CONTACT:
John Nuthall
212-298-9187
Voice of the People
Daily News
Via Electronic Mail
To the Editor:
A police officer is shot and paralyzed by a madman who is randomly killing people on the street. Another officer is permanently brain damaged when hit in the head with a heavy object by a perp being arrested. Yet another officer nearly dies from smoke inhalation and loses so much lung capacity, that the officer will never be able to breathe unassisted again. If these police officers work anywhere in New York State but New York City, they are granted a disability pension that, because of a tax benefit, provides them with nearly what they need to support their family. But if they are NYC police officers hired since 2009 they will have to try to live in the nation’s most expensive city on dramatically less. Supporting the people who risk their lives to protect this city when they are permanently disabled in the line of duty is morally the right thing to do regardless of the cost. Even Governor David Paterson, whose decision not to renew Tier 2 triggered this inequity, agrees that the disability benefits under Tier 3 are inadequate. To praise NYC police officers for their bravery and sacrifice, hang medals around their necks and not provide for them when their sacrifice prevents them from continuing to take those risks is the height of hypocrisy. We must fix this now.
Sincerely,
Patrick J. Lynch
President