“Now is the time to pay him back”

Town Meeting considers article to boost Disability Pension for Saugus Officer who was injured in the line of duty

By Mark E. Vogler

Former Saugus Police Officer Christopher Taylor and his family continue to struggle financially since a debilitating, on-duty injury permanently ended his law enforcement career five years ago. Officer Taylor and two other Saugus Police Officers were stabbed on Aug. 6, 2020, after approaching a psychologically impaired person.

Among the articles that will be considered at this year’s Annual Town Meeting is one initiating a Home Rule Petition regarding the Disability Pension of Officer Taylor administered by the Saugus Retirement Board. He currently receives 72 percent of his base pay. The Home Rule Petition filed on Taylor’s behalf would enable him to receive a 100 percent disability benefit.

“We recognize that Officer Taylor and his family have suffered a lot during that service, and now is the time to pay him back,” said Saugus Police Chief Michael Ricciardelli, who sponsored the warrant article.

“In July of 2024, Gov. Healey signed into law House Bill H746 (An Act relative to disability pensions for violent crimes). Moving forward, that bill gives permanently injured police officers everything that we are asking for in the home rule petition. Unfortunately, Officer Taylor was injured several years before the passage of the bill,” Chief Ricciardelli said.

Christopher Taylor served with the Saugus Police Department from Jan. 30, 2017, to Aug. 6, 2020. He was injured in the line of duty on Aug. 6, 2020. He has received Accidental Disability Retirement since May 20, 2023.

On the evening of Aug. 6, 2020, Officer Taylor responded to Tuttle Street to assist the on-the-scene officers with a call for a stolen U-Haul. He suffered a stab wound at the hands of the suspect. “I received a large laceration to my left forearm which required over 20 stitches to close and suffered permanent nerve damage to my arm,” Taylor said in his impact statement. He said he was unable to lift anything that weighed more than five to 10 pounds or do physical labor for several months.

“I was having a hard time sleeping through the night; I would have recurring nightmares of this incident with visions of the suspect standing over me stabbing me repeatedly. I would wake up in cold sweats screaming for backup and help,” he said. The psychological impact the incident had on him caused his marriage to fall apart.

He later learned that had he died in the incident, his family would have been taken care of:

• a one-time tax free federal payout of $437,503
• a one-time tax free state payout of $300,000
• His wife would have received 100 percent of his base salary, including any and all raises for life
• His daughter would have received four years in state college tuition for free
• If his daughter wanted to be a police officer or firefighter, she would have gone to the top of the Civil Service List as a wounded veteran.
• If he owned a home in Massachusetts, his wife would have been exempt from paying any property taxes on the primary residence.

“He performed his duties in the highest traditions of the Saugus Police because his brothers and sisters depended on him,” said William E. Cross III,  chair of the Saugus Retirement Board. He is also a Saugus Fire Department captain and a Precinct 8 Town Meeting member.

“He did the right thing. It is our turn to do the right thing for him,” Cross said.