Injured Cop’s Accommodation Demands Were Unreasonable

A police officer worked in the traffic division on a motorcycle until he injured his knee and herniated a disk. After surgery and rehab, he tried but couldn’t return to his prior duties. So he asked to work at the range, where he was reassigned. But the job was physically demanding and the officer had chronic back problems. When the sergeant in charge of the range raised concerns about his limitations, he claimed disability discrimination and refused to return to the range until the sergeant was removed. The Human Rights Tribunal rejected his claim. The physical standards required to work at the range were reasonable. The employer had offered the officer three other positions as accommodations but he rejected them all. His demands were unreasonable. Thus, the Tribunal concluded that the officer had failed to reasonably participate in the accommodation process [Smith v. Vancouver Police Board (No. 6), [2012] BCHRT 100 (CanLII), March 28, 2012].