The retirement system for San Francisco police officers is contained in the City’s charter, which created the San Francisco Employees’ Retirement System (SFERS). Under the charter, an individual convicted of a crime involving moral turpitude committed in connection with his or her official duties forfeits all rights to his or her SFERS retirement benefits. Ian…
Paul Mahan was a correction officer for the Suffolk County sheriff’s department in Massachusetts. On August 15, 2000, while attempting to restrain an inmate who was involved in a fight, Mahan severely injured his knee. Mahan’s application for accidental disability retirement was approved by the board for the Boston retirement system. Between January 1, 2006,…
On May 7, 2009, Drew Peterson was charged with the first-degree murder of his former wife, Kathleen Savio, who had been found dead in her bathtub on March 1, 2004. Peterson was tried and convicted in 2012 and was sentenced to 38 years in prison. From 1977 until his retirement on November 9, 2007, Peterson…
Jaime Quinn was an officer with the Sunbury, Pennsylvania Police Department. The Department provided her with a cell phone, which was to be used only to assist her in fulfilling her duties as a police officer, except in certain emergency situations or with departmental approval. Despite this requirement, Quinn gave her Department-issued phone to her…
Heather Bass was a Kansas City, Missouri police officer who sustained a duty-related injury in January 2008. Because of the injury, she was retired by the Department and became eligible to receive duty-related disability pension benefits from the City’s Police Retirement System. Bass also filed a worker’s compensation claim and hired an attorney to represent…
From Washington:Question: If a state can’t balance their budget, can they take from state employee (police) pensions? Can police officers lose our pensions for a state’s financial disparity? Answer: Federal bankruptcy laws allow cities to seek bankruptcy protection under Chapter 9 of the Bankruptcy Code. That allows cities to reorganize debt and cut pension benefits.…
In a 1986 decision known as Koelsch v. Koelsch, the Arizona Supreme Court defined a matured pension as an “unconditional right to immediate payment.” Under Koelsch, when an employee spouse continues working after his retirement benefits mature, then he is “liable to reimburse the non-employee spouse for the property interest in the monthly pension benefit.”…
Peter Nowicki was employed with the Moraga-Orinda Fire District in California from 1983 until 2009. Nowicki began as a paramedic-firefighter and ultimately became fire chief on July 10, 2006. The initial contract between Nowicki and the District, was for a four-year term, with an annual salary of $173,000. Under the terms of the contract, Nowicki…
William Rogers was enrolled in the Police and Firemen’s Retirement System (PFRS) on March 1, 1995, the date he began working for the Borough of Wenonah in New Jersey as a police officer. He advanced through the ranks to the level of Chief of Police. In 2018, the Borough entered into a shared services agreement…
Firefighter Robert Pyzyna worked for the Prospect Heights Fire Protection District in Illinois from June 2005 until his retirement on October 31, 2017. Pyzyna’s retirement was required because he had reached the age of 65, the mandatory retirement age for active firefighters under the Illinois Fire Protection District Act. Pyzyna retired with a defined benefit…
It is not uncommon when an employer suspects that an employee may be falsely describing the extent of an on-the-job injury for the employer to obtain video of the employee engaging in physical activities. A recent case involving a Chicago police officer serves as a reminder that video evidence that the employee has engaged in…
Paul Griffin was a detective with the Village of New Lenox Police Department in Illinois. On September 7, 2016, Griffin worked from 8 a.m. until 4 p.m. He was wearing his service revolver, handcuffs, and police radio. Griffin’s supervisor informed him that he was to testify before a grand jury pursuant to a subpoena at…
Christopher Staford was a Crest Hill police officer in Illinois. He was working as a patrol officer on December 11, 2010, when he and a suspect exchanged gunfire. During the incident, Staford’s gun jammed. Shortly after the incident, Staford went to the emergency room, where he complained of feeling “rattled” and “very anxious.” He was…
Shane Streater, a Camden, New Jersey firefighter, applied for an accidental disability retirement pension in 2009 following two on-the-job accidents in 2007 and 2008. Streater submitted reports from two doctors, John Gaffney and Ralph Cataldo, in support of the application, and the Board of Trustees of the Police and Firemen’s Retirement System had Streater evaluated…
Eric Reamy was a sergeant with the Glen Rock Police Department in New Jersey. From 2011 to 2015, Reamy wrongfully and without authorization sold four rifles and three handguns that he improperly removed from the Department’s evidence locker. In 2015, Reamy was the juvenile officer for the Department. He began sexting on his work cellphone…
The Dallas Police and Fire Pension System is a public pension fund that provides comprehensive retirement, death, and disability benefits for approximately 9,300 active and retired City of Dallas police officers, firefighters, and their qualified dependents. Under the retirement plan, individuals become members of the pension system once they commence training at the police or…
Michael Lalley was a police sergeant in Newark, New Jersey. In early 2010, he was approached by agents of the FBI seeking his cooperation with an investigation of fellow members of the Department. Lalley declined to cooperate in the investigation. Unbeknownst to him, during the same time period the FBI was also investigating his sexual…
Thomas Ungard was employed by the City of Williamsport, Pennsylvania as a police officer from 1993 until he was suspended in 2006 and discharged in 2014. During his tenure, Ungard also served as a member and coordinator of the Lycoming County Drug Task Force, which frequently obtained vehicles through criminal and civil forfeiture proceedings. Membership…
Adrian and Brooke Aurs were married in July 2007. At all times during the parties’ marriage, Adrian was employed as a police officer with the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department (IMPD) and was a member of the 1977 Police Officers’ and Firefighters’ Pension and Disability Fund (1977 Fund). Brooke filed for divorce in November 2015. Adrian…
Joseph Deignan was a police officer with the Town of Watertown, Massachusetts. Under a Massachusetts statute, members of the state retirement system lose their pensions “after final conviction of a criminal offense involving violation of the laws applicable to his office or position.” Under a series of cases, Massachusetts courts have ruled that for pension…
The Dallas Police and Fire Pension System (DROP) provides comprehensive retirement, death, and disability benefits for some 9,300 Dallas police officers, firefighters, pensioners, and qualified survivors. Officers and firefighters automatically become System members when they enter the training academy. While in active service, they and the City of Dallas contribute to their accounts. A member…
A Massachusetts statute calls for forfeiture of an officer’s pension “after final conviction of a criminal offense involving violation of the laws applicable to his office or position.” Two such cases were recently put before the state’s highest court. John Swallow was a police sergeant for the Massachusetts town of Manchester-by-the-Sea. Following a string of…
Jon Wilmot began work as a firefighter with the Contra Costa County Fire Protection District in California in 1985. By 2012, he had risen to the rank of captain. During this period, he was a member of the retirement program established by Contra Costa County, which is administered by the Board of Retirement of the…
