Update: Nutter Administration Will Pay For Officer Walker's Funeral
By Mike Dunn
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- The Nutter Administration has decided to chip in after all for funeral costs for Police Officer Moses Walker, Jr., who was killed last month in a robbery attempt.
Officer Walker was technically off his shift at the time of his death on August 18th, but spokesman Mark McDonald says a nearly-three week review of the circumstances led to the determination that Walker was nonetheless on duty.
"It's been determined that Officer Moses Walker died in the line of duty and is entitled to all honors and benefits thereof," McDonald says.
Those benefits include funeral costs and substantial state and federal benefits to his family. McDonald says Mayor Nutter signed off on the decision Thursday morning, and then spoke to members of Walker's family by phone. Earlier, City Councilman Jim Kenney had criticized how long it was taking the Nutter Administration to come to the decision.
"The ongoing process should have been signing the paperwork at the hospital the night of their loss. To me, it's just disrespectful," Kenney said.
Kenney now says he's drafting legislation that would place future such decisions about line-of-duty deaths in the hands of a new five-member panel. He plans to introduce the plan later this fall.
