explosions at such a close range without firefighting equipment or
protective gear, which were circumstances that rendered him help-
less. It should be noted that while the Court reversed the Appellate
Division, it did not find that the officer was entitled to accidental
disability benefits. The case was sent back to the Appellate Division
to consider a different factor also required for an accidental dis-
ability award, which the court did not reach in its decision.
In the Martinez case, a detective who was a municipal police
department’s hostage negotiator applied for accidental disabili-
ty retirement benefits based upon “psychological injuries when a
lengthy hostage negotiation ended with the shooting death of the
hostage-taker, as he and [the detective] spoke by cellphone.” While
on the phone with the suspect, the detective heard him yell “Gerry
Gerry…Help me. Help me, Gerry. They’re going to kill me.” He then
heard two pops and silence.
The detective was diagnosed with PTSD and major depressive
disorder after the incident and applied for accidental disability
benefits. The PFRS Board denied the application, in part because
nothing took place during the incident that the detective “should
not have been prepared for as a trained negotiator.” As a result, the
Board concluded that the event was not “undesigned and unex-
pected,” and denied the application for accidental disability ben-
efits. The detective appealed, and the Appellate Division reversed
the Board’s decision, concluding that the event was “undesigned
and unexpected.”
The Supreme Court reversed the Appellate Division and rein-
stated the Board’s decision, concluding that the detective did not
demonstrate that the disability was “undesigned and unexpected.”
The evidence in the record established that, based upon the detec-
tive’s training as a hostage negotiator, he had reason to anticipate
that a tactical entry might be made at the suspect’s location while
the detective was on the phone with him and without the detective
being informed of the tactical entry before it happened. The facts
also supported that such a tactical entry was likely to take place
under the circumstances presented, namely, the precise police
tactics that were used gave warning to the detective that the inci-
dent might end violently. Thus, even though the detective might
not have expected that the suspect with whom he was negotiating
would suddenly be killed, the detective should have known, based
on his training and experience, that a tactical entry and shooting of
the suspect might occ ur during the negotiations.
These cases highlight the difficulty in applying the “undesigned
and unexpected” element of the standard. In Mount, despite the
fact that the officer was trained to respond to fatal accidents which
could involve horrible injuries or deaths, the incident was deemed
“undesigned and unexpected.” Yet, in the Martinez case, the Court
found that the hostage negotiator’s training should have prepared
him for a suspect to be killed during a tactical entry while on the
phone with the detective. Put differently, the Court felt that such an
event was not “undesigned and unexpected.”
In sum, the lesson to be drawn from these cases is that it is im-
portant to consider not just an officer’s written job specifications,
but also specific duties and responsibilities as well as the officer’s
training. The outcomes in such cases are very dependent on the
facts of each case and how they are presented at trial. Our office
has handled many such cases, representing law enforcement of-
ficers, firefighters and other public employees in these appeals in
the PFRS and other state pension systems – SPRS for State Troop-
ers, TPAF for teachers and PERS for public employees. PBA mem-
bers who are considering whether to apply for accidental disability
retirement benefits should consult with experienced counsel to
discuss whether they can meet this and the other elements neces-
sary for eligibility. The “undesigned and unexpected” factor is but
one of several factors which must be met in order to qualify. We
will continue to provide information on this important issue to the
State PBA and its members as more cases arise. d
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