County Officer's Comeback Try Falls Short
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
When Bill Kelly became a police officer in 1992, he never thought he'd be retiring in 1999.
"This is not a good day," Kelly, 33, said Tuesday during a celebration honoring him for his service to the community.
"I'll never forget the day the doctor came in and told me, 'You're done,'" Kelly said.
Kelly was injured in an on-duty traffic accident July 19, 1997. He suffered a concussion and other injuries when a pickup T-boned his squad car in the driver's side at the intersection of Ind. 15 and CR 200S, south of Warsaw. Kelly was not en route to an emergency call at the time - he was just another motorist on Ind. 15.
The news that he wouldn't return to the police force came a year later and his "retirement" party a year after that.
Although Kelly still worked to recover enough to continue his police career, he finally saw the light that ended his hopes when the doctor put his prognosis in very blunt terms.
"He said, 'You can go back to being a cop and be pushed down the aisle when your daughter's old enough to get married, or you can stop being a cop and walk her down,'" Kelly said. "That made up my mind."
"He did everything he could to try to come back," said Kosciusko County Sheriff Aaron Rovenstine.
Although he appears physically healthy, Kelly copes with severe back pain daily. He has undergone physical therapy and taken medication to improve his condition, but nothing has remedied it.
"People look at him and say, 'He looks fine, why can't he work?'" said Kelly's wife, Kay, "but they're not with him every day to see the hell he goes through."
Kelly began his career with the Kosciusko County Sheriff's Department in 1992 and served for three years before transferring to the Warsaw Police Department at a patrolman. A year later, he returned to his deputy position with the county department.
Prior to this time, the KCSD had no policy in place for disability, according to Rovenstine. Such a policy now exists and, after a vote by the merit board (a committee that oversees activities pertaining to sworn officers), it was decided that Kelly will receive his full pension. That means that Kelly will receive 50 percent of the salary that he was making as a deputy retroactive to Jan. 1.
Despite the shortcomings in his health, Kelly has spent some time looking at how he can keep in touch with the world of law enforcement. He has attended specialized schooling to become certified in as an accident reconstructionist and as a fire and explosion investigator (Kelly previously also served as a volunteer firefighter with Burket Fire Department).
The idea of launching this new, yet related, career was first broached by former prosecutor David Kolbe, Kelly said, and then fueled by former sheriff Al Rovenstine.
Kelly Investigations Inc. is now open for business and can be reached by calling 491-3025. [[In-content Ad]]
When Bill Kelly became a police officer in 1992, he never thought he'd be retiring in 1999.
"This is not a good day," Kelly, 33, said Tuesday during a celebration honoring him for his service to the community.
"I'll never forget the day the doctor came in and told me, 'You're done,'" Kelly said.
Kelly was injured in an on-duty traffic accident July 19, 1997. He suffered a concussion and other injuries when a pickup T-boned his squad car in the driver's side at the intersection of Ind. 15 and CR 200S, south of Warsaw. Kelly was not en route to an emergency call at the time - he was just another motorist on Ind. 15.
The news that he wouldn't return to the police force came a year later and his "retirement" party a year after that.
Although Kelly still worked to recover enough to continue his police career, he finally saw the light that ended his hopes when the doctor put his prognosis in very blunt terms.
"He said, 'You can go back to being a cop and be pushed down the aisle when your daughter's old enough to get married, or you can stop being a cop and walk her down,'" Kelly said. "That made up my mind."
"He did everything he could to try to come back," said Kosciusko County Sheriff Aaron Rovenstine.
Although he appears physically healthy, Kelly copes with severe back pain daily. He has undergone physical therapy and taken medication to improve his condition, but nothing has remedied it.
"People look at him and say, 'He looks fine, why can't he work?'" said Kelly's wife, Kay, "but they're not with him every day to see the hell he goes through."
Kelly began his career with the Kosciusko County Sheriff's Department in 1992 and served for three years before transferring to the Warsaw Police Department at a patrolman. A year later, he returned to his deputy position with the county department.
Prior to this time, the KCSD had no policy in place for disability, according to Rovenstine. Such a policy now exists and, after a vote by the merit board (a committee that oversees activities pertaining to sworn officers), it was decided that Kelly will receive his full pension. That means that Kelly will receive 50 percent of the salary that he was making as a deputy retroactive to Jan. 1.
Despite the shortcomings in his health, Kelly has spent some time looking at how he can keep in touch with the world of law enforcement. He has attended specialized schooling to become certified in as an accident reconstructionist and as a fire and explosion investigator (Kelly previously also served as a volunteer firefighter with Burket Fire Department).
The idea of launching this new, yet related, career was first broached by former prosecutor David Kolbe, Kelly said, and then fueled by former sheriff Al Rovenstine.
Kelly Investigations Inc. is now open for business and can be reached by calling 491-3025. [[In-content Ad]]