DETROIT — The Detroit Police Officers Association is outraged the city does not pay for the funerals of officers killed in the line of duty.
"It was despicable," said Mark Diaz, President of the Detroit Police Officers Association, about the moment he says he found out that the City of Detroit does not pay for the funerals. "It was a shot to the stomach."
Detroit Police Chief James Craig said it's never been an issue, and that there are organizations available to pay for the funerals along with insurance money that some families opt to use.
But whatever insurance money and other benefits are available to an officer's family could be used in other ways by the grieving family as they have to carry on life without their loved one and their income.
Scripps station WXYZ in Detroit has learned that the police departments in cities like Chicago and Philadelphia do pay for the funerals. Chief Craig said he's worked in cities where they do and some where they don't.
"They're dying for the citizens of the City of Detroit," said Diaz, who is hoping that city officials will consider a change.
