When Fairbanks Police Sergeant Allen Brandt died last week, he left behind a widow and the four children she has stayed at home to raise. The tragedy experienced by Natasha and their children may be horribly compounded because, effective as early as January 2017, they may lose their health insurance.
The City of Fairbanks now has to decide whether Natasha will join widows like Brandy Johnson and Nikki Toll, left uninsured by the state and community their spouses died while serving. The question is: Will the City of Fairbanks step up to meet its moral obligation?
You might be wondering how it is even possible that the widow and grieving survivors of a first responder killed in the line of duty could lose health insurance. We wondered the same thing.
How is it possible that we leave these families devoid of a safety net at a time when they need support the most? How can we, as a state, abandon our obligations to families of those who die in the line of duty, working to protect all of us from the evil in our midst? We were — and still are — puzzled by this gap in state law.
The answer lies in the ranks of the Alaska State Legislature. In 2015, we worked with legislators to introduce legislation to ensure health care insurance for families of officers killed in the line of duty. We worked hard in 2015 and 2016 to try to get this legislation passed. In June 2016, the Alaska State House passed it unanimously.
We were overjoyed, as we saw the possibility that our state would close this loophole and ensure our officers’ families were protected. But the Alaska Senate leadership refused to hold a vote on the bill, and it died in special session. What a shameful moment in our state’s relationship with its first responders.
Opponents of ongoing coverage have argued that we can’t afford it, given the state’s fiscal challenges. We are very sensitive to the budgetary difficulties facing our state, but the estimated annual cost of this legislation was just $170,000 – less than the fully-loaded cost to employ two average state employees. In an annual budget of $4,670,000,000, can Alaskans find room for an annual expense of $170,000 to support these families?
Alaskans know how important it is to our communities to have public safety officers serving and protecting our state residents. We also know these jobs are inherently dangerous. Too many police officers are dying in the line of duty. Sgt. Brandt was the 107th police officer killed in the line of duty in the U.S. this year, a 6 percent increase over last year. Sgt. Brandt is also the 49th police officer in the 49th state to die in the line of duty. When heroes like Sgt. Brandt sacrifice their lives protecting us, their families should not sacrifice health insurance.
Alaska can fix this gap in the law. Please call or email the Alaska State Senate leadership and tell them it is inexcusable and immoral not to provide survivor benefits to spouses and survivors of public safety officers killed in the line of duty. Tell them to do their job and pass a survivor’s benefit bill as the first act of the next legislative session.
Only days ago, Sgt. Brandt addressed the Fairbanks City Council and said, “We have many fine officers that are far greater and have done better things than I have,” he said. “I know sometimes it’s hard for officers to see whether or not the city supports us, but I’ve always said, by and large, the city does support its police officers.”
Sgt. Brandt’s words deserve to be honored.
Fairbanks, and the State of Alaska, is a better place with public servants like Sgt. Brandt, who serve and keep us safe from the darker elements of our community. May Sgt. Brandt rest in peace, and may his community and state honor his sacrifice by ensuring that the Brandt family and all public safety families have continued health insurance if their loved ones are killed in the line of duty.
• Jess Carson is president of the Public Safety Employees Association Local 803, and Jake Metcalfe is executive director PSEA Local 803.
