A measure to provide death and injury benefits to families of slain law enforcement officers won committee approval Monday, but sparked heated debate over which emergency workers should qualify for protection.
Bill 36-0345, put forward by Senator Milton Potter, cleared the Senate Committee on Government Operations, Veterans Affairs and Consumer Protection. The proposal would offer financial support, schooling assistance and health coverage to families of officers who die or suffer severe injuries while performing their duties.
The bill covers police, correctional, probation and parole officers, marshals and other personnel classified as peace officers under Virgin Islands law. Yet it does not explicitly name firefighters or emergency medical technicians, a deliberate omission that drew sharp pushback from multiple lawmakers.
Senator Clifford Joseph made his position clear: "I can't support this bill without firefighters being part of the actual being part of the bill." Senator Avery Lewis cautioned that leaving out frontline workers could "create some kind of contention in the community." Senator Franklin Johnson called for rethinking the scope, saying "we still need to go back to the drawing board to broaden it."
Timothy Perry, a criminal justice official at the Department of Justice's St. Thomas-St. John office, backed the bill but identified a structural problem. Under the current peace officer definition, fire administrators such as the director and marshal would gain coverage, but not the firefighters doing actual fire suppression work. Perry recommended adding firefighters to the law and suggested lawmakers also consider prosecutors, noting that other jurisdictions include them in similar programs.
The legislation sets a $150,000 payout for families after the attorney general certifies a line-of-duty death. Officers facing catastrophic injuries like blindness, deafness, limb loss, paralysis, severe brain damage, extensive burns or coma would receive $75,000 immediately. If such an injury leads to death within five years, families would get an additional $75,000.
Benefits also include tuition and fees at the University of the Virgin Islands for up to eight semesters for surviving spouses and children, ongoing health insurance, and creation of a dedicated fund with yearly reports to lawmakers.
Potter defended keeping the scope narrow, arguing that starting with law enforcement allows the government to deliver real protection without chasing an impossible standard. "I just would hate, for at the end of the day, for us to just not end with legislation that could provide some protection to our law enforcement personnel because we're looking for perfection," he said.
Dwayne Richards, head of human resources at the Virgin Islands Police Department, endorsed the bill, saying the government owes a debt to officers and their families. "Their loved ones served the Virgin Islands, and their sacrifices deserve more than ceremonial recognition," he said.
Perry also urged lawmakers to make the law retroactive five years to honour fallen officers, naming Detective Delberth Phipps Jr., who was killed in the line of duty in 2023.
The measure now moves to the Committee on Rules and Judiciary for further review of who qualifies and how the program would operate.
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