BALTIMORE — A new Inspector General's report accuses a Baltimore Police officer of abusing the department's medical and sick leave policy, costing the city hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Since being hired in 2007 the officer filed 10 separate worker's compensation claims, including two departmental car crashes.
Overall the officer underwent three surgeries, attended several doctors appointments and physical therapy sessions at a cost of $332,454.62.
In 2017 and 2018 while supposedly still recovering from injury, the Inspector General says the officer went on skydiving trips in Florida and South Carolina.
The 2017 Florida trip occurred just weeks before a scheduled knee surgery.
According to the Inspector General, the officer signed a medical waiver with the skydiving company indicating no orthopedic problems.
In 2018 alone, the officer reportedly used 44 sick days.
It turns out the officer was actually out of town for several of them, which violates the police department's sick leave policy.
Because the injuries were classified as "line of duty," the officer was never placed in the department's Medical Leave Abuse Control Program.
This means the officer was paid an overtime rate of $65.50 per hour to attend medical appointments and physical therapy while off-duty.
The department's internal affairs division sustained allegations of misconduct against the officer for the 2018 skydiving incident, but didn't investigate the 2017 trip or any accusations of medical leave abuse.
In response to the Inspector General's report, Police Commissioner Michael Harrison said the case is under review.
As of now the officer is still with the agency, on light duty.
Read the entire report below.
