Unland

The Penal Code permits qualifying retired peace officers to obtain from their former law enforcement agencies retirement identification certificates with a “CCW” endorsement authorizing them to carry concealed and loaded firearms. (§ 12027, subd. (a).) But the law prohibits law enforcement agencies from providing CCW endorsements to peace officers who retired “because of a psychological disability[.]” (§ 12027.1, subd. (e).)

In this case, the parties disagreed about the reasons for the officer’s disability retirement. The officer, whose psychiatrist had ordered him off work and prescribed medication and psychotherapy for depression and anxiety, filed for a disability retirement for multiple reasons including orthopedic injuries and “anxiety conditions sustained through the course of employment.” The county retirement board granted the disability retirement without stating why. Faced with the officer’s request for a CCW endorsement, the law enforcement agency examined the medical records in the retirement board’s possession, concluded the officer had retired in part “because of a psychological disability” (§ 12027.1, subd. (e)), and denied him a CCW endorsement without a…