By Police1 Staff
DETROIT — The president of a Detroit police union spoke out against the city for not paying for slain officers’ funerals.
WXYZ reports that Mark Diaz, president of the Detroit Police Officers Association, said that when he first learned the city doesn’t pay for fallen officers’ funerals, “it was a shot to the stomach.”
“It was despicable,” Diaz said.
Detroit Police Chief James Craig said that paying for the funerals of slain officers has never been an issue. He said plenty of organizations have paid for the services along with insurance money that some families opt to use.
Diaz’s comments come after the death of Officer Glenn Doss, who died days after being shot in the head while responding to a domestic disturbance call, according to the Detroit News. Doss’ father asked “everyone around the world” to help raise money for his son’s funeral.
Diaz said the union can’t pay for funerals because it’s not incorporated as a benevolent association.
“An officer’s funeral isn’t like (a civilian funeral), where maybe 100 people show up. These can get 5,000 or 10,000 people,” Diaz said.
Cities such as Chicago and Philadelphia do pay for the funerals of fallen officers.
Diaz said he hopes city officials would consider a change, adding that officers are “dying for the citizens of the city of Detroit.”