Hillary Clinton: Senator Clinton Decries Justice Department Decision to Deny Benefits to Families of Slain Officers

Senator Says Auxiliary Officers Killed in Line of Duty Deserve Full Benefits

March 27, 2008 -- Washington, DC – Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton today urged the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) to grant full death benefits to the families of two New York City Auxiliary Police Officers gunned down in the line of duty.

In a letter to Attorney General Michael Mukasey, Senator Clinton decried the Department of Justice’s decision to deny benefits to the grieving families of Auxiliary Police Officers Nicholas T. Pekearo and Yevegeniy Marshalik based on their status as auxiliary officers without arrest powers. Senator Clinton noted that both officers were in uniform and in pursuit of an armed murder suspect when they were killed, and that the law authorizing the benefits for fallen first responders makes no distinctions based on arrest powers.

“These brave officers gave their lives to protect their fellow citizens and we owe them and their families a debt of gratitude that can never be fully paid,” Senator Clinton said. “I strongly urge the Justice Department to reverse course and do what we all know is right.”

In March 2007, Officers Pekearo and Marshalik were killed while confronting a gunman responsible for murdering a restaurant worker. They followed the suspect after hearing about the incident on their police radio. They were in uniform, and on duty, when Officer Pekearo was shot six times at point blank range and Officer Marshalik received a single fatal shot to the head. Their families have been denied death benefits under the Public Safety Officers’ Benefits program administered by the U.S. Department of Justice.

The text of Senator Clinton’s letter is below.

March 27, 2008

The Honorable Michael Mukasey
Attorney General
United States Department of Justice
950 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20503

Dear Mr. Attorney General:

I am writing in regard to the denial of benefits to the families of Auxiliary Police Officers Nicholas T. Pekearo and Yevegeniy Marshalik.

In March 2007, Officers Pekearo and Marshalik were killed while confronting a gunman responsible for murdering a restaurant worker. They followed the suspect after hearing about the incident on their police radio. They were in uniform, and on duty, when Officer Pekearo was shot six times at point blank range and Officer Marshalik received a single fatal shot to the head.

Most people looking at the facts would conclude that they had died as a direct and proximate result of a traumatic injury sustained in the line of duty, which is the central inquiry for deciding whether to award death benefits to their families under the Public Safety Officers’ Benefits program administered by the U.S. Department of Justice. Nevertheless, when their families applied for death benefits under the program, the requests were denied because Officers Pekearo and Marshalik, as auxiliary police, did not have arrest powers.

These officers’ families should receive benefits under the program. The Justice Department’s requirement that officers have arrest powers to receive death benefits does not appear in the authorizing statute. The Public Safety Officers’ Benefits program was designed to protect families of first responders who place themselves in harm’s way, who volunteer their assistance to confront dangerous criminals. It is simply unjust that the families of these officers have not received compensation. Officers Pekearo and Marshalik died while trying to apprehend a suspected murderer, and we should honor their sacrifice.

By preventing the Pekearo and Marshalik families from collecting deserved death benefits, the Bureau of Justice Assistance is devaluing the important work performed by all auxiliary officers. I understand that a Department of Justice panel recently conducted a closed-door hearing in New York City to review the denial of benefits for the Pekearo and Marshalik families. I join with my colleague Senator Charles Schumer and NYPD Commissioner Ray Kelly in asking you to provide these families with the benefits. I sincerely hope that the Justice Department will take the necessary steps to ensure that those who are killed while keeping our communities safe receive the benefits that their sacrifices merit.

Sincerely,

Hillary Rodham Clinton

cc: Director Domingo S. Herraiz
Bureau of Justice Assistance, U.S. Department of Justice

Source: Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton