This story has received a good amount of attention recently due to the horrific accident that attracted widespread media attention about a year ago. Most of us are familiar with the main story of how Charla Nash was mauled beyond recognition by a well-known 200 lb chimp named Travis in Connecticut last year. If not, you can read about it as originally reported by USAToday.com here.
But few know the story about the police officer who shot and killed the chimp on that fateful day. Officer Frank Chiafari has been denied workers' comp benefits related to the incident. Chiafari filed a workers' comp insurance claim for post-traumatic stress disorder following the incident last year. Chiafari shot the chimp after it ripped open the door to his patrol car and he found himself face to face with the enraged creature as it reached in and tried to grab him. It is an interesting read for sure. Certainly not the kind of thing you hear about in the workers' comp industry very often. The New York Times did a great job covering Chiafari's story. You can read the article here.
The claim was denied because under Connecticut law only police shootings of people qualify for workers' comp benefits, not the shooting of animals. Fortunately for Chiafari, he has some friends on the force and in other high places who have gone to bat for him and have taken up his cause. And as the Huffington Post reports, he has found an outlet for his pain: music.
What I find most alarming about this story, though, as with many of the stories I cover for the Freaky Comp Friday feature, are the cold, insensitive, even hateful remarks made by the people who post comments about Chiafari. Read them. Some of the harsh comments seem to be made by other police officers. Makes you wonder...where is the love people? Is there no compassion left in this world?
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