WASHINGTON 鈥� Following House passage in May and the Senate鈥檚 assent on August 1, 2022, President Joe Biden on August 16, 2022, signed into law the Public Safety Officer Support Act, a bill that under the program to include first responders who die by suicide or are disabled by traumatic experiences.
Reasoning that public safety officers 鈥� police, fire and EMS personnel 鈥� face higher risk of PTSD and 鈥渕ental health morbidities,鈥� the bill follows the Defense Department in recognizing first responder work-related suicide as line-of-duty death.
The Public Safety Officer Support Act retroactively supports first responders who experienced PTSD or died by suicide following exposure to one of the following events in their work since Jan. 1, 2019:
- Mass-casualty incident (over three victims)
- Mass-fatality event (three dead 鈥渨ith a common cause鈥�)
- Mass shooting (three dead 鈥渨ithin one event ... in close proximity鈥�)
According to the law, first responders who witnessed or experienced such incidents鈥� 鈥渁versive consequences鈥� or gruesome scenes, who were in harrowing danger, or who were exposed to 鈥渃riminal sexual violence鈥� are all eligible in the language of the bill.
Additionally, the law 鈥渨ould right past wrongs and ensure that families of police officers and first responders receive critical financial assistance as they grieve the loss of their loved ones,鈥� Rep. Steve Cohen (D-Tenn.) noted in the House debate. Rep. David Trone (D-Md.), a lead co-sponsor, said the bipartisan bill 鈥渨ill address the issue of stigma and provide the overdue parity between physical and mental injuries.鈥�
Learn more about the , and read the full bill below:
