Cops Release One-Legged Man, Keep Wheelchair

(Newser) – A one-legged homeless man in Portland was left to drag himself out of jail over the weekend because his wheelchair had been moved to an off-site storage facility after he was picked up on a drinking citation. "Scottie" Hamilton, a 37-year-old Iraq veteran who lost his leg in a motorbike accident, has been arrested some 10 times this year. Police usually return his wheelchair on release after taking away his loaner and they are investigating what went wrong this time, ABC News reports.

"It was over the top, beyond being disrespectful or inconsiderate. It was negligence," said his girlfriend, adding that Hamilton has arthritis and his hands were left swollen and purple after he used them to push himself along on his butt to leave jail. Police who tried to return Hamilton's wheelchair to him yesterday arrived just as other officers were arresting him for failing to appear in court for an earlier drinking citation, the Oregonian reports. Police and a state lawmaker who was outraged to hear about the case are working to help Hamilton access social services.