Disability payment boost sought for Lynn cop

LYNN – Just over two years ago, Lynn Patrolman Gregory Leblanc and Lt. Christopher Reddy were bound for the same emergency call when their cruisers collided.The violent crash at the corner of Chestnut Street and Western Avenue in the early hours of July 12, 2008 left Leblanc seriously injured and Reddy, now a police captain, with minor wounds. Following months of rehabilitation, Leblanc returned to light-duty work at the Police Department.Unlikely to fully recover, Leblanc has been faced with the reality that the department cannot afford to pay a full salary to a police officer who cannot perform all the duties expected of the job.Last March, Police Chief Kevin Coppinger submitted an involuntary retirement application to the Lynn Retirement Board on Leblanc’s behalf. If approved, Leblanc would receive about $48,000 annually, or 75 percent of his $64,016 base salary, including annuities.In the latest turn of events, the City Council plans to seek a Home Rule petition from the state Legislature, requesting that Leblanc receive 100 percent of his base pay, according to City Clerk Mary Audley.A public hearing on the matter has been scheduled before the City Council on Aug. 10.If enacted, the Home Rule special legislation would also require a favorable City Council vote and Mayor Judith Flanagan Kennedy’s signature. The petition notes that Leblanc’s injuries were sustained in the performance of his duties as a local police officer, and left him permanently disabled from further full-time service on the department.Gary Brenner, executive director of the Lynn Retirement Board, said such actions are rare. “We don’t have many of these,” he said. “But anyone has the right to request one.”Leblanc has been a member of the Police Department for nine years. He underwent multiple hip and pelvic surgeries and achieved a partial recovery. Not yet 40 years old, doctors and ranking police officers determined Leblanc is unfit to return to full-time active duty.Brenner recalled the 1980s case of the late Lynn municipal custodian Alfred J. Barbuzzi who became disabled due to medical problems but lacked the 10 years of service necessary to collect disability pay. “He had nine years and about eight months on the job. That wasn’t enough to apply, so he went through the process and there was a special act that granted him an ordinary disability,” Brenner said.