Virginia Lawmaker Wants To Expand Line Of Duty Act To Private Colleges
Richmond VA April 20 2022 Following the shooting deaths of two Bridgewater College campus officers, a Valley lawmaker is looking to give private college police departments the ability to participate in a state program that provides benefits for first responders killed or permanently disabled in the line of duty.
Sen. Mark Obenshain, R-Rockingham, said he is intending to introduce during the 2023 legislative session an addition to Virginia’s Line of Duty Act that gives private college campus police and public safety departments the choice to participate.
Enacted in 1972, the Line of Duty Act applies to law enforcement officers in the commonwealth or any of its public entities, correctional officers and rescue squads. However, the code as written does not allow private college departments to participate.
“That, to me, presents a problem,” Obenshain said.
Virginia’s Line of Duty Act provides a lump sum death benefit and lifetime health insurance benefits to families of law enforcement officers killed or permanently disabled in the line of duty.
On Feb. 1, Bridgewater College safety officer Vashon “J.J.” Jefferson and campus police officer John Painter were shot and killed outside of Bridgewater College’s Flory Hall.
The suspect, identified as Alexander Wyatt Campbell, 27, whose last known address is Ashland, faces two felony counts of capital murder, one felony count of first degree murder and a felony count of use of a firearm in the commission of a felony.
Obenshain was “disturbed” by the fact that while private college public safety departments have certified law enforcement officers on staff, they are not eligible to participate. He recognized how closely both the town of Bridgewater and the college’s police force work together, and the shootings highlighted that officers are in the line of fire “no matter where they are.”
“It’s really, really unfortunate that this benefit, or that this gap in the Line of Duty Act, had to be found this way,” Obenshain said. “It’s just terribly sad.”
Participants in the Line of Duty Act fund pay a “per capita” contribution rate to cover the cost of benefits, meaning the amount the state agency or political subdivision contributes per paid employee or volunteer, according to the act’s website.
In the event of death, Virginia Retirement System will pay the benefit if the employer participates in the Line of Duty Act fund, according to the act’s website. The benefit is a one-time payment made to the beneficiary, and incidents where the death occurs as a result of the direct or proximate result of working is $100,000.
Funding for the Line of Duty Act can be provided through participation in the fund administered by VRS, or through self-funding by the employer or an insurance company, according to its website. VRS makes eligibility determinations for benefits, and issues benefit payments on behalf of participating employers.
All of Virginia’s public college and universities, including James Madison University in Harrisonburg, participate in the Line of Duty Act, according to Dana Schrad, executive director of the Virginia Association of Campus Law Enforcement Administrators.
Public and private colleges in the commonwealth have the authority to staff a safety and security agency on campus, according to the association, and many departments adopt a police and public safety model that employs certified police and noncertified security personnel.
“I just want to give these departments the option to participate,” Obenshain said. “These police officers at private schools … go out to keep students safe and protect the community.”
There are 27 private colleges and universities sprinkled all over the commonwealth, according to the Council of Independent Colleges in Virginia’s website.
“There are a lot of legislators who, I think, would rally to the cause of trying to right this wrong,” Obenshain said.
A Bridgewater College spokesperson declined to comment until Obenshain’s legislation has been written.
