The South Carolina Supreme Court released a ruling last Wednesday holding that South Carolina law officers who experience mental trauma after killing someone in the line of duty aren’t entitled to receive worker’s compensation benefits.
The decision was reached by only a 3-2 majority, holding that the law as it stands does not cover mental health benefits for such officers because they are trained in the use of deadly force and know that they may have to use it.
The way the South Carolina statute is written, only officers who experience mental stress from “extraordinary and unusual” job conditions are eligible for benefits.
In 2009, Spartanburg County deputy sheriff Brandon Bentley killed a man who he said threatened to take his gun and kill him. As a result of the killing, Bentley said he suffered from depression and anxiety and was unable to continue his job as a deputy sheriff. After applying for worker’s compensation benefits and being denied, Bentley appealed. The South Carolina Supreme Court ruled against him.
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