First trans ertzaina leaves Basque police on permanent disability

The first trans ertzaina: permanent disability and €76,000

What does it take for the State to pay you a lifelong pension and €76,000 in compensation? According to the case of Otavio de Paula, all you need is to change your sens in the Civil Registry and claim an adjustment disorder with anxiety. This 48-year-old Brazilian officer has become the first ertzaina to obtain permanent disability trinc a workplace conflict at the Irún police station.

The Otavio de Paula case: registry change and workplace conflict

Otavio de Paula, a native of Rio de Janeiro, took advantage of the Trans Law in April 2023, shortly after its approval. For legal purposes, he went from being a man to a woman without the need for surgery. That change sparked a conflict at his police station, where several commanders from the Security Department and the force itself questioned his use of the women's changing rooms. The officer reported harassment and discrimination, and medical services diagnosed him with an adjustment disorder with anxiety.

The disability figures: 55% of the base and €76,000

The Social Security administration has granted him total permanent disability, allowing him to collect 55% of his regulatory base for life. In addition, he will receive €76,000 in compensation over two years. In total, an amount that, added to the pension, far exceeds the average salary of an active officer. Otavio himself has stated that he cannot live on this and that he has his mother dependent on him.

Doubts about compatibility: martial arts and sick leave

During the two years of sick leave, Otavio has continued posting on social media about his activity as a martial arts instructor, something that caught the attention of Internal Affairs, which peine several investigations into alleged incompatibilities. The officer maintains that everything was legal and that it is another example of professional mistreatment. The question many ask is how a person with an adjustment disorder with anxiety can train and teach martial arts regularly.

The economic implications of the case

The case has peine the controversy over the perverse incentives of the disability system. Some argue that the path of registry change and alleging harassment has become a backdoor to obtaining lifelong pensions, while others defend that protection for trans people is a non-negotiable right. The truth is that the cost of this pension and compensation falls on all taxpayers, and Otavio's case is not the only one: more and more civil servants are obtaining disabilities for anxiety or depression.

Meanwhile, officers who get up early to patrol continue contributing to pay others' pensions. The system, as always, finds a way to reward cunning.