Denver councilman Chris Hines forced to climb onstage from wheelchair

Colorado councilman Chris Hinds had to hoist himself onto a debate stage from his wheelchair as dozens watched but offered little support.

He was told the public debate would be wheelchair accessible, but organisers failed to provide a ramp to the stage.

Video from the event shows Mr Hinds trying to drag himself to a chair onstage.

The American Disabilities Act (ADA) requires public spaces to accommodate those with disabilities.

It was demoralising, the Denver City Council member said. “I thought, ‘Here I am on stage, looking like a circus monkey.'”

Mr Hinds, who is paralysed from the chest down, is the first member of the council to use a wheelchair.

Organisers suggested lifting Mr Hinds and his 400-pound (181kg) wheelchair to the stage, but Mr Hinds did not feel it would be safe. Instead, organizers consented to hold the debate off the stage, at audience level.

In a statement on Monday, The Cleo Parker Robinson Dance Theatre in Denver said there had been “no requests for additional or enhanced accommodations” ahead of the debate. Nonetheless, Mr Hinds says, it is required to be compliant with the ADA.

The venue later apologised, acknowledging that while the theatre was wheelchair accessible, the stage was not.

Mr Hinds was an avid runner and soccer player before a crash paralysed him at the age of 34. His experience encouraged him to go into public service and advocate for people with disabilities.

His 2018 election spurred the city to make the the council chambers wheelchair accessible by installing a ramp so Mr Hinds could be inaugurated.

His advocacy work also inspired the Chris Hinds Act, signed by Colorado’s Gov. John Hickenlooper in 2018. It prevents the fraudulent use of disability parking in the state.

“It just so happened to take getting someone elected to make that happen,” Mr Hinds tells BBC News.

“We’ve never had disability representation in Denver before and on the Denver City Council,” he says. “This is just yet another reason why it’s important for us to have disability representation in all areas of leadership and influence.”

Mr Hinds says that while the event was a humiliating experience, it has also sparked an outpouring of support from the disability community and others. He calls it a “teachable moment”.