Officers facing discipline claim disability for big cost to Milwaukee

As the district attorney investigated him for allegedly beating a handcuffed suspect, Milwaukee Police Detective Rodolfo Gomez Jr. applied for duty disability retirement, saying stress had left him unable to do his job, the Journal Sentinel has learned.

If his application is approved, Gomez, 47 — charged last week with felony misconduct in public office — could be paid by the city for the rest of his life.

Under state law, a felony conviction would require Gomez to be fired. But if he were placed on duty disability before that, he would be considered retired instead.

As a result, he would be paid 75% of his $76,000 salary, tax-free, meaning his take-home pay would be about the same. And he even would get raises, just as he would if he went to work every day.

Gomez wouldn't be the first Milwaukee police officer to receive duty disability during or after a disciplinary investigation. At least five others have done so since 2006. Some of the investigations resulted in discipline; some did not. As of July, those five alone had collected $948,000, according to the Employees' Retirement System, which administers the program.

Gomez and other officers accused of misconduct received help with their applications from Bradley DeBraska, according to documents filed with the retirement system. DeBraska is a former Milwaukee officer and police union president who was convicted of a felony for faking a document in the union's high-stakes legal fight with the city over the officers' pension fund.

Duty disability retirement was designed as a safety net to ensure that officers, whose careers are inherently dangerous, would not suffer financial ruin if they were hurt on the job. But in recent years, officers shot by suspects or injured in squad crashes have been joined by officers claiming mental stress as a result of disciplinary matters.

Ald. Michael Murphy, who sits on the city Pension Board, said he has no problem with officers who have legitimate problems applying for duty disability.

"But when you see people file for stress because they are being investigated, including criminally investigated, that has nothing to do with the job, and that process certainly should be changed," he said.

Murphy, also head of the Common Council's Finance and Personnel Committee, requested an outside audit of the duty disability program. The audit, which began last week, will take approximately three months to complete.

Breakdown claimed

Gomez's application for the benefit, filed Oct. 25, says he suffered a mental breakdown as a result of 31/2 years spent investigating the murders of nine children — as well as the death of a pregnant woman whose fetus was cut from her womb, killing them both.

In his application, Gomez said he had a flashback during his interrogation of Deron Love, the father of a dead baby. Gomez is accused of beating Love.

"The stress of dealing with the horrific deaths of helpless children finally caught up with my limits of rationalization and my mental ability to absorb the personal trauma," wrote Gomez, who did not return telephone calls for comment for this story.

In a statement, Milwaukee Police Association president Mike Crivello said officers have a demanding job, both physically and mentally.

"While a physical injury is visible and often easier to determine whether an individual can continue to perform as an officer — psychological trauma injuries are not, but nevertheless as debilitating," he wrote.

Crivello, a detective, said duty disability claims receive "incredible scrutiny" before being approved.

The sworn department members to be granted duty disability during or after disciplinary investigations include Jason Mucha, a former sergeant. Mucha, whose history of misconduct complaints dates to at least 2007, supervised four officers later charged in connection with illegal strip searches. He was not disciplined in any of the cases.

Mucha was granted duty disability late last year after claiming publicity over the complaints left him paranoid, depressed and suicidal. He recently reclaimed nine guns taken from him as part of an emergency mental health detention.

Four more officers who faced internal investigations, including Gomez, are waiting to hear whether their applications have been approved.

Officer in Williams case

One of them is Jason Bleichwehl, who spent time in the front seat of a squad car as Derek Williams struggled to breathe in the back and later died. An inquest jury recommended that Bleichwehl and two other officers be charged with misdemeanors in connection with Williams' death, but no charges were issued. Bleichwehl also was not disciplined by the Police Department.

"No human being should have to endure one false allegation in the public domain, public ridicule from your boss, have elected officials use your life as a scapegoat or have your complete life exposed for public consumption," Bleichwehl wrote in his application for duty disability payments. "... The Chief of Police in Milwaukee did nothing to dispel or contradict the allegations and to the contrary, the Chief made disparaging remarks regarding my conduct. No person was protecting me in the public domain against the complete destruction of my mental and physical health."

Michael Steinle, attorney for Gomez and Bleichwehl, said he could not comment.

"I really don't feel comfortable talking about those situations because I would have to go into attorney-client privilege and I am not authorized to do that," Steinle said. "Plus, you are talking medical conditions that under (medical confidentiality) laws I am not allowed to discuss."

Application process

To apply for duty disability, police officers first must file for worker's compensation.

For officers hired before 2006, two doctors, one picked by the union, one by the city, review the case. If the doctors do not agree, a third breaks the tie. Officers hired since 2006 who claim a stress-related disability are evaluated by a three-doctor panel appointed by the Employees' Retirement System.

After the disability is granted, the case is re-evaluated each year by a three-doctor panel until the person is 57. After that, duty disabilities are converted to traditional pensions, as if the officers had worked full careers.

Duty disability payments are made via the city's $4.8 billion retirement trust. The city and current employees contribute to the trust account, which funds pensions for all retired city employees, not just police and not just those with disabilities. This year, the city's contribution to the fund was $62 million, according to the retirement system. Retirees, including police on duty disability, no longer are required to pay into the fund. Their pensions are funded with investment returns.

Murphy noted that the disability process is governed by the police union's collective bargaining agreement. Other city employees do not work under such an agreement following the passage of Wisconsin's Act 10, which stripped most public employees of most collective bargaining rights.

The act, however, exempted police and fire employees. Murphy said the city will be limited in reforms it can make to the duty disability system unless Act 10 is extended to law enforcement and firefighters.

One of the goals of the audit, being conducted by Segal Consulting for a fee of $45,000, is to determine whether any cost-saving changes can be made through city ordinances, according to the city's request for quotes. Auditors also will look for "changes that could be made to decrease the risk of fraud and abuse of the program," the document says.

Murphy isn't the only one with qualms about the system.

Officials at the Police Department are concerned that officers who are healthy enough to work desk jobs — known as "light duty" or "limited duty" — are instead getting duty disability because the doctors evaluating the officers have been misled by inaccuracies in their applications.

Problem noted

Police Capt. Gary Gacek, head of the Internal Affairs Division, pointed out the potential problem in an Oct. 15 letter to Jerry Allen, executive director of the retirement system.

Several of the applications reference the "always on duty rule," which states: "(Officers) are always subject to orders from proper authority and to calls from citizens. The fact that they may be technically 'off-duty' shall not be held as relieving them from the responsibility of taking required police action in any matter coming to their attention at any time."

The applicants claim department rules do not allow exceptions for officers working limited duty, according to copies of their letters.

Gacek, however, says Milwaukee Police Chief Edward Flynn rescinded the "always on duty" rule in February 2011.

"There is no condition of employment that requires an existing disabled law enforcement employee to take law enforcement action, whether on-duty or off-duty," Gacek wrote. "... The department can also accommodate most law enforcement employees who suffer from an illness, injury or mental affliction with an assignment that takes into consideration the employees' limitation or disability."

The same language referencing the "always on duty" rule shows up in multiple applications witnessed by DeBraska, former president of the Milwaukee Police Association, the union that represents rank-and-file officers. At least six of the applicants who got help from DeBraska claimed stress due to an internal investigation, including Mucha, Bleichwehl and Gomez, who was a member of the police union board until July.

DeBraska, who did not return calls for comment, has been heavily involved in the pension system for years. He was an elected member of the pension board while he headed the police union. He retired from the department in 2005. As of last year, he was working for the Milwaukee Police Supervisors' Organization.

In 2009, a Milwaukee County jury convicted DeBraska of fabricating a memo from a former top city leader that the union then used in a legal fight with the city over pension funds. He was sentenced to six months in jail.

The sentence did not bar DeBraska from working in the pension system, Murphy noted.

"I was amazed that wasn't part of the ruling, that he could have no dealings with the pension," he said. "A known felon who forged an alderman's signature that could have resulted in millions and millions in costs to the taxpayers now is the main consultant in all these mental stress duty disability cases."

Raquel Rutledge of the Journal Sentinel staff contributed to this report.