A former Bloomington police officer injured during an August 2018 incident is entitled to his line-of-duty disability pension, according to a ruling by the Fourth District Appellate Court.
Michael Luedtke complained of a knee injury following an altercation with a man during an Aug. 24, 2018, response to a call involving a woman with self-inflicted injuries on Rainbow Circle. Luedtke, a 10-year-veteran of the police force, applied for a line-of-duty disability pension that would have allowed him to collect 65% of his salary.
The Bloomington Police Pension Board of Trustees granted the former officer a 50% disability pension, but denied the line-of-duty benefits with its higher retirement pay.
The dispute between Luedtke and the board related to a disagreement over whether the officer’s injuries were suffered during the altercation. In its initial ruling, the board cited police body camera video from the incident that the board said conflicted with Luedtke’s testimony and medical reports.
Luedtke appealed the board’s ruling in circuit court, and in a November 2022 ruling by McLean County Circuit Judge Rebecca Foley, the pension board’s denial was reversed.
The pension board appealed that decision, repeating an earlier argument that the former officer “presented no evidence he was injured during the incident.”
In an Aug. 28, decision, the Fourth District affirmed Foley’s decision that Luedtke should receive his on-duty injury benefits. The board’s conclusion that the officer was not injured in 2018, “is against the manifest weight of the evidence because the opposite conclusion is clearly apparent,” said the appellate ruling.
The ruling notes that Luedtke underwent several medical procedures after the injury and did not return to work. The former officer was not cleared by doctors to return to full duty and light duty was not available.
