Police officer hurt on job deserves better

One September morning just over a year ago, Philip Roselle got up, put on his uniform, and reported for duty as a police officer sworn to protect the citizens of Norwalk, just as he’d been doing for the past 30 years.

A diabetic his entire adult life, the veteran cop never let his condition get in the way of his police work, for which he’d been awarded a Meritorious Commendation Certificate. As he says, “For 30 years, I did everything a police officer is required to do, and I did it to the fullest.”

On Sept. 5, 2017, all that changed, following a routine training session at the gun range at police headquarters. Another officer accidentally discharged his pistol while cleaning it, thinking he’d cleared the chamber. The lone remaining bullet tore through Roselle’s right arm and into his ribcage.

The bullet remains lodged in his chest; he can feel it whenever he moves. That’s the constant. Little else is the same. He can’t work. Complications from the shooting have left him with blood clots, a partial blockage of his heart, and permanent nerve damage in his right hand. While he waits for a donor’s kidney, Roselle relies on dialysis three times a week. Post-traumatic stress and its kissing cousin, depression, have sent him to the emergency room more than once.

Given Roselle’s years of service, the fact that he was shot while on duty, and the gravity of his injuries, one would hope that at the very least he and his family would be receiving financial support, enabling him to focus on regaining his health.

Sadly, that isn’t the case. His benefits ended in May. He has since used up his accumulated vacation and sick days.

The police union’s position is straightforward: because he was injured on the job, Roselle is entitled to workers’ compensation. But the Connecticut Workers’ Compensation Commission has twice denied Roselle benefits on the grounds that an underlying condition, his Type 1 diabetes, is what’s keeping him out of work; that despite the 30 years of good health that preceded the shooting.

While his police family has stepped up, creating a GoFundMe account that has raised nearly $17,000, Roselle’s lawyer continues to fight for workers’ compensation as the medical bills continue to pile up. And where is the city in all this? Mayor Harry Rilling, a former Norwalk police chief and police union president, has said the city has no role in the decision. “We need to do everything we can to protect our first responders,” Rilling said. “They put their lives on the line day in and day out, and we need to make sure that we’re here for them when they need us.”

Just so. But while the mayor has reached out to the family “to figure out what options are available,” the Roselles say nothing has changed. It’s a chilling message not only for them but for all the city’s first responders, the men and women who run toward danger rather than away from it.

They deserve better.

Given Philip Roselle’s years of service, the fact that he was shot while on duty, and the gravity of his injuries, one would hope that at the very least he and his family would be receiving financial support, enabling him to focus on regaining his health.