CT police officer’s suicide leaves widow still seeking benefits after years of appeals

The widow of an East Hartford police officer has asked the state Supreme Court to overturn a ruling that denied workers’ compensation benefits after her husband died by suicide at the police station, following a string of traumatic incidents that included trying to comfort a teenage stabbing victim who later died in his arms.

Officer Paul Buchanan died by suicide in March 2013, using his service weapon and wearing his uniform. Weeks earlier, he had been among the first responders to an apartment fire in which residents jumped and threw children from windows to escape the flames. After that scene, a department supervisor found him “babbling” and suffering from smoke inhalation, and he was hospitalized.

His widow’s claim has moved through a series of reversals centered on two disputes: whether Buchanan was driven to suicide by post-traumatic stress disorder or by severe depression, and whether his police work worsened that condition.

A workers’ compensation judge denied the claim after hearing from mental health experts, concluding that Buchanan had job-related PTSD but that his death stemmed from an underlying “major depressive disorder” not caused by work stress.

A review board later reversed that decision, saying an expert in the original case acknowledged that Buchanan’s work conditions and his experience at the fire “contributed to the aggravation of his underlying mental health condition,” making his job a factor in his death and entitling his wife to benefits.

“The conclusions of the trial judge are, therefore, clearly erroneous and a misapplication of the law to the underlying facts,” the board said.

The Appellate Court then overturned the review board, ruling that it had gone too far in rejecting the trial judge’s findings, which the court said were not “clearly erroneous.” Patricia Buchanan and her attorneys, James Healy and James Quinn, are now asking the Supreme Court to reverse that ruling.

“Regardless of whether the suicide resulted from PTSD or major depressive order, the decedent’s death remains compensable so long as his employment aggravated that mental health condition,” the lawyers wrote in a filing. “And the expert witness whose causation opinion the (trial judge) credited left no doubt that the decedent’s job had been a significant factor aggravating the condition that caused the suicide.”

Police unions in Danbury and Windsor have filed briefs supporting Buchanan’s widow.

Buchanan worked as a patrol officer for nearly 25 years. During that time, in addition to the fire and the stabbing victim, he encountered or witnessed other violent events, including the 1999 killing of patrol Officer Brian Aselton, who was shot during a home invasion response, and violence against children he saw while serving in the Juvenile Division.

After nearly 15 years on the force, Buchanan told his family doctor in 2003 that he felt anxious and depressed, and that the symptoms worsened despite medication. He also said he experienced panic in public places, and he was later reassigned to desk duty.

When Buchanan sought to return to patrol duty in 2012, his distress increased. Over the following year, he received medical and psychiatric treatment. He was hospitalized after the fire in January 2013, and he later reported that his panic and anxiety intensified when he went back to work. He then extended his leave.

He returned to the police department on administrative duties on March 4, 2013. Eight days later, he shot himself in the head.

In a note left at the police department, Buchanan wrote: “I am so sorry but when the depression hit this time, I knew it was different,” adding, “I have been struggling for months and I have no energy left for the fight.”