Petrillo

This is an appeal from a judgment denying a Bay Area Rapid Transit District (BART) police officer’s petition for a writ of mandamus. The petition sought to compel BART either to direct the Board of Administration of the Public Employees Retirement System (PERS) to pay industrial disability retirement benefits to the officer or to reinstate the officer to his former position. We reverse the judgment for the reasons which follow.

I

On the afternoon of January 16, 1979, appellant, who had been a police officer for BART for six years, was dispatched to the Richmond BART station. Upon his arrival, he found a woman who had suffered a seizure lying semiconscious on the floor. While examining the woman to determine if she was still breathing, he was suddenly assaulted by a male bystander. According to appellant, it took a half hour to subdue the man. He had to be wrestled, dragged and carried to the patrol car. In the process, appellant injured his back. After booking the suspect, appellant discovered he could no longer bend over. He managed to get into his vehicle and drive first to BART headquarters, then to Kaiser Emergency for treatment. Subsequent to this, appellant did…