Posted on March 28, 2023
HARTFORD- State Rep. Holly Cheeseman (R-37) last week testified in support of a proposal to establish a fund to financially help families of fallen and disabled police officers.
The legislation, House Bill 5363, An Act Establishing an Account to Compensate Families of Law Enforcement Officers Killed in the Line of Duty would be to create an account to appropriately care for the families of law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty.
“This proposal is one that is sadly needed. While the nationwide “Defund the Police” movement is concerning, in Connecticut our sworn police officers are also suffering from low morale due to the unintended but real consequences of the “police accountability” bill that became law in 2020,” said Rep. Cheeseman. “Tragically, we recently saw two of our heroes ambushed and killed— and a third officer severely injured in Bristol. While it is heartening to see the community rally around those families, the state also has a responsibility to support our law enforcement families who have made the ultimate sacrifice, regardless of whether they are in fact state employees or not.”
Rep. Cheeseman added, “Unfortunately, the state’s priorities have shifted from supporting law enforcement to prioritizing and protecting the rights of criminals. Connecticut taxpayers now fund additional privileges for prison inmates, including phone call allowances and a new platform that allows for messaging. Those costs have now reached over $3.5 million, with an updated request from the Department of Corrections to add 15 new positions to monitor those communications with an additional increased cost of over $4 million. In addition, there has been a huge federal tax dollar investment with ARPA funding to allocate $20 million to provide enhanced vocational training to inmates, which according to recent testimony includes capital expenses. Yet, we spend less than $175,000 of our General Fund resources to support families of fallen and disabled police officers. The families of those officers who gave the ultimate sacrifice absolutely deserve more.”
In testimony to the Appropriations Committee public hearing, Council 4 AFSCME representing 1,900 municipal police officers in Connecticut spoke in favor of the proposal.
According to the non-partisan Office of Legislative Research, several of our surrounding states have rightly included provisions that allocate a one-time benefit to help families. This is in addition to the other benefits that may be available to families which include worker’s compensation benefits, education, or tuition assistance.