Disappointed that in the month of August this present administration, namely Ernie Wiggins, Joe Thallemer and Charlie Smith, failed to adopt a policy regarding police and firemen that are permanently disabled due to injuries they directly received while in the line of duty, that would allow them to remain on the city's health insurance at the rate as present police and firemen are paying.
At the present time I'm the only police officer that is permanently disabled in the line of duty for the City of Warsaw.
During several Board of Works meetings in August the main concern they had was my degree of class of disability. I am a permanently disabled police officer. I am physically unable to perform duties that are required by law enforcement officers.
The board felt that they (City of Warsaw) were not required to maintain health coverage for a police officer that nearly paid the ultimate price (my life), and also my law enforcement career ended serving and protecting the City of Warsaw.
The main point they brought up was my full-time position with Wal-Mart, the insurance I can obtain through my present employer. I took the Wal-Mart position in March 1995. At that time I had a wife, daughter and two sons and the money I was receiving from disability could barely cover living expenses let alone feeding my two growing boys.
Fact: In the state of Illinois if you are permanently disabled due to injuries in the line of duty your health insurance is paid fully by your employer.
Fact: If you are an Indiana State Trooper and permanently disabled in the line of duty your health insurance is paid fully by Police Benefit Fund until you retire at which time you are kept on the state's insurance at trooper rate.
I have been paying police officers insurance rate for the past 23 years since the date of my disability.
This present administration has permitted several Warsaw firemen to remain on the city's health insurance at the rate that active firemen are now paying this is part of their retirement package they put together for the firemen who were freely choosing to retire.
I was forced to retire. My disability was switched to retirement by the Pension Fund when I turned 55 years of age on Aug. 30. I was not given a retirement package that included insurance like the firemen are getting.
In closing, I still request that the city adopt a policy that covers all of my fellow police officers and my comrades at the fire department.
I only pray that their families never have to go through a very near-death experience that my family and I have went and still are going through due to their injuries they receive serving and protecting the City of Warsaw.
Please let the mayor and your city councilman know how you feel on how your police and firemen are being looked out for, your hometown heroes.
