A bill that establishes suicide as a line-of-duty death, allowing families of the deceased to receive receive benefits, passed the House Public Safety and Homeland Security Committee Tuesday.
Delaware law now does not list suicide as a line-of-duty death that would enable an officerâs family to file for benefits.
House Bill 133, sponsored by Rep. Sherry Dorsey-Walker, D-Wilmington, makes clear that suicide is a death in the line of duty for Delawareâs first responders, police officers, firefighters, correctional officers, probation officers and the National Guard.
Suicide among safety officials
âSuicide is the second leading cause of death for public safety officials,â Dorsey-Walker said.Â
Nationally, she said, in 2022, there were 143 suicides by law enforcement, after 160 suicides in 2021.
In November of 2022, nine law enforcement officials killed themselves nationally, and one, she said, was a Delawarean who lived in her district.Â
âSuicide is 54% higher than the general public for law enforcement officials,â she said. âThey have 70% chance of suicide after high stress incident without intervention, however, with intervention, that rate goes down to 3%.â
Dorsey-Walker told the committee that one in three correction officers have PTSD and depression.
âI did not know that that was the case, and it absolutely makes me emotional,â said Rep. Kendra Johnson, D-Bear. âYou’re already dealing with such a traumatic loss and then you compound that with how you lost your loved one.â
The discussion pointed to resources that police officers have, including Delaware State Policeâs six and 10 free counseling sessions each year that officers may choose to attend for mental health support.Â
Rep. Ruth Briggs King, R-Georgetown, pointed out that many officers donât want to seek help or other treatments because it’s still stigmatized among certain communities.Â
âMany of them are afraid that they’ll be taken off duty,â just for seeking help, she said. âSo they suffer and they don’t seek the help.â
She said itâs important for the legislation to ensure that thereâs resources available to line-of-duty officers and that itâs clear their careers wonât be impacted by taking advantage of help.Â
HB 133 now heads to the House floor.
Also Tuesday, a bill that extends liability protections for foster children on their driverâs license learner’s permit, passed to the House.
Senate Bill 95, sponsored by Sen. Sarah McBride, D-Claymont, clarifies that during the initial six months of a learnerâs permit, a foster parent is liable for the negligent driving of the foster child up to the limits of the foster parent’s applicable insurance coverage.Â
Raised in Doylestown, Pennsylvania, Jarek earned a B.A. in journalism and a B.A. in political science from Temple University in 2021. After running CNNâs Michael Smerconishâs YouTube channel, Jarek became a reporter for the Bucks County Herald before joining Delaware LIVE News.
Jarek can be reached by email at [email protected] or by phone at (215) 450-9982. Follow him on Twitter @jarekrutz
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