MOUNT VERNON, N.Y. — A 19-year veteran of the Mount Vernon Police Department alleges his department is set to terminate his employment six months shy of qualifying for a reduced pension, a decision that comes as he suffers from kidney failure, WABC reported.
Derek Williams, 45, has been diagnosed with end-stage kidney disease and undergoes dialysis nine hours a day, seven days a week, according to the report. Although his doctors have cleared him for light-duty work, the department has denied his request and issued a termination notice effective Dec. 31.
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“I begged for my job back. I begged to come in whatever hours I’m capable of doing, and I was told there’s no light duty for me,” Williams told WABC.
Williams contracted COVID-19 in 2020 while working extended shifts as part of the Emergency Service Unit, according to the report. Supporters, including retired officers and former police commissioner Shawn Harris, said he continued to serve during the height of the pandemic out of commitment to the city.
“Derek’s character caused him to come to work to support this city and the residents of this city during the worst pandemic we’ve had,” Harris said.
The department has classified Williams’ illness as non-job-related, ending his salary once he became too ill for full-duty assignments. His upcoming termination would also result in the loss of health insurance coverage.
“To be blunt, if you’re terminating his employment, you’re terminating his life, in so many words,” Harris said.
Williams is currently on a kidney transplant waiting list and has a pending application for a state disability pension, according to the report.
Mount Vernon Police officials have issued a response to news coverage surrounding Williams’s statements. The statement denies Williams’s allegation that he would have received a partial pension had he been allowed to work for six more months. The city also stated it has not received Williams’s light duty application.
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