Friday, July 15, 2011

Serving Up A Raw Deal

...With salt rubbed in it.

I usually decry government spending (not that it does any good) but sometimes the tab is inarguable. Of course, that's when governments dispute it.

Take IMPD Officer Jason Fishburn: three years ago, he was one of several policeman hunting a murderer. Officer Fishburn closed in and got shot in the head.

He didn't die; hung on through a year and a half of treatment, learned to deal with stroke-like paralysis and cognitive impairment and took an office job at the police academy. After struggling with that for a year and a half, he realized he simply wasn't up to it and applied for medical retirement.

So, a tale of courage and determination and pushing through has found one man's limits. IMPD's own retirement board took at look at the situation and recommended 90% pay, pretty typical for medical disability and, considering this is a guy who took a bullet through the brain hunting a serious criminal, a guy who will never again run, use his right arm or be the man he once was, it doesn't seem out of line.

...Except it did to the Public Employees Retirement Fund, where the reasoning seems to be that someone who lost over 30 percent function rates 69 percent retirement.

Needless to say, he's appealing the decision.

4 comments:

  1. Yeah, that's beyond the pale there. I hope this guy has an open line to his congressman, senators, his FOP rep, and a good lawyer. This is one of the few times that I support something approaching 100% disability.

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  2. Typical. Guys who work desk jobs and never hit the street get full retirement, but a guy on the sharp edge who gets cut by it ends up with jack.

    Priorities. PERF doesn't have them straight.

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  3. Sounds like the way the disabled vets get treated by the feds. This guy did his duty and now they want to screw him around. Screwed by a desk jockey that has probably never done anything else.

    ReplyDelete

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