Officer Lauren Bauer needs backup!

Lauren Bauer had been a police officer for less than a year when her career was cut short and her life changed forever.  Officer Lauren Bauer of the Madison City Police Department in Illinois was assisting in a pursuit of armed kidnappers when her vehicle was rammed by the suspects. As a result of the impact she suffered severe damage to her neck and spine that will require surgery to repair. Despite being on duty and within the scope of her employment, Worker's Compensation has refused to pay for her treatment. Lauren has been unable to work and has been unpaid. She's used up all her savings and loans from friends. The appeals process with Worker's Comp won't resolve until well into 2017. Because of the injuries she can't work and has no source of income for her and her two small children. Please donate to this campaign to help Lauren care for her children and keep them in their home. The goal of the campaign is based on 2 years of Lauren's annual salary. She last got paid in June of 2015 and doesn't expect the appeal to conclude until mid 2017. Every little bit helps. Please read below for the full story. - Friends of Officer Lauren Bauer On February 2, 2015, Officer Bauer was on duty with the Madison City Police Department in Illinois when she heard reports of armed kidnappers heading toward her from nearby Granite. Officers in smaller departments like Madison’s often cross jurisdictions and even state lines to provide backup and assistance to other departments. So Officer Bauer positioned her car near a bridge that’s frequently an escape route into nearby St. Louis and waited for the suspects. She watched a Granite City police officer stop the suspect's vehicle, which promptly ran and fled across the bridge. Officer Bauer joined the pursuit, and watched the driver ram through a roadblock of police cars at the far end of the bridge. The pursuit continued, running into the tight, inner city blocks of St. Louis, where pedestrians and other traffic still congregated despite the late hour. With the report the men were armed, officers expected a gun battle to break out at any moment. Later in court one of the suspects admitted to throwing the guns out during the chase, but in the darkness the officers never saw that and believed the men were still armed. With several police departments from Illinois now chasing the car into Missouri, the St. Louis Police Department began setting up a perimeter in their city to contain the suspects. During the chase, Officer Bauer noticed that the driver kept turning every few blocks, so she left the line of pursuit cars and positioned herself to trap the suspect. She knew if she could predict where they would turn and position her car in the narrow roadway lined with parked cars ahead of them they would be trapped. The driver would turn onto the block with multiple police cars behind him and be stuck with her blocking the way out. She also believed they’d try to  shoot their way out of the trap. Despite the dangers of her job, Lauren Bauer loved being a police officer. She loved making a difference in her community, and had spent considerable time in crime-hardened areas, trying to assure the children she encountered that they were loved and cared for by her. She would buy meals for homeless people she met on duty and visit elderly residents who felt forgotten. She’d worked hard to break down barriers for people who’d learned to fear law enforcement, and she desperately wanted to stop these dangerous men from terrorizing the citizens she cared so deeply about, even in a neighboring city like St. Louis where she didn’t usually work. She thought about her two small children, too, and knew if she lost her life in this pursuit it would mean great suffering for them. As she approached her blocking position, she prayed not only would she return to her kids, but that everyone involved--including the suspects--would survive. Then Officer Bauer did something that’s unthinkable to most people except police officers: She pulled onto the block just as the suspects rounded the far corner, and offered her life up for a greater purpose. Officer Bauer saw the car coming at her head on, and slowed hers down. Expecting a hail of gunfire, she leaned over and hunched down into an awkward position, trying to get behind the engine block. The driver had other plans, however; in his desperation to escape he accelerated his vehicle and slammed straight into Officer Bauer’s car. Hunched over for protection from gunfire, Officer Bauer wasn’t prepared for the force of a head-on crash. When the vehicles impacted each other, all of her equipment exploded out of the gear bag in the passenger seat and flew around the inside of the car. Officer Bauer’s body violently snapped back and forth from the impact. As the screeching and twisted metal of the cars separated from the impact, the suspects jumped out of their car and began running away. With a major adrenalin surge keeping her from feeling the damage done to her body, Officer Bauer jumped from her cruiser and began chasing the driver through unfamiliar yards and streets. Alone now, she still courageously chased the suspect, running from cover to cover in case he began shooting at her. Realizing she had no idea where she was, she paused to read the surrounding road signs and house numbers. She’d lost sight of the driver and called her location and his description over the radio. He ran straight into nearby officers and was arrested quickly thanks to Officer Bauer’s radio broadcast. With the pursuit stopped, everyone calmed down and the process of gathering evidence began. With her adrenalin rush over, Officer Bauer could now feel the encroaching tightness and soreness in her neck and back. But she quickly realized this wasn’t just a minor case of whiplash; the pain kept getting worse with each passing minute. No longer able to stand the agony, she was taken by ambulance to the hospital. No longer Officer Bauer, she was simply Lauren, an injured woman and mother of two who needed help. After doctors treated the pain, they referred Lauren to get an MRI and see several specialists. She was eventually evaluated by one of the top spinal doctors in the nation. His news was grim--she’d suffered significant damage to the disks in her back. Spinal disks are the cartilage and tissue “cushions” between the bony vertebrae that surround the bundle of nerves traveling from brain to body. The doctor diagnosed herniation, tears, and other damage to four important disks in Lauren’s upper spine. This world-class spinal surgeon then told Lauren she could no longer work or even lift her own children, because anything more than 5 pounds could cause more damage. He assured Lauren she’d need surgery to replace the ruined disks in her back.  While waiting for Worker’s Compensation to approve the surgery, Lauren had physical therapy, spinal injections, and surgical evaluations. Even with pain management, however, her pain was excruciating. Lauren was an incredible athlete and now she could do nothing even remotely strenuous. She had been an active mother playing with her kids and now she had to be cautious, sometimes unable to leave bed. Prior to the crash Lauren was very active and athletic. Worker’s Compensation sent Lauren to a doctor 70 miles away. His primary job is evaluating employees for Worker’s Comp and employers. He admitted to not touching a spine since 1982, and told Lauren he refers patients with back problems to the doctor recommending Lauren’s surgery. Yet despite spending just five minutes observing Lauren and having her perform minor movements of head and body, the worker’s comp doctor shockingly declared she wasn’t injured and was fit for duty. This joke of an exam somehow invalidated the opinions of multiple doctors, including the renowned spinal surgeon who’d been treating Lauren for months. Lauren’s employer demanded she immediately return to work or be fired. Her regular physicians reaffirmed that she faced further injury and damage to her spine if she worked. Facing the loss of income or further injury to her spine, Lauren had to stay home. “Light Duty” is offered by most law enforcement agencies for employees recovering from injuries that preclude them from street work. But Lauren's employer refused to let Lauren work in the office while recovering. She has stopped getting paid and can't work. In October 2015, Lauren and her attorney presented their case to an arbitrator. In rebuttal, Lauren’s employer showed several photos of her smiling after the accident, and claimed if she were in that much pain, she wouldn’t be out with her children and smiling. Apparently, the employer expected Lauren to never leave her home again if she was injured. Nor has the employer ever met a loving mother who will sacrifice her own comfort to make her children happy, as Lauren does now despite her pain. There's also a world of difference from walking around with your children and wearing 35 pounds of body armor and equipment while working as an officer.  And smiling photographs don’t change the medical evidence and opinion of a world-class surgeon. At the arbitration hearing, the doctor who evaluated Lauren for just five minutes admitted he refers his patients to Lauren’s doctor. Which begs the question--Why would he contradict a doctor he admits is more competent in treating spinal injuries than he is? In January, the arbitrator handed down her bizarre decision that since Lauren is just 29, such a serious surgery shouldn’t occur. The arbitrator ruled that Worker’s Comp has to pay for treating Lauren up to that point, but isn’t responsible for fixing the injuries in the future. Lauren has appealed the arbitrator’s decision, and expects her employer to appeal the requirement they pay for past treatment. But as long as there’s even a chance that Worker’s Comp will eventually be forced to pay, her regular health insurance is refusing to pay too. Lauren was injured on duty while doing her job, during a crime that the man who injured her pled guilty to and is in prison for. Yet she’s stuck in this bureaucratic nightmare, with insurance companies fighting over who has to pay for her injuries. Lauren has been out of work and has dried up all her savings and the generous loans of some friends. Nobody expected the arbitrator’s decision, and Lauren anticipated she’d be receiving back pay and planning her surgery by now, not filing another appeal. The appeal will take 12-14 months before it’s even heard and several months after that to render a decision. Lauren is crippled from her injuries, can’t work, and has no means of support anymore. This GoFundMe campaign set up by Lauren’s friends will hopefully help Lauren keep her house and utilities until she gets through the appeal. We also hope it raises awareness of the sacrifices our heroes behind the badge make on our behalf, and how terrible bureaucracy can treat them when they need help. Lauren sacrificed herself for her community on numerous occasions and that night in St. Louis she put herself in front of a 5,000 pound bullet before the panicked suspects killed a pedestrian or other citizen. The community needs to help support Lauren, and demand that our politicians treat her and all our emergency first responders with the respect they deserve when they’re injured at work. In November 2015, the driver of the vehicle pled guilty in Missouri to Assault 2 on a Law Enforcement Officer and Aggravated Battery causing serious harm or death. The latter charge was only possible due to the extent of Lauren’s injuries--injuries that a court recognizes occurred to an on-duty police officer, but that Worker’s Compensation refuses to pay for. On January 29 of this year, the driver was sentenced to 12 years for each charge (which he will serve concurrently, to his good luck). Lauren told the court and him of her hardships and pain as a result of his actions, but also stated she forgave him and hoped he will find a better life. Lauren is the kind of police officer our nation is clamoring for, yet bureaucracies seem so willing to throw away. Please help Lauren and demand the city of Madison, IL help her, too. City of Madison 615 Madison Avenue Madison, IL 62060 (618) [phone redacted] http://www.cityofmadisonil.com/