ROCKWELL CITY, Iowa (AP) - The City Council in Rockwell City has voted to provide health insurance to the family of a police officer killed in the line of duty in 2013, fulfilling a pledge to ensure coverage for five years after the officer’s death.
The council voted Monday night to pay the insurance costs for Amanda Buenting and her son and daughter, according to the Fort Dodge Messenger. The move meets a promise made by officials to provide health insurance coverage for five years after the death of officer Jamie Buenting, who was killed in a September 2013 standoff.
“I would really like to thank the community of Rockwell City for standing behind its promise of five years of insurance even when they had to buy an individual policy,” Amanda Buenting said. “It means a lot to me.”
The city had to buy the individual policy because its insurer, Blue Cross/Blue Shield, told officials the company wouldn’t cover the family for more than three years.
Mayor Phil Heinlen couldn’t immediately say how much the decision to pay the premiums would cost the city.
Buenting is working with state Rep. Mike Sexton, of Rockwell City, to draft a bill for the 2018 legislative session that would ensure children of slain law enforcement officers can receive publicly funded health insurance until age 26.
Jamie Buenting was killed when he and officers from several agencies attempted to take Corey Trott into custody. Trott who had barricaded himself in a house, shot Buenting when the officer broke a window and tried to knock down a sheet that was covering the opening.
Trott was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison.
___
This story has been corrected to show the spelling of the officer’s first name is “Jamie,” not “Jaimie.”
___
Information from: The Messenger, http://www.messengernews.net
Please read our comment policy before commenting.