Howard County?s volunteer auxiliary police officers could soon be covered for injuries sustained while on the job.
“If they are willing to put their lives on the line for us, we should treat them as covered employees,” said state Sen. Allan Kittleman, R-District 9.
In the upcoming legislative session, Kittleman will co-sponsor a bill that would provide workers? compensation benefits to Howard?s auxiliary police officers. Republican Dels. Gail Bates and Warren Miller, both of District 9A, are also co-sponsoring the measure.
The measure was prompted by the November 2005 injury of auxiliary officer Pieter Lucas, Kittleman said. Lucas lost his leg after he was struck by a vehicle while directing traffic at a crash scene.
Lucas filed for worker?s compensation benefits, but Howard contested it because he wasn?t an employee, Kittleman said.
He eventually received benefits, but Kittleman said he wanted to avoid a similar incident in the future.
“This [bill] would say the county doesn?t have that defense anymore,” he said, adding the county could contest a claim on other grounds, such as that the injury didn?t occur on the job.
Currently 11 auxiliary officers provide duties such as directing traffic, processing abandoned vehicles and helping out at sobriety checkpoints, said police spokeswoman Sherry Llewellyn.
“They really help the sworn officers by taking on some of the smaller tasks to leave the sworn members available to handle serious calls for service,” she said.
The volunteers make a commitment of 16 hours of service each month and often volunteer at night and on the weekends, Llewellyn said.
“The service they provide is truly invaluable, and they do it for free,” she said.
