Officer Manny Familia, who died trying to save Virginia teenager Troy Love from a pond in Worcester earlier this month.Photo: Worcester Police Department
WORCESTER, Mass. (WBZ NewsRadio) — The Worcester City Council is asking the state legislature for a change, after it became clear that the family of a drowned Worcester police officer would not receive a pension on a technicality.
Normally, the family of officers who die in the line of duty would receive that officer's pensions. But Officer Enmanuel "Manny" Familia died when he drowned trying to save Troy Love at Green Hill Pond earlier this month — and drowning isn't included in the list of "line-of-duty" deaths in state law. That means if nothing changed, Familia's family would not get his pension.
The Worcester City Council passed a unanimous home rule petition on Tuesday, saying it wanted to include drowning as a line-of-duty death in state law for Familia's sake. The state legislature would still need to approve that petition before it could take effect.
The City Council also instructed the city's Department of Public Works to place rope, floating devices and warnings near all bodies of water in the city, and indicated its support of a bill in the state Senate that would extend medical benefits to the families of fallen officers.
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Written by Chaiel Schaffel