Georgia law would benefit families of first responders who take their own lives
The bill’s lead sponsor said families of first responders who take their own lives should be treated like those who die in the line of duty.
ATLANTA – Georgia Sen. Kim Jackson was a former paramedic. She said it was her years of work in the field that inspired her to introduce legislation to help first responders and their families receive death benefits if they die by suicide within 30 days of their last shift.
“I’ve worked with firefighters and law enforcement officials, and that’s a big problem,” Senator Jackson said. “People die by suicide because they have experienced incredible trauma and show up when we need them most, which is often when we are at our worst. So I just want to make sure the families are taken care of in this case of a public security officer dying by suicide.”
The Georgia State Indemnification Program pays financial benefits to first responders or their surviving family members after they are disabled in the service or killed. However, under current state law, public safety officers who die by suicide are not entitled to benefits.
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Law enforcement officers, firefighters, EMTs, state highway workers, and prison wardens all qualify as public safety officers.
The Georgia Senate overwhelmingly approved the bill by a 48-3 vote last week, but some members of the House Public Safety and Homeland Security Subcommittee have expressed doubts.
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“You know, I’m all for helping people, but I just think suicide for 30 days into his last day of work kinda expands it,” said State Rep. Bill Hitchens, R-Rincon.
Rep. Hitchens retired from the Georgia State Patrol for 28 years and served on the State Indemnification Commission for several years.
“I think we have a lot of stigma around suicide and people are often nervous that if we say you’re going to be able to get a death benefit, that’s going to result in someone dying by suicide, and that’s just not true,” Senator Jackson said. “We need a little more clarification on this. We need to understand that the reasons why someone dies by suicide can be very complex, but that our responsibility here is basically — our goal here is just to make sure that we treat public safety officers who die on duty the same way like everyone else who might die in a car crash or from gunshots.”
The subcommittee did not vote on the bill and plans to hold another hearing.
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