Any member who is in active service and who has at least one (1) year of active service and who becomes incapacitated from performing the member’s required duties on account of injury or sickness not service connected, and who at the time of said disability was either a recipient of disability benefits under Section 5‑115 of this Article or was contributing to the Fund from the member’s current salary in accordance with the provisions of this article, shall, upon the cessation of the member’s sick leave benefits for such cause and upon cessation of the member’s current salary other than vacation pay, be entitled to benefits equal to the member’s maximum earned pension, but in no event less than twenty percent of the then current salary of a First Class Fire Fighter or First Class Police Officer, as the case may be, until the member recovers, or if the member has not recovered, until the member reaches compulsory retirement age. If a member reaches compulsory retirement age while receiving nonservice‑connected disability benefits under this Section, such benefits shall cease forthwith, and the member shall be retired by the Board and shall receive the member’s maximum earned pension. All applications for benefits under this Section shall be duly verified and accompanied by a certificate from a legally licensed physician setting forth the cause or basis of the disability claimed. The Board shall determine whether the applicant for benefits meets the requirements herein set forth.
No member shall be given benefits under this Section if the Board finds that said disability can probably be successfully corrected by competent medical or psychiatric treatment or both, and said member fails or refuses to be so treated. In the event of recovery of any member from nonservice‑connected disability prior to retirement as attested by the member's attending physician and the concurring approval of the Board's physician, the chief in charge of the respective bureau shall authorize return to work of such member subject to subsequent certification by the Board, which certification shall be retroactive to the time the member returns to work. Such return to duty shall not be subject to other time limitations on such return contained elsewhere in this Charter. Said member returning to service shall be restored to service in the rank the member occupied at the time of the member’s disability.
A member shall not be entitled to benefits from the Fund under the provisions of this Section during any period while the member is not a resident of the State of Oregon, unless the Board has specially waived the requirement as permitted in this Article.
No member shall receive benefits under this Section as a result of the following: willful injuries; injuries sustained while willfully doing an unlawful act; or weakness, illness or disability resulting directly or indirectly from immoral practices or the habitual excessive use of or addiction to use of alcoholic beverages or narcotic drugs. [Amended by Ordinance No. 190204, effective December 18, 2020.]