There’s been a lot of discussion in the news recently over the “staffing crisis” in policing.  This presents a real occupational health and safety concern for police officers in our province. We all know that police officers will be subjected to traumatic events over the course of their careers.  But what happens when an officer encounters this trauma, in the context of understaffing and an intense workload? Here’s one officer’s story. We’ll call him Detective […]

It started like any other regular day at work for this K-9 officer.  But just before he finished his shift, he received a call about a suspect who was in pursuit.  Lights and sirens on, he had to get to the opposite side of town and track down the suspect. Imagine the adrenaline rush while running with the dog, an excited 60-lb German Shepherd, tugging on the leash in your hand, tracking the scent of […]

It’s a story that’s so unbelievable, you’d think it was an episode of Law and Order. But the only fiction in this story is the second life that my client’s co-worker created while impersonating her though electronic communications with another individual. My client, who we will refer to as “X”, is a police officer.  She was arrested on January 31, 2007.  Prior to her arrest, she was a respected police officer, a highly-regarded 16 year […]

When the Ontario Government passed Bill 163 on April 5, 2016, there was a collective sigh of relief among First Responders and their advocates.  The expectation was that this new legislation would facilitate access to benefits and treatment for First Responders diagnosed with PTSD.  But what happens in situations where a First Responder may suffer from elements of PTSD, but does not meet diagnostic criteria for a formal diagnosis? Or if a First Responder is […]

  The first case of its kind was heard at the Workplace Safety and Insurance Appeals Tribunal on February 1, 2017.  A female police officer developed a tear in the labrum of her hip.  The Tribunal concluded that her job duties, and in particular, the use of the duty belt, significantly contributed to the tear.  (You can read Decision No. 310/17 here:  http://www.wsiat.on.ca/Decisions/2017/310%2017.pdf While the study of labral tears is a relatively new area in […]