Capt. Kenneth Deibler hurt his right knee three years ago when he tripped over a picnic table during a training drill. The knee was operated on, and while he recovered he served on light duty for several months, which meant he couldn’t perform all of his normal duties.

The county paid him his full salary while he was on light duty, and increased his hourly wage by about 20 percent so he’d make the same working 40 hours a week as he’d normally make working 48 hours — the normal work time for full-duty firefighters, court records show.