Former Lodi police officer to get $100,000 after shooting himself in hand www.lodinews.com/articles.../news/3_hayden_090124.txt
A former Lodi Police officer who shot himself in the hand in March will receive $100,000 in a workers' compensation payment from the city.
Lance Hayden
Sgt. Lance Hayden accidentally shot himself while he was alone at a shooting range in the basement of the former police station at 210 W. Elm St. He will not be able to return to duty.
The Lodi City Council approved the settlement in a 4-1 vote Wednesday night in closed session. Councilwoman Susan Hitchcock was the dissenting vote.
The money for the payment will come out of the city's Workers' Compensation Insurance fund, city spokesman Jeff Hood said. As of Nov 30, the fund had a balance of $4.8 million.
The California Public Employees' Retirement System will determine his pension, and a CALPERS spokesman said it is not yet clear how much he will receive.
City attorney Steve Schwabauer said he could not comment on the specifics of the settlement because it is not public. It still has to go to the Workmens' Compensation State Appeals Board for approval.
Generally, the amount for workers' compensation payouts is determined by a state doctor who estimates the cost of future medical bills due to the injury, Schwabauer said.
He added that if an employee receives a settlement, the city does not have to pay for any future medical expenses. Also, if the medical care costs less than the settlement, the employee does not have to return it.
Hitchcock did not want to approve the settlement because she believes if a worker has unexpected medical expenses related to the injury, the city should be responsible for it.
Hayden started work with the department in 1987, when he went undercover for the department's program to combat drug use in high schools. The program resulted in numerous arrests.
He was one of the original members of the department's Gang Enforcement Unit and was on the SWAT team. He also received numerous awards for his work with police dogs.
Mass. police chief charged in boy's death resigns
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1 day ago
PELHAM, Mass. (AP) — The Massachusetts police chief who is charged with involuntary manslaughter in the death of a boy at a gun show has resigned.
Pelham Chief Edward Fleury's resignation was accepted by the Board of Selectmen on Monday, three months after 8-year-old Christopher Bizilj (bah-SEEL') accidentally shot himself with an Uzi during a Westfield gun fair.
Fleury's company, COP Firearms & Training, sponsored the event. He has pleaded not guilty.
The boy, from Ashford, Conn., was shot in the head Oct. 26 when the gun recoiled as he was firing at a pumpkin. Two men who brought the gun to the show were also indicted.
Board Chairman William Martell tells The Daily Hampshire Gazette that Fleury's departure was a "mutual decision."
Poster Comment:
I've been shooting since I was a kid. Never had an accidental discharge, much less shot myself... But that SWAT pig somehow manages to do that, and gets a nice hefty check for his stupidity.