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 diagnosed with anxiety. After continuing to experience symptoms, Staford began seeing Dr. Puls, a…
A case involving Huntington Firefighter John Angle shows the difficulty of establishing a PTSD workers’ compensation claim in a state with a “physical injury” statute such as West Virginia. Several states have workers’ compensation laws similar to Section 23-4 of the West Virginia Code, which provides that “no alleged injury or disease shall be recognized as a compensable injury or disease which was solely caused by nonphysical means and…
Detective Christopher Sardo worked for the Village of Franklin Park, Illinois. Sardo served in the United States Marine Corps from 1987 to 1991, including a tour of duty in Desert Storm. Besides physical danger, his service exposed him to several traumatic events, including fellow Marines being shot at and killed. After his discharge, Sardo experienced depression, flashbacks, and panic attacks. Sardo became a Franklin Park police officer in January…
Kimberly Nelson, a Chicago police officer, responded to a dispatch report that there was a “possible kidnapping of a FedEx driver” on 80th Street. Nelson inquired where exactly on 80th Street the incident had occurred. Eventually, the dispatcher replied, “Units in 6, we have a robbery, an armed robbery of a FedEx driver, 708 East 80th.” Nelson, who was nearby, headed to the location while calling “652 for information.”…
In June 2017, Gila County, Arizona deputy sheriff John France and another deputy were dispatched to a residence to investigate a person threatening to kill himself with a shotgun. When they arrived at the house, a man burst through the doorway between them, holding a shotgun in a shooting stance.The man rushed toward France, his shotgun only a few feet away from France’s face and ignored repeated requests to…
Isaiah Cardinale was an officer with the police department in Nutley Township, New Jersey. In December 2013, Cardinale submitted to a random drug test. Two days later, Cardinale admitted to using cocaine. The Department immediately suspended him pending the results of the test, and Cardinale successfully completed drug and alcohol treatment in Florida. In February 2014, the toxicology report demonstrated that he had tested positive for cocaine. The Department…
Jesse Diaz was a firefighter for Trenton, New Jersey. Diaz, who is Hispanic, was well-regarded by his colleagues and supervisors, and he enjoyed their camaraderie and support. That changed after Diaz overheard a white firefighter named Plumeri use a racist term in reference to an African-American colleague. Although the colleague was not present, Diaz thought that the incident was serious, and that Plumeri should be disciplined for using racist…
Benjamin Pitts was a police officer with the City of Chandler, Arizona. In May 2013, Pitts was on duty in his patrol vehicle with his fiancée, who was participating in a ride-along. That evening, Pitts received a call that there was a man acting in a disorderly manner and possibly brandishing a gun outside Chandler Regional Hospital. The dispatcher told Pitts the man was walking up the road with…
Humberto Valdes was a lieutenant in the City of Doral, Florida Police Department. All lieutenants in the Department worked eight-hour shifts; Valdes was assigned to the afternoon shift. While on duty in March 2009, Valdes was involved in a car crash. After the crash, Valdes developed a panic disorder and began seeing a psychiatrist for treatment. From April through August 2009, the psychiatrist recommended that Valdes work on light…
In November 2012, thirteen police officers engaged in a high-speed car chase in Cleveland, Ohio. When the car finally came to a stop, the officers fired 139 bullets into the vehicle, killing the two African-American suspects inside. The media started reporting the story, framing it as twelve Caucasian officers and one Hispanic officer shooting and killing two unarmed African-American suspects after a high-speed car chase. The community response was…
Beginning in 2002, Charles Kimzey worked as a paramedic for Vashon Island Fire and Rescue in Washington. In June 2012, Kimzey was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder. He then filed a claim for benefits with Washington’s Department of Labor and Industries for an “Industrial Injury or Occupational Disease.” Kimzey stated in his application that his PTSD and depression were caused by “repeated exposure to some pretty horrific incidents…over a…
Under New York law as well as the law in several other states, for a stress disability to be covered by workers’ compensation, the stress experienced by the employee must be greater than that which usually occurs in the normal work environment. A recent case involving the East Greenbush, New York, Police Department demonstrated how that legal standard effectively precludes most stress claims by law enforcement officers. The case…
How post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) claims are treated by workers’ compensation and pension laws varies widely across the country. Some states require only that an employee prove that PTSD was caused by the job. At the other end of the spectrum, the most conservative states require that the employee actually be physically injured in the incident that caused the PTSD. Kentucky follows the “physical injury” model. So it was…
The workers’ compensation or pension systems of different states have a variety of standards for evaluating claims for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). One of the strictest standards requires a firefighter or law enforcement officer to prove not just that they have PTSD which has been caused by the job, but that the PTSD arose alongside of a “physical injury.” Oklahoma follows this strict standard, and as City of Norman…
While Philip Payes, a Pennsylvania state trooper, was working on November 29, 2006, a woman who apparently was mentally disturbed ran in front of his vehicle. Payes attempted to resuscitate the woman after she was struck by his patrol car but the incident resulted in a fatality. Payes filed a workers’ compensation claim for post-traumatic stress disorder. When the State denied his claim, he challenged the denial through the…
In Pennsylvania, for an employee to succeed in bringing a workers’ compensation claim for a psychological disability, the employee must ordinarily show that the disability “was more than a subjective reaction to normal working conditions.” Pennsylvania courts have struggled for years trying to apply this standard to public safety employees. The case of Rodney Washington is a good example of how difficult it is for a public safety employee…
Under New Jersey law, public safety officers who suffer from an “accidental” disability are entitled to a higher pension than those suffering from other disabilities. In the case of stress disabilities, the rule is that the disability must result “from direct personal experience of a terrifying or horror-inducing event that involves actual or threatened death or serious injury, or a similarly serious threat to the physical integrity of the…
William Biasetti was a police officer with the Stamford, Connecticut Police Department. On May 24, 2005, Biasetti was involved in a high-speed car chase on Interstate 95 during a torrential rainstorm. At the conclusion of the high-speed chase, Biasetti was engaged in a gun battle with the suspects and was in fear of losing his life. During the course of the gun battle, Biasetti injured his right elbow and…
Dennis Walsh joined the Nassau County, New York Police Department in 1990. In 2006, after rising through the ranks to the position of Detective Lieutenant, Walsh began to exhibit signs and symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder. On October 19, 2006, Walsh committed suicide. Walsh’s widow brought a federal civil rights lawsuit against the Department, alleging that the failure of the Department to provide adequate training in suicide prevention for…
On March 25, 2005, members of the Easton, Pennsylvania Police Department SWAT team, including Matthew Renninger and Officer Jesse Sollman, returned to the Easton Police Department after a day of SWAT training and began breaking down and cleaning various weapons used that day. Renninger took his firearm, a 40-caliber handgun, out of his holster and placed it on a bench in the locker room. Renninger placed the gun on…
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