Senior English major David Rinella was leaving for the gym on Sunday afternoon when he noticed something was missing, his wheelchair. Rinella was used to leaving it on his front porch due to space restrictions inside, and saw it had been stolen from the porch of his home on Amherst Street sometime between 4 p.m. Saturday and 1 p.m. Sunday.
Rinella and his housemates searched the house and the surrounding area. The incident was reported to UP Public Safety at 1:48 p.m. that afternoon along with the Portland Police Department. Rinella has asked that anyone with information notify the Portland Police and reference case number 15326857.
Additionally, Rinella called several Portland pawnshops and wheelchair stores to see if someone had tried to sell his chair.
“I’ve had (the wheelchair) for over a year,” Rinella said. “That was my legs. Having it taken just sucks, it feels like someone took a part of me.”
According to Director of Public Safety Gerald Gregg, the situation was a theft that needed to be reported to and dealt with by Portland Police, rather than by UP Public Safety. Public Safety has, however, taken steps to lead a community response to the situation, including being available should any UP community member have information regarding the situation.
“It’s not a matter for us other than that we are certainly concerned about a member of our community having something stolen, and we’ll do what we can to mitigate that,” Gregg said.
Allegations on YikYak, an anonymous social media app, including a screenshot that Rinella posted on his personal Tumblr page last night, suggested that the chair may be in Villa Maria Hall. Public Safety officer Mike Kranyak said that the shared living spaces in Villa Maria Hall have been searched, and that Hall Director Kurt Berning is following up with resident assistants and the entire Villa community. Gregg said that Public Safety plans to pursue any leads presented to them by the UP community and cooperate with Portland Police as they conduct an investigation, but that thus far no information has been received.
Rinella lived in Villa Maria Hall for four years before moving off campus this year.
Berning expressed the shock that the Villa community experienced due to the allegation, which has not been substantiated. All Villa Maria Hall residents have been instructed to share any information regarding the stolen wheelchair with Public Safety.
“Everyone in Villa is very supportive of David,” Berning said. “I don’t think he has more support on campus than in the hall.”
Rinella posted about the incident on his personal Tumblr page at 5 p.m. Sunday, and 24 hours later the post had received 38,423 combined likes and reblogs.
“It’s the craziest thing I’ve ever seen. I’ve been getting messages from Brazil and Australia, just saying ‘Hey that sucks, hey I’m really sorry that happened to you,’” Rinella said. “I’m still scared and hurt and angry, but I sure don’t feel alone.”
After an outpouring of social media support, Rinella also set up a fundraiser for a new wheelchair on the website YouCaring. The fundraiser has since earned 1,955 dollars of the total 3,000 dollar goal. However, Rinella said ideally his chair will be returned and he will donate the money to Incight, a non-profit organization founded by disabled UP alumni to support the disability community.
Rinella has been in a wheelchair for two years. After spending five months searching for a diagnosis of a yet unsolved health problem, he decided to use the chair to get back into a normal routine rather than continuing to search for a diagnosis Rinella said.
The stolen wheelchair had been a gift from a friend’s mother who upgraded her chair a year ago and no longer needed it. Rinella said it took him a month of using the chair full time to become accustomed to it, and his process of coming to terms with it has been even longer.
“Everything’s harder when you’re disabled. It’s hard to go to my classes. It’s hard to go to the store. It’s hard to go on dates,” Rinella said. “But having a chair helps. It’s a way to at least leave my home and get around.”
Rinella was given a loaner chair today by the family of UP junior Alex Allen, whose sibling heard of his situation on social media. In addition to support from the UP community, Rinella has received attention from Portland news stations KATU, KGW and KPTV.
“I don’t like money. I don’t want the spotlight. I want this to go away really bad,” Rinella said. “While it’s happening, I am grateful for the crazy amount of public support. I just wish I hadn’t needed it in the first place.”
