Fuller said the disability section’s
wording fit Blazejowski’s situation and both the city and an independent
physician argued that he should be granted disability, which pays officers 70
percent of their regular as well as benefits.
Fuller said he had little choice
given that firing the 34-year-old officer would have meant the city would “end
up in the same place” after spending time and money in a court case it could
not win.
The problem, Fuller said, is that
Blazejowski should have been axed years ago. The ball was dropped back then, he
said, not now.
There’s something to that argument.
According to a 2011 report byconsultant Lori Coppinger, Blazejowski should have been fired after a series of
incidents culminating in a 2006 meltdown when the officer expressed the idea
that he would “like to kill someone” to see how it feels. Link to the full story.
Tuesday's paper will have an updated version of this story.
Tuesday's paper will have an updated version of this story.
