They disagreed on what caused it and whether he was entitled to a pension because of it.
Donnelly-Taylor pointed to a work accident in January 2014, among others. He fired his service weapon at the car he was driving. His actions were later justified, his attorney said.
Just a month later, Donnelly Taylor was involved in another incident. Lionel Monsanto, a black driver from Central Falls, has been arrested on suspicion of having his license suspended. When Monsanto was put in a cell, Donnelly Taylor beat him.
Donnelly-Taylor later did not contest the misdemeanor assault, but later tried to retract it, saying he had been pressured to defend himself by former State Police Colonel Stephen O’Donnell.Donnelly-Taylor was suspended. I returned to work following this, but went on sick leave in February 2017 after emailing the entire department about this. Monsanto sued and settled for $125,000.
Donnelly Taylor has continued to defend his actions, which has spurred backlash. The video will not be released until 2019. Donnelly Taylor was fired in late 2019.
Donnelly Taylor said the incident and the fallout were traumatic. But that wasn’t the only cause of his PTSD that kept him from working, although his PTSD was based on multiple traumatic incidents from his work career, including the Monsanto incident. , he argued, some occurred before the assault.
The Rhode Island State Police, under the command of Colonel James Mani, had a different view. Manni said Donnelly Taylor’s incompetence stress stemmed from the attack on Monsanto and the by-products from it. Mani reasoned that it was outside the scope of the member’s duties.
According to Ifrate, McHugh took the verdict from the bench on Monday and sided with Donnelly Taylor. A medical review of the case concluded that Donnelly Taylor’s disorder was not limited to the Monsanto case.
“I don’t think anyone doubts that Jamie Donnelly Taylor had mental health issues as a result of his work,” Iphrate said. “That’s the point of having that pension plan, to provide benefits to people in that situation.”
The pension lawsuit was originally filed in November 2019. In November 2021, another judge hearing the case ordered Mani to clarify his legal position. Mani did so in April 2022, sticking to his initial denial. discovered.
McHugh found that the State Police Colonel, not the Retirement Commission, which sided with the State Police on the matter, had the authority to decide whether a pension should be taken in such cases. He or she could not do so arbitrarily or capriciously, and McHugh found that in this case Manni did, according to Iafrate.
A written decision was not available on Monday. Ifrate outlined the decision in an interview. The State Police legal team did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Monday.The agency currently has Colonel Darnell, his fourth colonel who worked on the Donnelly and Taylor episode, and his Weaver. led by
Brian Amaral can be reached at brian.amaral@globe.com. follow him on twitter @bamaral44.
