Committee hears Senate bill to grant disability retirement benefits to Salem police officer Kathleen Rocheville

Senate Bill 2613, which would authorize the retirement board of the city of Salem to grant disability retirement to Officer Kathleen Rocheville, was presented to the Joint Committee on Public Service. Sponsors and a senator outlined the incident that led to Officer Rocheville’s involuntary service retirement and described the relief the bill would provide.

A sponsor described the incident: in November 2015 Officer Rocheville was injured while trying to restrain an individual having a mental-health crisis; the injury led to an involuntary, permanent retirement on disability. The bill would allow the city’s retirement board to pay an annual retirement amount equivalent to her regular compensation at the time of retirement until mandatory retirement age or death, and thereafter a pension equal to 80% of her compensation, together with indemnification for medical expenses connected to the on-duty injury.

The senator presenting the bill told the committee the city’s retirement board supports the request but that, as of the hearing, local approval from the Salem City Council had not yet been placed before the council. The committee was told the sponsor would supply that local approval documentation when available. The committee did not take a vote during the hearing.

Committee members asked no recorded questions of the sponsor. The bill was presented as substantially similar to a prior enactment for another Salem officer; sponsors said the local retirement board was prepared to act when local approvals were confirmed.