Topeka ? A federal judge has ruled that a Topeka mall can’t force a man to sign a waiver before allowing him to ride a Segway inside.

John McElroy has a heart condition that requires a pacemaker and prevents him from walking more than a block without feeling pain. He is the executive director of the State Gaming Agency and uses his two-wheel transporter around the Statehouse and in office buildings.

But when he approached the West Ridge Mall before Christmas about using the Segway there, it told him he had to sign a form agreeing to pay for any damage caused while riding it.

He sued the mall’s owner, Simon Property Group, in U.S. District Court in March. U.S. District Judge Richard Rogers issued a restraining order Monday preventing the mall from enforcing the policy.

Rogers said requiring Segway riders to notify the mall and register was reasonable, because it protected others’ safety. But he concluded the West Ridge policy was “frankly unconscionable” because it required the user to protect the mall against all claims, even if the mall is at fault.

“The indemnity provisions do nothing to address the safety concerns,” Rogers wrote. “Rather, they simply appear to be an effort by the defendant to shift liability.”

Rogers noted that McElroy doesn’t have enough stamina to move by himself in a wheelchair. The judge concluded that the policy violates the federal Americans with Disabilities Act, which is designed to ensure access to public places for the disabled.

Arlin Meats, the mall’s manager, and Stewart Stein, a Kansas City, Mo., attorney representing Simon, declined comment.

McElroy often rides the Segway from his downtown office to a restaurant for lunch, then back, a round trip of roughly 1.5 miles. And during a hearing, McElroy demonstrated the Segway in Rogers’ courtroom. “For me, this thing is freedom,” he said. “It’s either this or sit at home and watch television.”