The Buffalo News
BUFFALO, NY – Officer Patrick McDonald — who earned the highest pay ever recorded for a Buffalo cop — has retired from the Police Department, allowing him to receive a pension bigger than most police officers’ annual earnings.
McDonald made history last year when he worked as many as 363 days, bringing in nearly $123,000 in overtime, plus his regular pay, to earn a total of $189,457.
McDonald, who retired Tuesday, is now expected to receive a pension that exceeds $100,000 each year.
“He had a good run,” said Lt. Sean O’Brien, who was McDonald’s supervisor for about the past four years. “He could make more money sitting at home doing nothing than he did coming to work.”
McDonald, who joined the police force Oct. 17, 1966, made few arrests in recent years but earned a reputation for writing a fair number of traffic tickets.
“He’d show up to work. I’ll just leave it at that,” said O’Brien, who also serves as the police union’s sergeant-at-arms, when asked about McDonald’s arrest record.
McDonald, who was among the most senior officers in the department, took full advantage of a policy that gives overtime based on seniority. He worked 4,684 hours in 2007 — the equivalent of 12.5 hours a day every day of the year. Sometimes he stayed at work to cover for officers who called in sick. Other times, he signed up for special details.
Overall, the overtime windfall allowed McDonald to earn $119,608, with $51,796 from overtime, in 2006 and $189,456, with $122,774 in overtime, in 2007.
It’s those last years that are likely to be the basis of McDonald’s pension.
As a Tier 1 police officer — someone who started working for local government before 1971 — McDonald qualifies for a pension based on his last year of employment. The final-year earnings used for the calculation, however, could be subject to a cap, equal to roughly 20 percent more than his prior year’s earnings.
Neither state nor local officials have calculated McDonald’s actual pension.
Based on the number of years McDonald worked, his final years’ salaries and the pension formula, The Buffalo News estimated his pension at more than $100,000 a year.
McDonald could not be reached to comment Tuesday.
Many of McDonald’s fellow officers believe that even in retirement, he will never stop working. He will probably pick up more shifts at security guard jobs they say he already has, although some suggest he should consider enjoying his time off.
“With the pension he’s getting, I don’t know why he’d do anything else but enjoy himself,” said John P. King, a retired Buffalo police lieutenant, who was McDonald’s partner 27 years ago.
“That’s what retirement is all about,” said King
Buffalo police spokesman Michael J. DeGeorge said the department wishes McDonald well in his retirement.
“Officer McDonald was a very familiar face in the downtown area. Whether it was Sabres games, festivals or other events in the downtown area, Officer McDonald was always there,” said DeGeorge. “In a lot of ways, you could call him ‘Mr. Downtown.’ ”
Copyright 2008 The Buffalo News