The Nova Scotia Human Rights Commission is investigating an officer's allegation he was discriminated against by Halifax Regional Police after he was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
Const. Mark Long said his pay was cut when he took time off work for mental health reasons. He said he was forced to see numerous doctors to prove he had a work-related mental illness.
"My own police department, who I worked for for 15 years, turned their back on me," said Long.
...
...
...
In December 2015, Long told his employer he needed time off work.
"I was suicidal. I was barely able to look after my own children. I was really struggling."
Long said Halifax Regional Police paid directly for him to attend therapy, rather than his medical benefits plan covering the sessions.
"He [the doctor] told me that I had post-traumatic stress from my 15 years of being a police officer," Long said.
He spent eight months away from work.
One day, a disability case manager with the police force left him a voicemail saying Long's sick days and vacation days had been used up. He said he was told that if he didn't return to work, he would stop receiving income.
Unbeknownst to him, Long's pay had been cut and he had been draining his other benefit pools.
...
...
...
Months of meetings, letters and emails followed.
Union representatives and police management, including police Chief Jean-Michel Blais, became involved.
Long's doctor said he had sent the police force detailed notes about his condition, but there was disagreement on the cause and severity.
Police management asked Long and the police union president to fill in an injury report.
"They wanted him and I to sit down and circle the part of the body that I had injured," Long said.
"So, as ridiculous as it sounds, we circled the head."
The police force refused to restore Long's benefits and pay until he sought an independent medical assessment from a doctor selected by the force.
Long visited the second doctor, who independently agreed with the first — that Long suffered from severe post-traumatic stress resulting from years working as a police officer.
Long said the police force still was not satisfied. It asked the second doctor to review the notes of the first doctor, and reconsider his diagnosis.
The second doctor reviewed the notes and wrote a new report. His opinion that Long had PTSD remained unchanged.
...
...
...
After nearly a year off work dealing with his mental illness and the police bureaucracy, Long returned to work in late 2016.
He was told he would only be given "light duties," including record-keeping.
But in January, he was assigned a patrol shift. Long was sent back to do the tasks that had caused his PTSD, he said.
"I only lasted in patrol a week, and I advised my sergeant I couldn't do it anymore. I told him that if I went to another call such as a suicide, I would probably take my life."
Since Long left the office that day, he hasn't been back. He and his family are scared his pay or benefits might be cut again.
As a result, he filed a complaint with the Nova Scotia Human Rights Commission.
The commission notified the police force about its investigation into discrimination on the basis of physical and mental ability.
...
...
...
Before moving to Halifax, Long worked for the RCMP in British Columbia for seven months, employment that qualified him to receive psychological therapy and medicinal marijuana if needed. He's currently in a two-month support retreat in Ontario that's designed to help people with PTSD, something also being paid through his RCMP benefits.
