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WASHINGTON (AP) — Attorney General Eric Holder is directing Justice Department to expedite death benefits to the families of two New York police officers who were fatally shot inside their patrol car, the Justice Department said Monday.
Holder instructed officials to reach out to the families of the slain officers to inform them of the program and offer help in submitting a claim, the department said. Holder wants the families' benefit applications to be expedited, the department said.
The two officers, Rafael Ramos and Wenjian Liu, were ambushed inside their patrol car Saturday and fatally shot. The suspected gunman ran into the subway station and committed suicide.
The benefits are administered by the department's Office of Justice Programs and are paid to the relatives of first responders who die in the line of duty.
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