An Ottawa police officer will get a disability pension because of an injury on the job almost four years ago. Dave Hallowell was hurt in a scramble between police and some people involved in a disturbance at the Subway restaurant in December 2018. He had physical therapy and surgery on his left shoulder. But the injury wasn’t fully healed. When he returned to work, trying to perform his regular duties aggravated the injury.
The Ottawa Police Pension Board this morning voted unanimously to grant him the pension after hearing from Hallowell and receiving about 900 pages of documentation from doctors. Next is figuring out how much of a pension he gets. The amount will be based on what he was paid.
Hallowell and the city owe each other money, so they have some accounting to figure out. Hallowell has earned time off including vacation and sick time he’s entitled to. But while he was off work because of his injury, the city drew money for too long from a disability fund to pay him. Instead of simply figuring out the balance and having that side pay the other, the right amount of money must be returned to the right funds.
Hallowell began working for the Ottawa Police Department 23 years ago and has worked in various positions including patrol, canine handler, and investigations.