Bipolar N.M. Officer Cleared for Duty, Sues PD

A Los Alamos (N.M.) Police officer who spent 10 days in a psychiatric facility for bipolar disorder has sued the agency after he was cleared for full duty including carrying a firearm.

Brian Schamber's commanders forced him to go to the New Mexico Behavioral Health Institute in December. A police-contracted psychiatrist eventually cleared him for active duty.

Schamber has returned to work, though he's working from home and doing work that doesn't require him to carry a gun, reports the Santa Fe New Mexican .

Schamber's lawyer, John Day, is claiming his client can't go back to patrol duty because of a federal law that prohibits him from possessing a firearm because he was committed to a mental institution. Los Alamos County has countersued for compensatory and punitive damages.