SAN BERNARDINO - Former Police Chief Garrett Zimmon may be entitled to a disability retirement after a recent state court ruling sided with him in his lengthy legal battle with the city.
A three-judge panel of the state 4th District Court of Appeal in Riverside issued a 24-page ruling on Sept. 16 that reversed a pair of earlier court decisions in favor of the city and denied Zimmon a disability retirement.
Doctors diagnosed Zimmon with a cardiac arrhythmia with a history of recurrent atrial fibrillation, better known as a irregular heartbeat, according to the ruling. Zimmon attributed the condition to the cumulative trauma, stress and pressures of the job.