Families of safety officers killed in line of duty to receive ongoing benefits

BOISE — Gov. Brad Little joined firefighters, police and affected families from across the state at the Idaho Fallen Firefighters Memorial Park on Tuesday to sign into law a new death benefit for families of public safety officers killed in the line of duty.

The law arrives less than a year after battalion chief Frank Harwood of Kootenai County Fire and Rescue and battalion chief John Morrison of the Coeur d’Alene Fire Department were killed by a gunman on Coeur d’Alene’s Canfield Mountain on June 29, 2025.

"Our members put on their gear every day, understanding the risks. What sustains them, and their families, is knowing that Idaho has their backs," said Gabe Eckert, president, IAFF Local 710, Coeur d’Alene firefighter 

Matthew Smith, vice president of the Professional Firefighters of Idaho, described the legislation as a “step forward” in Idaho’s support for public safety officers and their families. For public officers in the state, HB 642 closes the gap between injury and death benefits, providing “meaningful support and peace” for families of officers who have given everything in service of Idaho, Smith said.

During the ceremony attended by surviving family members of public safety officers, Smith said the legislation ensures the sacrifices of Harwood, Morrison, Ada County Sheriff Deputy Tobin Bolter and Caldwell Fire Deputy Chief Brad Trosky-Johnson would have a lasting impact on current and future fire and police officers in Idaho.

Bolter, at 27 years old, was shot April 20, 2024 during a Boise traffic stop and succumbed to his injuries after being taken to the hospital. He was the first sheriff deputy in the county be killed in the line of duty, as was previously reported by the Associated Press.

Trosky-Johnson was recognized at the Idaho Fallen Firefighters Memorial last year after dying suddenly at the age of 55 after suffering a medical emergency the Public Safety Officers' Benefit (PSOB) Office found to have been in the line of duty.

“This legislation ensures their legacy will endure,” Smith said. 

In his remarks, Little expressed gratitude for the Legislature honoring and compensating the first responders who have made sacrifices for Idahoans along with their families.

"There's very few people in public safety that don't have a strong family and friends around them," Little said

Pete Holley, fire chief for Kootenai County Fire & Rescue, said the past legislation treated deaths in the line of duty as if the person “retired the day before they died,” meaning families would be eligible for a retirement benefit, but not the one-time and ongoing benefits associated with injury in the line of duty. By signing the amended legislation into law, Holley said the intent of the previous legislation will finally be fully realized. 

“I spoke with Mrs. Harwood and this doesn’t lighten her loss,” Holley said. “It doesn’t do anything to make the events on Canfield any easier to navigate, but it reduces the level of uncertainty as you navigate the future.”

The new law amends SB 1096, which passed in 2021 and established a new benefit under the Public Employee Retirement System of Idaho for police officers and firefighters who suffered a catastrophic injury in the line of duty. 

Eligible public safety officers could receive a one-time injury benefit of $500,000 and an ongoing annual benefit no less than $75,000 a year with future adjustments every four years under this benefit category.

The amendment to this legislation — which passed unanimously in the House and the Senate — specifies this same monetary benefit will go toward the surviving spouse or, in the event there is no surviving spouse, the dependent children of a public safety officer who died in the line of duty from catastrophic injury. 

Surviving families will be eligible for the new benefit if their spouse passed in the line of duty after July 1, 2021, when the previous law went into effect and — as was the case with the previous legislation — this new benefit will be funded through employees paying into the PERSI system an extra $110 per year. In what is a continuation of the existing death benefit framework, employers will pay for the first $100,000 of the officer’s benefit.

Holley said what makes the legislation extraordinary is not just what it does, it’s how it came to be: Public safety officers in Idaho chose to fund this benefit.

"Idaho does not forget its heroes," he said.

Josh Hoston, an engineer with the Coeur d’Alene Fire Department, said the changes mean sacrifices in the line of duty receive the same level of appreciation from the state. 

“It’s time for the state to show appreciation and we will bear that cost ourselves,” Hoston said, in reference to the PERSI funding mechanism. “That’s what we do for families that give us everything.”

    Gov. Brad Little is joined by fire leadership from across the state on Tuesday for a bill signing at Idaho Fallen Firefighters Memorial Park in Boise.