POLICE vs. MILITARY FUNERAL

Writing this in July 2010 means that the topic is something funeral coordinators need to be aware of and prepared for. Many officers are members of the military reserves or National Guard and have been, are, or will be deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan. Then, unfortunately, they are killed while deployed in these countries. Now the questions arise, do they have a military funeral or a police funeral or a combination? And who is in charge?

Of course it is the family who should make the final decision but they should not feel intimated or overwhelmed by either group. Information representing both entities should be provided so that the family can make a well informed decision. The family can decide that it should be a police funeral with the military as a secondary part or vice versa and no one’s feelings should be hurt. Or each entity can be basically represented equally during the services and ceremonies.

I have been told by police officers that they have attended funerals where there was a police and military chaplain as co-celebrants for the service.That the honors ceremonies were shared by two honor guards; one police and one military. That pall-bearers consisted of police and military personnel.So, it is possible to combine the police and military protocols into one service and honors ceremony.

The issue for police funeral coordinators is to be prepared and expect some very difficult decisions to be made. Decisions the family should be making. Remember, the family needs guidance, not instructions. The agency should be prepared to support and cooperate with the military funeral coordinator.Emotions will likely be high. Egos need to be restrained.

It’s common for the media to give substantial news coverage to the death and returning of the casket with a military escort. Often times the officer’s police service becomes secondary. Funeral coordinators should not feel slighted. A sense of support and cooperation needs to be displayed to the family, the agency members, and the military representatives.

The goal is to provide the most honorable, dignified and respectful funeral services and ceremonies possible. A funeral service that provides significance to the deceased officer’s life, family, and commitment to two equal services, public service and military service. A funeral the agency members and military representatives will remember with pride.

Another related issue is, Will this funeral be treated as a killed in the line-of-duty funeral? The officer was in the military and killed during a military operation. A typical military and police honors ceremony consists of Taps, the rifle salute and the flag fold and presentation.

How will the police agency define the ceremonial elements? To my knowledge, some agencies are defining the ceremonial elements as a killed in the line-of-duty funeral, which means that the additional elements reserved for line-of-duty deaths are included. These are typically the riderless horse and the helicopter fly-over.

Another issue, although not one for funeral coordinators to be deciding, is will the deceased officer’s family be eligible for a killed in the line-of-duty pension? Some agencies have been able to convince their pension board that it should be a line-of-duty pension. These issues should be discussed by agency executives and Human Resource managers now, before theyare confronted with a difficult and emotional situation to resolve.

Funeral coordinators need to be aware of the potential financial issues involved. The deceased officer may not be eligible for a service pension,because of time on the job, or a line-of-duty death pension. Private life insurance often does not pay for deaths in a war zone for people on active military service.

The officer will not be eligible for the federal grant or other government death benefits. The surviving family’s financial status maybe bleak. Agencies need to know now and anticipate what difficulties afamily may experience and be prepared to provide support. If not you, who?

So when we discuss the death of an officer while in the military, it is much more complicated that deciding who will fold the flag. Preparedness and thoroughness are the key issues to insuring the surviving family and agency members needs are identified and met.

John Cooley

PoliceFunerals.com