Gov. Ned Lamont ceremonially signed into law today a bill that would expand the provisions of the Fallen Officer Fund to the families of EMTs, firefighters and paramedics, thus renaming it the Fallen Heroes Fund.
“Our first responders, at considerable risk to themselves, everyday go out and they have our back,” said Lamont. “And this is one more way of saying we have your back, and we also have the back of your family if something were to happen.”
The Fallen Officers Fund was originally passed into law in May of last year, providing the families of officers who fall in the line of duty a lump sum payment of $100,000 and the ability to continue health coverage for up to five years if needed. These same benefits will now be offered to any first-responder who falls in the line of duty. The expanded bill passed both the House and Senate this session with a unanimous vote.
Today’s ceremony was held at the Hartford Fire Department’s West End Station, where Lamont was joined by State Comptroller Sean Scanlon, DESPP Commissioner Ronnell Higgins, Colonel Dan Loughman of the State Police, President of the Police Officers Association of Connecticut (POACT) Florencio Cotto, New Haven Fire Chief John Alston, EMS Advisory Board Chair Bill Schietinger, and Representatives Pat Boyd (D-Pomfret), Kaitlyn Shake (D-Stratford) and Dave Rutigliano (R-Trumbull).
Scanlon shared the history behind the original bill, giving credit to House Minority Leader Vincent Candelora (R-North Branford) for proposing the creation of such a fund to Scanlon after the death of two Bristol police officers in October 2022. Scanlon said that the state has “tragically had to use” the state’s Fallen Officer Fund twice in the past two years.
“Just yesterday, in the last 24 hours, we had a state trooper rushed to the hospital because of an incident in Stanford,” said Scanlon. “We had three firefighters taken to the emergency room last night because of a fire in Wallingford. Every day, these people are putting their lives on the line for us, and we need to be there for them and their families at all times.”
In written testimony submitted earlier this session on the bill, Peter Brown, President of the Uniformed Professional Firefighters Association, said that the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation recorded 89 line-of-duty deaths in 2023 alone. Brown also claimed that Connecticut has seen four line-of-duty firefighter deaths in the last decade. Scanlon named Wethersfield Firefighter, Robert Sharkovich, as one of the state’s most recent firefighters losses in the line of duty.
Colonel Loughman noted that the State Police has lost 26 troopers in total throughout its history, leaving “26 families deeply and tragically affected.” The most recent loss was in May of last year, when Trooper First Class Aaron Pelletier was hit by a truck while conducting a traffic stop.
“Tragedy struck our agency back in May of last year, when we lost Trooper first class Aaron Pelletier,” said Loughman. “Comptroller Scanlan immediately contacted me after the death of Trooper first class, Aaron Pelletier, to ensure that he got the benefit that his family was entitled to.”
Loughman noted that Pelletier’s surviving family, his spouse, Dominique, and two children, Zachary and Troy, were in attendance today.
“Some of the questions that the survivors of someone killed in the line of duty, that they have to ask is, how are we going to pay the mortgage?’” said Loughman. “How are we going to pay the doctor’s bills for the children? How are we going to put food on the table? This Fallen Hero Hund, it helps to answer some of those questions.”
Although Candelora was unable to attend today’s conference, Rutigliano stood in his place, and on Candelora’s and the rest of the Republican Caucus’s behalf, “expressed our unwavering support” of the state’s first responders, and thanked the Public Safety Committee’s leaders, Comptroller Scanlon and the Governor for their work in passing and signing the bill.
“Surviving families of first responders who lose their lives while performing their duties face enormous financial and emotional challenges,” reads a statement released earlier today by the Senate Republican Caucus. “The Senate Republican Caucus is honored to show our support for our fallen heroes and their families.”
Lamont ultimately signed the bill, which is set to go into effect on July 1st.
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