"SERVING ALL OF FLORIDA"
Help pay for liver, trooper asks
He says a drug probe led to his need for a transplant, but workers' compensation has been denied. He's going to court
By Tom Leithauser
A Florida trooper who thinks he was poisoned by drug dealers is trying to persuade state officials to help pay for his new liver.
Officials have denied Richard "Spanky" Chapman's request for workers' compensation benefits, saying they can't find any connection between Chapman's job with the Florida Highway Patrol and his mysterious liver disease.
Chapman, 51, of Ocoee is preparing to challenge the denial in court.
Chapman was a pioneer in the patrol's use of dogs to slow the flow of drugs on state roads.
Assisted by a drug-sniffing German shepherd named Abby, Chapman made nearly 1,000 arrests and seized nearly $50 million worth of illegal drugs from motorists in Central Florida from 1983 to 1991.
Because Chapman was a pioneer, he had no safety guidelines. He searched cars bare-handed, for example. Now troopers use gloves.
In 1988, Chapman and Abby encountered a truck full of cocaine wrapped in an acidic-smelling material. Chapman said he thinks the wrappings were soaked in chemicals to mask the scent of the cocaine — or to poison whoever came in contact with them.
Just being near the drugs gave Chapman a burning sensation in his throat. Abby got sick and received a shot of anti-allergen from a veterinarian. She died of liver failure in 1992.
Chapman's liver problems surfaced in 1989 and forced him to undergo a costly transplant operation in January. Fellow FHP troopers helped raise money for the surgery.
Chapman said he has at least $100,000 in medical bills that will go unpaid by his health insurer. He hopes workers' compensation will pay those bills and provide disability income.
However, the state's claims adjuster, attorney and medical advisers said they can't find a connection between Chapman's job and his disease.
The state's doctors said it's unlikely a person's liver would fail after a single exposure to any chemical.
Other law enforcement officers who handled drug packages didn't get sick, claims adjuster Lamar Hartsfleld said.
The dog's similar illness could be a coincidence, he said.
The strange-smelling drug packages were tested last year but showed no signs of poison. The chemicals might have decomposed after so many years.
Chapman said he has no family history of liver disease, doesn't drink and never has been exposed to toxins.
"He and the dog got something together on the job," said Russell Troutman, Chapman's attorney.
Chapman remains on the FHP payroll, using sick leave donated by fellow troopers.
From:
The Orlando Sentinel
Mon., September 23, 1996
Troutman, Williams, Irvin, Green, Helms & Polich, P.A.
311 W. Fairbanks Avenue - Winter Park, Florida 32789 - Phone: (407) 647-2277