Is this how Florida treats Police Officers after service in combat?

The story of Matthew Ladd didn't start when he was fired from the West Palm Beach Police Department. It started the day he joined the Army Reserves. We just didn't know what was happening to him until New Year's Eve 2011.

Ex-West Palm cop fights firing over PTSD allegations

By JANE MUSGRAVE
Palm Beach Post Staff Writer
Updated: 8:32 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 31, 2011

Photo provided to The Post Matthew Ladd served two years in Afghanistan and Iraq. He is a sergeant in the Army Reserve, where he said none of his supervisors has questioned his ability to perform.

WEST PALM BEACH — When Matthew Ladd came home in 2008 after serving two years in Afghanistan and Iraq, he was more than ready to embrace civilian life.

He attended the police academy at Palm Beach State College. He landed a job with the West Palm Beach Police Department. Life was good.

Then, in October 2010, after spending roughly nine months patrolling city streets, his superiors said they wanted him to undergo a psychological review.

The review was uneventful. Ladd, the psychiatrist wrote, "is NOT suffering from any apparent psychiatric disorders."

"It is further my opinion within a reasonable degree of psychiatric/medical certainty that there are no psychiatric contraindications that would prevent or preclude Mr. Ladd from returning to full duty and performing the essential functions of a police officer," Dr. Norman Silversmith wrote on Oct. 12, 2010.

Six days later, Ladd was fired. His superiors told him they thought he had post-traumatic stress disorder .

"I thought it was a joke," Ladd said.
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You can read the rest of what happened here

Jury awards former West Palm Beach officer, fired on PTSD rumors, $880,000
Palm Beach Post
By Jane Musgrave
Staff Writer
August 30, 2013

WEST PALM BEACH — For three years, Matthew Ladd insisted that his military service in Iraq and Afghanistan shouldn’t have disqualified him from the ranks of the city’s police force.

Late Friday, a Palm Beach County jury agreed, ordering West Palm Beach to pay the 28-year-old Army veteran $880,000 for firing him on the basis of rumors that he had post-traumatic stress disorder. 

“I’m stunned,” Ladd said shortly after the verdict was announced. “I’ve just been so stressed out about this case. Finally, I can get some sleep. My wife can get some sleep.”

His attorney Sid Garcia said Ladd was the victim of “malicious gossips” who lied about the trauma the rookie officer suffered while serving in the Middle East. They ultimately persuaded then-Police Chief Delsa Bush that Ladd was a danger to himself and others even though a psychiatrist who examined the rookie officer at the request of police brass found no evidence of mental distress and declared him fit for duty. 

“Former Chief Bush did not take time to treat him like a human being,” Garcia said. Instead of believing the doctor, he said, she believed a vicious memo a sergeant wrote, claiming Ladd was mentally ill.
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Matthew Ladd won lawsuit for PTSD still waiting for justice

Judge refuses to order West Palm police to reinstate veteran who has PTSD

This is the latest in this very troubling outcome for someone who wanted to serve the nation as well as his community.

PTSD shouldn’t derail law enforcement career, Iraqi war vet argues

“What about just being plain wrong?” Crow said, indicating he had no problem reversing himself.

Crow said he would issue a ruling soon. The city has also appealed the jury’s decision that it should pay Ladd $880,000 for firing him without any justified medical reason.