Officer who responded to massacre to get early retirement

ORLANDO, Fla. – A city pension board has granted early-retirement benefits to a Florida police officer who was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder after he responded to a shooting massacre at a gay night club in Florida.

The Orlando Police Pension Board granted the benefits to 37-year-old Officer Gerry Realin on Thursday after a hearing.

The Orlando Sentinel reports that Realin will get 80 per cent of his salary of $70,000 a year for life.

A lawyer for the city had argued that it was too early in Realin’s treatment to determine if he would be permanently disabled.

Realin was on a police team that removed bodies from the Pulse nightclub after 49 patrons were killed last year in the worst mass shooting in modern U.S. history.

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Information from: Orlando Sentinel, http://www.orlandosentinel.com/