CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — A Department of Public Safety in Sinton is changing their restroom policy after a local man with diabetes complained.
"I wound up having an accident," Richard Nunez said after he was told they did not have a public restroom. "I had to use the restroom right there by the truck in the parking lot. It made me feel terrible."
A spokesperson with DPS in Austin said they regret what happened to Nunez earlier this month and will now allow customers to use the employee restroom.
Nunez said it was an embarrassing situation to be in, but even more so to share with the public. But he said, he knew something had to change.
"There's a lot of people out there that are elderly and disabled and they got to go to the DPS office," Nunez said. "There are a lot of people that need access to restroom facilities."
DPS in Austin decided to handle Nunez' complaint and said the only restroom at the DPS location in Sinton is for employees.
"This county-owned office building houses DPS Driver License (DL), Highway Patrol and Texas Ranger personnel - and unfortunately the only restroom facilities are located in a secured area of the building occupied by the law enforcement divisions," a DPS spokesperson said in an email.
Nunez said as a tax payer he wants to know his money is going towards a public building that is in compliance.
"Everyone knows when you go to the DPS office there is gonna be a long wait," Nunez said."A lot of people are there for two or three hours."
The DPS Media and Communications Department said they will work to see what options are available to allow the public to access the restroom.
"Until a permanent solution is implemented, DPS staff will escort any customer needing to use the restroom to the facilities in the secured area of the building," the email continued.
Despite the publicity he received, Nunez said he was able to laugh off the embarrassing moment after a friend reached out to him.
"She said well you know what you did the right thing," Nunez said. "This will help out a lot of people and that makes me feel good."
There is still no word if signage will be placed in the lobby of the Sinton DPS office to let people know they can ask if they need to use the restroom.