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News & Items of Interest

• Excerpt from the FOP Journal

  Attached is something a friend ran across in the latest FOP Journal that will be of interest to you and every police surviving spouse who wrote to the Attorney General about your claim. You all apparently stirred a hornet's nest that needed to be stirred and the FOP even cites a solution to the type of service given by PSOB. It recommends the firing of the attorneys at the Office of General Counsel who are sitting on all these claims---YEA!

  But, please remember, the answers are pure "politics" and what they say in their responses should be taken with a grain of salt. But PSOB's service to survivors is now a very public issue with law enforcement and those widows need to know that they have and are still making a difference. I would strongly suggest that you send copies of this to every one that you know of who wrote a letter to Attorney General Eric Holder.

  They deserve a GREAT pat on the back for a job well done. And when you forward this to them, please express my thanks for their efforts to create the stir that got your claim approved and still might create more stir at PSOB and ODJ to help many survivors in the future!!

  Taken from FOP Journal issue, July 2012.
  Presidential Candidate Questionnaire

  Point 22: The families of law enforcement officers and other public safety officers who are killed in the line of duty are eligible to receive a one-time death benefit from the Public Safety Officers' Benefit (PSOB) program. Yet, for the last several years, many of our survivor families have faced great difficulty and resistance from the Office of General Counsel (OGC) which must approve the benefit before the family receives the money. These Federal attorneys see themselves as defending against a claim against the Federal government, instead of a death benefit for a grieving family. The Fraternal Order of Police is working with our allies on Capitol Hill to examine what reforms might be needed at the PSOB program, but it is possible that there simply needs to be a new perspective at OGC. What steps will you take as President to expedite the payment of the PSOB death benefit?

  OBAMA: We must do everything in our means to provide the necessary help and support to the families and public safety agencies that lose an officer in the line of duty. My administration will continue to seek ways to improve this process so we can best provide survivors and law enforcement, firefighter, and other first responder agencies with the beat information and support through the claim process. I am pleased that my administration is working with your leadership to help ensure that payments are made in a timely way.

  ROMNEY: I strongly support the PSOB program. As Governor of Massachusetts, I also supported and signed a law to provide death benefits at the state and local level to part-time and volunteer public safety officers killed in the line of duty. Programs such as these should be implemented in a way that minimizes the administrative burden on grieving families and the law enforcement support network that assists them in their application for benefits. I pledge to work with the Fraternal Order of Police and its allies to remove any obstacles to a timely review and payment of benefits due under this program. I will also review and consider potential legislative reforms to the program that may be proposed with an eye toward the same objective. If changes in policy or personnel at DOJ or elsewhere also are warranted, I will see to it that they are made.

• Mickey Hutchen's Daughter Donates Kidney to a Child
  On October 12, 2009, Winston-Salem Police Sgt. Mickey Hutchens died after he was shot responding to a domestic call. That day, Hutchens' family made a decision that changed lives.
• In Honor of the Fallen
  Duke police ride in Law Enforcement United Road to Hope
• Memorial
  Winston Salem Police Department Fallen Officers Memorial
• National Concerns of Police Survivors Police Week
  National Concerns of Police Survivors Week held in Washington, DC. Help us send our members!
• Law Enforcement United
  Brief description here. Link will go to outside source for full details.
• Free Bulletproof Vest Partnerships
  Partnerships to make bulletproof vests available to LEOs who need them
• House Bill
  Death Penalty for COP Killers
• Trial News
  Recent Trial for Cop Killer
• Legislative Changes
  Bill Passage Provides for Officer's Families who are killed in the Line of Duty