Court Upholds Denial of Police Officer’s Line-of-Duty Disability Benefits
A police officer filed an application for line-of-duty disability benefits after being injured during mandatory “wellness and resiliency” training, which involved classroom instruction and stretching, yoga, and other physical movements. During the stretches, the officer experienced back pain and was later diagnosed with various spinal conditions, undergoing two unsuccessful surgeries. Despite receiving treatment, the officer was unable to return to work with the police department.
The Retirement Board of the Policemen’s Annuity and Benefit Fund of the City of Chicago (Pension Board) found that the officer was entitled to ordinary disability benefits, but denied her duty disability benefits because her injury did not result from an “act of police duty inherently involving special risk,” as required by the Illinois Pension Code. Ordinary disability benefits are 50% of the officer’s salary, as opposed to 75% for duty disability benefits.
On appeal, both the circuit court and the appellate court affirmed
the Pension Board’s denial of the officer’s duty benefits. To determine if an officer
is injured “in the performance of an act of duty” to be eligible for duty
disability benefits, courts look at the capacity in which the officer was
acting when injured, rather than the precise physical act that caused the
injury. Here, the courts found that the officer was stretching and performing breathing exercises
while dressed in plain clothes, for the purpose of relaxing and living a
healthier lifestyle. As a result, the courts found that the officer was injured in
the capacity of an individual seeking to calm herself and live a healthier
lifestyle, as any regular civilian might do – but not in a police officer capacity.
Additionally, although the training was mandatory, an activity being mandatory
does not automatically make it an “act of duty” when the activity has a clear
counterpart in civilian life.
