After viral video, disabled Iowan files complaint against Mills Fleet Farm

A disabled Iowa man has filed a complaint with the Iowa Civil Rights Commission against Mills Fleet Farm that alleges a company employee denied him use of a wheelchair to get to his vehicle.

Shane Zahn, 53, of Garner shared a video of himself walking out of the store on his hands and knees last month on his personal Facebook page. It was viewed more than 13 million times, and the post has more than 150,000 shares and 16,000 comments.

In the complaint, Zahn said he used an electric wheelchair provided by the store while shopping at the Mills Fleet Farm in Mason City on April 24. After making his purchases, Zahn said he "was stopped by an employee" who said "I could not leave the store with the wheelchair and must find a different way to exit the store."

Wayne Sales, chief executive officer of Mills Fleet Farm, told the Register on April 27 that Zahn was using an "electric smart cart" while shopping and was offered a "manual wheelchair" by an employee but declined to use it.

Zahn disputed that he was ever offered a manual wheelchair. 

Follow The Des Moines Register on Facebook | Download the Des Moines Register app

Zahn told the Register that he had a below-the-knee amputation on his right leg five years ago and that he had a blood clot in his left leg that required surgery in December 2016.

"My left foot is basically a stump — I have no toes," Zahn said.

Zahn said he usually brings a manual wheelchair with him unless he has access to an electric model. Zahn said that at Mills Fleet Farm, he and his son parked their vehicle in the parking lot, "like normal" — he said he had been to this location three times before — and his son went inside to bring back an electric wheelchair.

Zahn said his son was given a key by an employee for an electric wheelchair. He brought it out and Zahn sat down in the wheelchair, went inside and began to shop. 

In the complaint, Zahn said he experienced no problem during his visit until he attempted to leave.

In previous visits, he would leave the store with the wheelchair so "I could bring the things that I purchased to my car." After he unloaded his things, an employee or somebody Zahn was with would return the wheelchair to the store.

Sales told the Register that Zahn was "irritated" when he was asked by an employee to re-enter the store.

Sales said Zahn then had "hopped out the cart" and left the store by walking on his hands and knees, as seen in the video.

Sales said that "this in no way represents what Mills Fleet Farm is all about."

"Here you have a situation where our team member could have used better judgment in terms of going the extra mile," Sales said.

Sales said that Mills Fleet Farm has been reviewing its policies and procedures since the  incident.

In a statement issued through Mills Fleet Farm's official Facebook page last week, Sales acknowledged the "unfortunate incident" on "behalf of the entire Mills Fleet Farm Team":

"While use of carts in the parking lot with the uneven terrain can pose a hazard, we feel that in this instance our team member made the wrong decision," the statement read. "We apologize to the customer and to everyone who may be affected."

According to its website, Mills Fleet Farm has 37 stores across Iowa, Minnesota, North Dakota and Wisconsin. Besides Mason City, there's also an Ankeny location. 

In the complaint, Zahn said "this experience was traumatic because it left me feeling embarrassed and less than equal."

"Having to crawl on your hands and knees because of your disability is traumatic enough, but knowing that Mills Fleet Farm had the means to easily prevent this humiliation made it much worse," Zahn said in the complaint.

Interested in trending Iowa news? Follow @AaYoung15 on Twitter.