Athens man told Channel 2 Action News on Tuesday that he was following orders and his training, but did not want to comment further because of the continuing investigation.

Huff surrendered to authorities Wednesday and was taken to Barrow County Jail, Channel 2 reported.

Efforts were being made to reach a spokesman for Huff’s employer, Paragon Security Services. Paragon provides contract security to the Federal Protective Service of the Department of Homeland Security.

Patti Patterson, regional spokeswoman for the Social Security Administration, told Channel 2 in an email, “Service animals are allowed in Social Security field offices. We have apologized to Ms. McMann for the unfortunate incident that occurred with the contract security guard in our Winder field office.”

The matter has been referred to the Federal Protective Service “for appropriate action,” Patterson said.

The incident began Thursday afternoon when McMann and her husband, Christopher, went to the Social Security office at 37 S. Center St. to complete some paperwork for their youngest daughter, who they adopted from Thailand.

According to a Winder Police Department report, as the couple was seated waiting to be called, Huff, an armed security guard, came up and told them dogs were not allowed in the facility.

When the couple explained that the Labrador was a service dog and legally allowed to be there, the officer demanded to see papers to prove it – even though the dog had a guide harness and a sign attached to the harness stating it was “a working dog for the blind,” the police report said.

The McManns said they did not have such paperwork and continued to protest that the dog was a permitted animal. At this point, the police report says, Huff “proceeded to grab (the woman) and attempted to forcefully remove her from the building.” The husband objected and called the police on his cell phone.

Huff told a Winder police officer that the woman had failed to obey him. He admitted she had not tried to resist him physically. When asked why he did not call the police, “Huff informed me that he did not have to call the police. He told me he was a federal officer and was not required to involve the police,” the officer wrote in his report.

The officer contacted Paragon, which referred him to the Federal Protective Service. An official there said Huff was not a federal officer and in this situation should have called Winder police, his supervisor or the federal agency.

The McManns, meanwhile, went to their primary care physician and then to a hospital emergency room, where a doctor treated her for a bruised right arm and determined her shoulder may have been dislocated, police said.

Melissa McMann said she has retinitis pigmentosa or RP, a condition that has left her with little functional sight. Hurbie is her second service dog; she’s had the animals for 10 years. They're trained by the Florida-based Southeastern Guide Dogs.

“It was something we were not expecting, especially in a federal building,” she said. “It was a frightening incident, and obviously we feel (Huff) went too far.

“All that we’re looking for at this point is for the security company that has the contract with Social Security to understand the importance of educating all of the people that work for them as to the laws regarding service dogs and also with regard to not placing their hands on people – you just can’t go placing your hands on people.”