City of Philadelphia v. WCAB (Brasten)

In City of Philadelphia v. Workers' Compensation Appeal Board (Brasten), 682 A.2d 875 (Pa. Cmwlth. 1996), a police officer shot and killed a suspect who had barricaded himself in a building. The officer was later indicted on charges of voluntary manslaughter, involuntary manslaughter, and reckless endangerment of another person. The officer was eventually tried and acquitted, but his case drew a lot of media attention. The trial was also subject to public demonstrations. The police officer filed a claim for benefits. He argued that the events that followed the fatal shooting constituted an abnormal working condition. The Court disagreed finding that: Anyone who commits a homicide in this Commonwealth, justifiable or not, should expect to face the consequences stemming therefrom; this includes police officers for whom shooting people is an inherent job risk. Indeed, as protectors of the peace, police officers may be subject to an even higher scrutiny, which in this modern age may occur through the media of television, print, radio and even public protest and outcry. We do not doubt that the public and official sentiment Claimant was confronted with after the June 26, 1992 incident was traumatically upsetting to Claimant and resulted in psychological injury. However, we are unable to conclude that his injury was the result of an abnormal working condition. Rather, Claimant's injury is the result of a subjective response to a difficult situation that must be considered to be within the scope of his normal foreseeable working conditions as a police officer. Brasten, 682 A.2d at 879.