District of Columbia Code
Subchapter I - Retirement and Disability, 1916
§ 5–709. Retirement for disability — Not incurred in performance of duty

(a) Except as provided in subsections (b) and (c) of this section, whenever any member coming under this subchapter completes 5 years of police or fire service and is found by the Mayor to have become disabled due to injury received or disease contracted other than in the performance of duty, which disability precludes further service with his department, such member shall be retired on an annuity computed at the rate of 2% of his average pay for each year or portion thereof of his service; provided, that such annuity shall not exceed 70% of his average pay; provided further, that the annuity of a member retiring under this section shall be at least 40% of his average pay.
(b) Whenever any member who is an officer or member of the Metropolitan Police force or the Fire Department of the District of Columbia and who first becomes such a member after the end of the 90-day period beginning on November 17, 1979, completes 5 years of police or fire service and is found by the Mayor to have become disabled due to injury received or disease contracted other than in the performance of duty, which disability precludes further service with his department, such member shall be retired on an annuity which shall be 70% of his basic salary at the time of retirement multiplied by the percentage of disability for such member as determined in accordance with § 5-710(e)(2)(B), except that such annuity shall not be less than 30% of his basic salary at the time of retirement.
(c) [For applicability of (c), see Editor’s notes.] Whenever the Board of Police and Fire Surgeons receives a recommendation from the Director for a disability retirement of a Metropolitan Police Department or Fire and Emergency Medical Services Department member pursuant to Chapter 6A of this title, the Board of Police and Fire Surgeons shall make a disability assessment, and if the member is unable to perform the full range of duties, shall retire the member as disabled regardless of whether the member is performing useful and efficient services that are less than the full range of duties. The member shall be retired on an annuity determined in accordance with subsection (b) of this section.
(Sept. 1, 1916, ch. 433, § 12(f); Aug. 21, 1957, 71 Stat. 394, Pub. L. 85-157, § 3; Sept. 3, 1974, 88 Stat. 1040, Pub. L. 93-407, title I, § 121(b)(1); Jan. 3, 1975, 88 Stat. 2177, Pub. L. 93-635, § 10(a); Nov. 17, 1979, 93 Stat. 866, Pub. L. 96-122, § 204(b)(1); Sept. 30, 2004, D.C. Law 15-194, § 602(c), 51 DCR 9406.)
1981 Ed., § 4-615.
1973 Ed., § 4-526.
This section is referenced in § 1-725, § 5-131.03, § 5-632, § 5-634, § 5-706, § 5-714, § 5-716, § 5-717, § 5-721, and § 5-723.01.
D.C. Law 15-194, in subsec. (a), substituted “subsections (b) and (c)” for “subsection (b)”; and added subsec. (c).
Police officers and firefighters retirement fund, disability retirement rate, see § 1-725.
Application of Titles I and VI of D.C. Law 15-194: Section 1301 of D.C. Law 15-194 provided: “Titles I and VI of this act shall apply to pre-1980 employees of the Metropolitan Police Department and the Fire and Emergency Medical Services Department upon their enactment by Congress.”
This section originated at a time when local government powers were delegated to a Board of Commissioners of the District of Columbia (see Acts Relating to the Establishment of the District of Columbia and its Various Forms of Governmental Organization in Volume 1). Section 401 of Reorganization Plan No. 3 of 1967 (see Reorganization Plans in Volume 1) transferred all of the functions of the Board of Commissioners under this section to a single Commissioner. The District of Columbia Self-Government and Governmental Reorganization Act, 87 Stat. 818, § 711 ( D.C. Code, § 1-207.11), abolished the District of Columbia Council and the Office of Commissioner of the District of Columbia. These branches of government were replaced by the Council of the District of Columbia and the Office of Mayor of the District of Columbia, respectively. Accordingly, and also pursuant to § 714(a) of such Act ( D.C. Code, § 1-207.14(a)), appropriate changes in terminology were made in this section.

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