The Justice Department has ruled that a police officer who killed himself eight days after the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol incursion died in the line of duty, thereby granting his wife federal benefits normally given to families of fallen officers.
Until now, families of officers who intentionally killed themselves have been barred from receiving such benefits.
But this new ruling, which follows President Joe Biden’s latest revisions to the Public Safety Officer Support Act, will allow certain suicides to qualify as a death in the line of duty.
The revised legislation passed almost exactly a year ago, expanded disability and education benefits, and now requires the Public Safety Officers’ Benefits Program (PSOB) to “presume” that suicides are a result of job duties, as long as there is evidence of a physical injury that could result in emotional trauma.
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