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Baltimore settles ADA suit filed by would-be policeman
Listen to this articleThe city’s Board of Estimates on Wednesday is set to approve a $100,000 settlement with a Pennsylvania man who alleged he was not hired by the Baltimore Police Department, despite being qualified, because of a back injury he suffered more than a decade earlier.
Bradd Atkinson alleged he passed the department’s physical agility, background and psychological tests in 2009 but was told his 1998 back injury “posed a liability problem,” according to the lawsuit, filed in November 2012 in U.S. District Court in Baltimore.
Atkinson suffered a lower back injury while a member of the Baltimore County Police Department and was advised to apply for disability retirement, which he received in November 2000, according to the lawsuit.
But his health improved following his retirement and he wanted to resume work as a police officer, leading to his application to join the city police force, according to the lawsuit.
Atkinson sought damages under the Americans with Disabilities Act. A settlement was reached May 2 and approved three days later by Judge William D. Quarles Jr., according to court filings.
