BOSTON (AP) - A Gloucester man whose job offer to become a police officer was rescinded because he is diabetic and wears an insulin pump has filed a complaint with the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination.
State regulations bar anyone who wears an insulin pump from being hired as a full-time police officer.
"When I was denied, I was speechless. This is something I really want. I'll do anything I have to do to become a police officer," said Gregory Hennick, 22, who will graduate from Westfield State College later this month with a degree in criminal justice and who has worked as a part-time officer on Cape Cod during summers.
The Northampton Police Department offered him a job last month, then rescinded it.
"They simply have a perception of a handicap that doesn't exist," said Timothy Burke, Hennick's lawyer.
The complaint filed last week accuses the city of Northampton and the state Division of Human Resources of unlawful discrimination based on a perceived disability.
"I want them to know I'm fully capable of being a police officer," said Hennick, who wears a pager-sized pump.
Paul Dietl, acting chief human resources officer for the state, said the regulation was put in place after a panel of medical experts determined in 2002 that people who wear insulin pumps to monitor their blood glucose levels can't be hired as police officers.
But because of technological advances, it may be time to revisit the issue, Dietl said.
"We'll make sure we take a hard look at this," he said. "The last thing we want to do is create an unfair barrier to employment."
Dr. Howard Wolpert, director of the insulin pump program at Joslin Diabetes Center, said pumps are now smaller and more efficient.
Hennick, who was diagnosed with diabetes when he was 14, carries the pump in his pocket. A small tube connects the pump to a catheter under the skin on his stomach. He said the pump is more convenient than giving himself insulin injections.
Even if his dream of becoming an officer in Massachusetts is denied, Hennick is not giving up. He took the Connecticut State Police exam last week.
State regulations bar anyone who wears an insulin pump from being hired as a full-time police officer.
"When I was denied, I was speechless. This is something I really want. I'll do anything I have to do to become a police officer," said Gregory Hennick, 22, who will graduate from Westfield State College later this month with a degree in criminal justice and who has worked as a part-time officer on Cape Cod during summers.
The Northampton Police Department offered him a job last month, then rescinded it.
"They simply have a perception of a handicap that doesn't exist," said Timothy Burke, Hennick's lawyer.
The complaint filed last week accuses the city of Northampton and the state Division of Human Resources of unlawful discrimination based on a perceived disability.
"I want them to know I'm fully capable of being a police officer," said Hennick, who wears a pager-sized pump.
Paul Dietl, acting chief human resources officer for the state, said the regulation was put in place after a panel of medical experts determined in 2002 that people who wear insulin pumps to monitor their blood glucose levels can't be hired as police officers.
But because of technological advances, it may be time to revisit the issue, Dietl said.
"We'll make sure we take a hard look at this," he said. "The last thing we want to do is create an unfair barrier to employment."
Dr. Howard Wolpert, director of the insulin pump program at Joslin Diabetes Center, said pumps are now smaller and more efficient.
Hennick, who was diagnosed with diabetes when he was 14, carries the pump in his pocket. A small tube connects the pump to a catheter under the skin on his stomach. He said the pump is more convenient than giving himself insulin injections.
Even if his dream of becoming an officer in Massachusetts is denied, Hennick is not giving up. He took the Connecticut State Police exam last week.
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