Disabled area cops getting $2M a year

[Geppetto 31]

Disabled area cops getting $2M a year

They get full pay, benefits until they recover or retire

Meghan E. Murphy

Times Herald-Record

04/11/10

Towns and villages in the mid-Hudson are paying millions of dollars a year to injured cops who don't work. Many of the cops don't like it, and neither do town and village officials.

Many say the state 207c disability retirement system is at the root of the problem, with its slow bureaucratic process that's easy to game and hard to speed up.

Under 207c law, hurt police receive full salary and benefits until they recover or retire....

http://www.recordonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100411/NEWS/4110329

This article discusses the 207c law which many people don't agree with. For the record, I am NOT against any emergency services worker getting what is due them for injuries suffered in the line of duty. However, I think everyone has a different opinion as to what would constitute that.

[helicopper 1,050]

The headline makes it sound as though it's some kind of windfall or "found money". There are 27 cops sharing that 2M per year for an average salary of 74,000. That's not an abnormally high or unreasonable salary for a police officer.

The system sucks. I've watched disabled colleagues languish while waiting for a determination that never comes while restricted to their homes because they're out injured. Some with seemingly insignificant injuries get retired immediately while others with debilitating injuries and no hope of recovery are made to endure exam after exam and test after test all with the same result.

Yes, the system is broken. Yes, it needs to be streamlined.