ORLANDO, Fla. — The officer shot in the head and saved by his Kevlar helmet during the 2016 Pulse terrorist attack will be able to retire with an in-line-of-duty pension.
WFTV broke the news that Officer Michael Napolitano was told he would be fired next week because his limited-duty position would be eliminated.
Napolitano had to come back to work or be terminated.
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For the first time since the Pulse massacre, we are hearing from Napolitano, who said during a pension board hearing Monday that he cannot be a police officer anymore.
"I was trying to do everything I could do to get back to work because that is my goal," Napolitano said.
The hearing comes after Napolitano was told he would be terminated next week because the police chief has eliminated all of the limited duty positions.
Napolitano hasn't worked much since being shot by the Pulse shooter because he was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder.
He said he went to treatment at the University of Central Florida, where they specialize in PTSD, but couldn't finish because the counselor had him doing exercises he couldn't complete.
"I wasn't able to do at the time, such as, going to places on campus like a Starbucks and sit with my back to the door, and stuff like that," Napolitano said. "I tried it and I wasn't able to do it."
It was questioning from one of the board members, Detective Michael Fields, that had Napolitano walking out of his own pension hearing.
"It's mentioned in the report that your PTSD was triggered by a new trauma when a child was killed," Fields said.
Napolitano replied, "I don't know if this is something I can really do right now."
Napolitano left the hearing and did not return.
In the end, the board, except for Fields, voted to let him retire with his pension, agreeing he does suffer from PTSD and will leave the Orlando Police Department for good.
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