After decades on disability, cops are put back to work [View all]

Twenty-six years ago, Officer John F. Tolley Jr. injured his back searching the front seat of a car that he and his partner had pulled over in connection with a suspected battery.

Tolley eventually landed on the disability rolls after undergoing spinal fusion surgery that kept him from returning to the Chicago Police Department.

To supplement his police disability checks and to support his wife and four sons, Tolley started his own business designing and selling glass ornaments. He worked as a Santa Claus at the Marshall Field’s State Street store. And he became a teacher for Easter Seals, working with autistic children.

Last December, police pension officials began reviewing his case as part of a broader effort to determine whether cops on disability are physically able to return to work in “limited-duty” jobs, so more officers could be available to work the streets.

Read more: http://chicago.suntimes.com/news/watchdogs-after-decades-on-disability-cpd-has-cops-back-to-work/