WASHINGTON — Rep. Andy Barr, R-Lexington, has filed a bill he said would “correct an injustice” related to officers’ line-of-duty benefits.


What You Need To Know

  • Rep. Andy Barr, R-Ky., has filed a bill that would allow for line-of-duty benefits for some officers, regardless of retirement status 

  • The bill is named after a retired Kentucky officer killed in 2012 

  • Herbert Proffitt served as Tompkinsville police chief and in the Monroe County Sheriff's Department

  • According to Barr’s office, Proffitt’s family did not qualify for the Public Safety Officers’ Benefits program because he was retired at the time he was killed

The Chief Herbert D. Proffitt Act is named after a retired officer in Monroe County.

Proffitt served as Tompkinsville police chief and in the Monroe County Sheriff’s Department. In 2012, a few years after he retired, a man he had arrested a decade earlier fatally shot him in his driveway, according to state police records. 

The man later pleaded guilty to murder, records show.

Proffitt’s family did not qualify for the Public Safety Officers’ Benefits program because he was retired at the time he was killed, according to Barr's office. The new legislation would require that a retired officer or their survivors receive line-of-duty benefits if they died or were disabled as a result of an attack because of their police service.

Kentucky’s police union supports the bill.   

“I think any time you can strengthen benefits for families of fallen officers, that’s so crucial,” said Ryan Straw, vice president of the Kentucky State Fraternal Order of Police. “When we’re showing that we’re taking care of families and we’re taking care of people that decide to pin a badge on. I think that just brings in a whole group of people that say they want to serve their community, so it's really a bigger picture for us.”

Monroe County Sheriff Dale Ford served with Proffitt in the police and sheriff’s departments. He called Proffitt “well-respected” and a friend, adding he supports the bill.

The Proffitt family also supports the legislation, according to Barr's office. 

Members of the Kentucky FOP are expected to be in Washington later this month and plan to lobby for the bill.