World view round up - April

Shocking images floor deputy

A Florida sheriff’s deputy has been charged with abuse of a disabled person after being caught on camera tipping a quadriplegic man out of his wheelchair.

Video cameras had recorded Charlette Marshall-Jones tipping Brian Sterner onto the floor, after he refused to stand up to be searched following his arrest for a driving offence in Tampa.

The video footage shows Marshall-Jones searching Mr Sterner’s pockets after he lands heavily on the floor.

Marshall-Jones also resigned from her job with the Sheriff’s Office in the wake of the incident.

Truck driver back where he belongs

Five years after a crash broke his back, truck driver Scott Baldwin has become the first paraplegic person to be licensed to drive New Zealand’s heaviest trucks.

Mr Baldwin set his heart on getting back behind the wheel of a big truck after the accident in 2003.

Following rehabilitation, he used a hand-control system installed with the help of compensation from the accident to win back his class five truck license.



Indian website could reach out to 60 million

The Indian government has launched a website that aims to reach out to the country’s estimated 60 million disabled people.

The site – www.punarbhava.in – aims to make life easier for disabled people as well as carers, voluntary organisations and professionals.

Punarbhava, which means renewal or rehabilitation, includes information on government policies, assistive devices, education and job opportunities, and a discussion forum.

It aims to consolidate all the information the government has on disabled people.

A national census found there were 22 million disabled people in India, just over two per cent of the population, but the true figure has been estimated as at least 60 million.

Scandal sets up Paterson to make US history

Democrat David Paterson has become the USA’s first blind state governor.

Mr Paterson, who was previously deputy-governor, took over as governor of New York last month in the wake of the resignation of Eliot Spitzer.

Mr Spitzer was forced to resign after details emerged of his apparent meetings with high-class call girls employed by an internet escort ring.

Mr Paterson, who has been blind since he was a baby, was considered a leading candidate to take Hilary Clinton’s Senate seat if she becomes President.