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Buffalo NY Police PBA
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"Quote of the Month"
Regarding Mayor Browns Statements to The Buffalo News concerning IOD Police Officers and Fire Fighters.
“ Mr. Mayor you then are quoted with the most insensitive and idiotic statement I have heard in years. You say “Why should you get vacation pay? Every day is a vacation!” Do you honestly think that officers and firefighters who are injured performing their duties, and cannot work, are on a vacation? ”
Sean O'Brien
2nd Vice President
Buffalo Police PBA
WNY COPS
OPEN LETTER TO MAYOR BROWN:
Dear Mayor Brown,
My name is James O’Donnell, I am a Buffalo Police Officer, and I am currently injured. I am not writing because I am angry and I want to yell, or anything of that sort. I just want to know what to do. You are my boss, so I am asking you for advice. I am letting my union know of this letter, but I am writing it prior to their knowledge of, approval of, or involvement with it in any way.
My doctors do not want me to return to being a police officer because they think that given my level of injuries any further head injuries would lead to paralysis, death, or a number of other unpleasant possibilities. The trouble is that I am 25 years old and I am not ready to retire. If you have any friends in the Buffalo Police you can ask them about me. I am confident that if they know who I am, which they probably will, they will tell you that I am the type of officer that does not quit, and have worked hard in the time that I’ve had. If I can come back to work I will.
When I say I am not ready to retire it is not because of a financial inability to retire. My friends are currently putting together a benefit for me to assist me in my finances should retirement be my only option. But aside from that, before I went to the police academy I was in law school. And while I was in the police department I continued in law school and added a second degree. Next year I will be graduating with a Masters and a J.D., and you know, as well as I do, that with those degrees I will be able to make far more than I would only as a police officer. The trouble once again comes from my own unwillingness to give up my job. I enjoy being a cop. I like knowing that I make an immediate difference in the lives of almost everyone I come in contact with. Before my injuries I had planned on using my education to further my career in the police department, and maybe, someday in the very far distance, take your job after you move up.
I know that my plans have to change due to my injuries. That is evident by the fact that my life has already changed dramatically from them. When I was in the hospital, my fiancé at the time stayed with me the whole time. As a result she was unable to keep the benefits her previous job had afforded her. In order to allow her to receive medical care I moved my wedding up two years. Now I am constantly worried that my benefits will soon be gone and I will no longer be able to provide the care that my wife needs, and deserves for putting up with me. That is just one of the hundreds of effects that an injury such as the one I received has on the life of those that are injured, but doesn’t show up on an x-ray anywhere.
I have found out the hard way that an entire life can change at the drop of a dime, and I have been attempting to plan for those changes accordingly. All I ask is that you please simply give me some guidance on what I can expect from my job, so that I can start to rebuild the plans for my future accordingly. Please just give me a half an hour to sit down with you and figure out what my options are for the future. I have not done anything specifically for you that should automatically grant me an appointment, but I have given my family’s tears, and my own sweat and blood, lots of blood, for this city. Please grant me an appointment. Please help me.
Sincerely,
Officer James D. O’Donnell
2010 BUFFALO POLICE PBA AWARDS BALL
