Chief Flynn speaks out on issue of officers potentially scamming city
MILWAUKEE (WITI) -- Milwaukee Police Chief Ed Flynn went on the record Thursday, November 7th about officers who may be scamming the city out of millions of dollars.
Chief Flynn on Thursday spoke out about "duty disability" -- a new trend that shows police officers in trouble with the law are turning to a system that is guaranteeing them paychecks for life.
Milwaukee Police Detective Rodolfo Gomez' career is not the only thing on the line. So is his freedom.
Gomez faces felony charges -- accused of beating a handcuffed suspect in an interrogation room.
If found guilty, Gomez will lose his job. However, the detective has made a move that could guarantee he receives paychecks from the city for a long time.
A day before his court appearance last week, the detective filed for duty disability.
City leaders say there is a new trend for police officers facing internal or criminal investigations.
FOX6 News has learned officer after officer filed for duty disability -- claiming they suffer from mental health problems.
When approved, officers receive 75 percent of their salary tax free.
"How do I feel? I feel terrible about it, because it dishonors everybody," Chief Flynn said.
In an exclusive sit-down interview with FOX6 News, Chief Flynn added his voice of disgust to the issue.
"I'm disturbed by the fact that by all outward appearances, we have a circumstance in which officers that are under investigation for wrongdoing, are able to escape accountability for their actions by filing applications for duty disability," Chief Flynn said.
Chief Flynn says doctors who make final approval on disability applications are fed misinformation by applicants that goes unchecked.
Chief Flynn is now working with city leaders like Mayor Barrett to find solutions to close loopholes and make it tougher for employees to scam the city.
"Certainly at the very least, they should not process applications submitted by people under investigation for wrongdoing. It's a disservice to the honorable employees of this police department and it's a disservice to the taxpayers, that we should be granting duty disability retirements to people for stress that's been caused by their own misconduct. That's just patently absurd. We've got to fix that absurdity," Chief Flynn said.