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All of the benefit information below has been complied by COPS, a support group for police survivors.
Rev.6/02
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
DEATH BENEFITS
To obtain certified copies of registered personal documents, contact Vital Records, Dept.
of Human Services, 425 "I" Street NW, Third Floor, Washington, DC 20001, phone
(202)727-5314.
Death benefits for Washington, DC, officers are covered under the section detailing benefit
information for Federal law enforcement officers.
WORKERS' COMPENSATION
Workers' Compensation coverage is compulsory for employers in the District of Columbia.
A spouse can receive 50% of the employee's weekly wage and a spouse and child(ren) can
receive 66 2/3% of the employee's weekly wage, with a minimum weekly benefit of $169.79
and a maximum weekly benefit of $679.17. There is also a maximum burial allowance of
$5,000.
Widow(er) receives a two-year lump sum upon remarriage and weekly benefits cease.
Children receive benefits until age 18, or beyond age 18 if physically or mentally disabled, or
until age 23 if full-time students.
Contact the Office of Workers' Compensation, Department of Employment Services,
Labor Standards Office, 1200 Upsher Street NW, Washington, DC 20011, telephone
(202) 576-6265.
PERSONAL LIFE POLICY - INTESTATE
Descent and Distribution:
Family Allowance - Upon death of any person, surviving spouse is entitled to $10,000 family
allowance out of personal estate of decedent. Allowance is exempt from all debts of decedent
and subject only to payment of funeral expenses not exceeding $750. If no surviving spouse,
any surviving minor children are entitled to the allowance. Allowance is in addition to
respective shares of surviving spouse and children.
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Real Estate - Real property of intestate descends, subject to any rights of dower, to those
persons entitled on intestacy to personal property, and such persons take as tenants in common
and in proportions as for personal property.
Personal Property - Surviving spouse of intestate is entitled to receive personal property
subject to distribution as follows: If there are children or their descendants, one-third; if no
children or their descendants, but parents or their descendants, one-half; if no children, parents
or descendants of either, all.
The surplus after distribution to surviving spouse, or if no surviving spouse, all personal
property subject to distribution, passes as follows, each class of which member is living taking
to exclusion of subsequent classes:
(1) To children, and descendants of deceased children by
representation;
(2) To parents equally or their survivor;
(3) To brothers and sisters, and descendants of deceased brothers and
sisters by representation;
(4) To collateral relatives in equal degree, per capita;
(5) To grandparents, or such of them as survive, equally.
PEER SUPPORT ORGANIZATION
Established in 1984, Concerns of Police Survivors, Inc. (COPS), is a national, non-profit
organization that works with law enforcement agencies, police organizations, mental health
professional, and local peer-support organizations to provide assistance to surviving families
of law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty. COPS has become a "lifeline" to police
survivors nationwide. Contact: DC COPS, Mrs. Shirley Gibson, President, 3015 ‘V’
Place SE, Washington, DC 20020, phone (202)332-2677, email: copsdc@aol.com.
POLICE MEMORIAL
The Police Memorial is located at 300 Indiana Avenue NW, the Fountain Plaza of DC
Metropolitan Police Headquarters.
HEROES, INC.
HEROES, Inc. was founded in 1964 as a totally nonprofit volunteer organization
incorporated in the District of Columbia under Charitable Registration Certificate No. 6-07-
398 to serve the surviving families of all officers within the Metropolitan Washington, DC,
area (The District of Columbia, Prince George's County and Montgomery County in
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Maryland, and Arlington and Fairfax Counties in Virginia). Within 24 hours of an officer's
death, a check in the amount of $3,500 is delivered to the family to be used for immediate
emergency expenses.
At a later date, usually within two to four weeks, the surviving spouse will meet with the
HEROES Executive Committee to identify other personal areas where financial assistance is
needed. A comprehensive scholarship program is available to ensure that each child can
receive an education of his or her choice.
HEROES never forgets or closes the books on a family. They are always available for
counseling or assistance. The telephone number for HEROES, Inc. is (202) 638-2772.
ADDITIONAL BENEFITS
Members of the Police Association of the District of Columbia (PADC) are entitled to a
survivor's benefit of $2,000 if killed in the line of duty, legal representation on job-related
matters, and free television while hospitalized. Contact the Police Association of the
District of Columbia, 1441 Pennsylvania Avenue SE, Washington, DC 20003, telephone
(202) 543-9557.
Officers who belong to the Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) Jerrard F. Young Lodge DC-
1 are entitled to a $1,000 accidental death benefit regardless of whether the incident
occurred on or off duty; free television, flowers, or fruit basket while hospitalized; and legal
services for lawsuits incurred in the performance of duty (subject to Legal aid Committee
approval). Contact the Fraternal Order of Police, 512 5th Street NW, Washington, DC
20001, telephone (202) 346-6929.
All of the benefit information above has been complied by COPS, a support group for police survivors.
Contact the National Office of Concerns of Police Survivors, Inc. for additional information, or to support any of COPS' programs.
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Web site copyrighted © 2005 by Lydia Warner Miller