Management at Rogers Plaza in Wyoming said a 2-year-old developmentally disabled girl is banned from the mall.
Clare Dykstra and her grandfather go to the mall to walk every Thursday. It is exercise for him, practice for her. And when Clare gets tired, she sits down for a few minutes behind her custom-built baby walker. But mall management says sitting on the floor is prohibited and Clare should not come back.
“The manager of the mall came up to them and started an argument about Clare not being able to sit on the floor,” explained Hiliary Dykstra, the child’s mother. “My dad tied tried to calmly tell him about Clare and he said 'That's it. You are out and don't come back.' The next step is he was going to call the cops on them.”
Since Clare was banned, someone took a picture of people sitting on the Rogers Plaza floor waiting for a store to open. There was apparently no objection.
The Dykstras say they will not return to Rogers Plaza, but other malls in the area told them they are welcome to come and walk.
“We are just trying to find a safe place for her to practice walking,” explained Andrew Dykstra, the child’s father. “We are not looking for conflict. All we wanted is a safe place.”
13 ON YOUR SIDE has not yet received a comment for an explanation from Rogers Plaza management and their attorney.
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