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Death benefits sought for families of fallen volunteer police officers
TIFFANY L. PARKS
Special to the Legal News
Published: November 30, 2015
A Senate bill that would create the Volunteer Peace Officers’ Dependents Fund to provide death benefits to survivors of volunteer peace officers killed in the line of duty and disability benefits to disabled volunteer peace officers has made it to the Ohio House.
Senate Bill 11, sponsored by Sens. John Eklund, R-Chardon, and Frank LaRose, R-Copley, would make each political subdivision with a police or sheriff’s department that employs volunteer peace officers a member of the proposed fund.
Under the measure, a volunteer police officer who is totally and permanently disabled would receive a monthly benefit of $300.
The spouse of a part-time or volunteer officer killed in the line of duty would receive a one-time lump sum of $1,000 and $300 each month.
Children of fallen officers who are 18 years old or younger would receive $125 per month and children who are under age 22 and attending an institution of higher learning or training program would receive $125 each month.
The bill, which was unanimously voted out of the Senate last month, is also known as the Jason Gresko Act.
On Sept. 21, 2012, Gresko, a Willoughby police officer, was responding to a request for assistance at a Lake County hospital when a pickup truck turned into his path.
Gresko swerved to avoid a collision, left the roadway and struck a tree. He sustained fatal injuries.
The truck driver was later found to be intoxicated.
Gresko is survived by his wife and young daughter.
“He served as an active of member of the Western Lake County Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 116 and was recognized as the 2009 Willoughby Police Officer of the Year,” LaRose recently told members of the House Insurance Committee.
The members of his lodge reached out to Sen. Eklund and informed him that Gresko’s family was not going to receive any death benefits.
“However, if he had been a volunteer firefighter a state fund would have provided some benefits,” LaRose said.
“Upon hearing this information, Sen. Eklund decided to look into this disparity and found that indeed Ohio has a Volunteer Fire Fighters’ Dependents Fund that provides benefits for volunteer and part-time firefighters. However, we do not have such a fund for our volunteer and part-time police officers.”
LaRose said the gap in state law represents a “grave omission.”
“Police officers put their lives on the line each and every day when they walk out their front doors for us. It is only right that any police officers, whether they are full-time, part-time or volunteer, should have these benefits,” he said.
The Fraternal Order of Police of Ohio has backed SB 11.
“Beginning in January of 2002 to present, there have been a total of 43 police officers who have either been killed in the line of duty or who have died as a result of injuries or disease that were related to their service,” LaRose said.
The families of six of the fallen officers did not receive any state-based death benefits.
Under the bill, each fund member would pay the state treasurer for the credit of the fund with the initial premium of accessing each member’s property valuations.
Property valuations of less than $7 million would pay $300 to the fund. Property valuations between $7 and $14 million would contribute $350.
Property valuations from $14-21 million would pay $400 and property valuations that range from $21 to $28 million would contribute $450.
Property valuations of $28 million or more would pay $500.
If claims against the fund reduce it to 95 percent or less of its basic capital account, fund members would have to pay additional premiums ranging from $90 to 150, depending on the member’s assessed property valuation.
With assistance from the Fraternal Order of Police, LaRose said the proposal was amended to include the gaming agents and employees of the Ohio Department of Taxation who have investigation powers in the Ohio police and fire pension fund’s benefits.
The bill is slated for a second House hearing today.
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