A first responder who developed post-traumatic stress disorder after the Pulse nightclub shooting won an appeal Thursday to receive his disability pension.
Effective immediately, Omar Delgado will get 42 percent of his pay, calculated from the average of his highest pay during his five years on the force.
He was making close to $39,000 a year when he was let go from the Eatonville Police Department in December 2017 because of his struggles with PTSD.
At the time of his dismissal, Mayor Eddie Cole said in a press conference that Delgado would receive his full pension. He later denied making the comment.
The town's pension board had the final decision on the pension.
Delgado said he went through months of psychological evaluations and doctor’s appointments before the board denied his pension. He said constant assessments were making him relive the night of the shooting all over again.
“Despite Corporal Delgado's suffering of PTSD as a result of the shooting, the Town of Eatonville claimed that the records and reports that its Board of Trustees reviewed ‘failed to establish by the greater weight of the evidence that Omar Delgado is permanently unable to render useful and efficient services as a police officer with the Town of Eatonville due to a medically determinable mental impairment,’” his attorney Wayne Pollock said.
Delgado appealed the decision to the Police Officers Retirement Trust Fund Pension Board, which decided Thursday to grant his pension.
Delgado was credited with saving Angel Colon's life during the shooting on June 12, 2016.
►Make it easy to keep up-to-date with more stories like this. Download the 10 News app now.
Have a news tip? Email tips@wtsp.com, visit our Facebook page or Twitter feed.
