Claims rejected for California deputies injured in Las Vegas shooting

Four Orange County sheriff’s deputies are grateful to be alive.

They sprang to action when the Route 91 Harvest Festival ended in gunfire on Oct. 1 — running back into the venue, herding people to safety and helping local authorities. One of the deputies, who served two tours as a Marine in Afghanistan, was shot in the leg and abdomen as he rendered aid.

Now at home recovering, and on the hook for their own medical expenses, time off and bills, the four deputies have been denied worker’s compensation.

And they are looking to the courts to clarify the state’s existing labor code.

“They look at this as yeah, it’s an issue, and we need to fix it,” said Tom Dominguez, president of the Association of Orange County Deputy Sheriffs. “But we understand that there’s nothing compared to what these families are going through.”

At issue is whether taxpayers must foot the bill for potentially long-term medical care and treatment of post-traumatic stress, not to mention early disability retirements.

The California labor code says public agencies are required to pay benefits to off-duty police officers hurt while protecting life, peace or property anywhere in California but the code doesn’t mention out-of-state actions.

Orange County officials interpreted that lack as forbidding payment. On Monday, the county rejected workers’ compensation claims from four sheriff’s deputies who said they suffered physical and psychological injuries while doing police work during the attack.

“If the county believed the law was on the side of these applicants, these claims would not be rejected,” Orange County counsel Leon Page said. “But there’s no wiggle room, there’s no discretion.”

The deputies’ union had a different interpretation.

“The Sheriff’s Department has an expectation of its sworn members to take whatever actions are necessary to preserve life wherever they’re at,” Dominguez said. “If they deny the claims, then the message that they’re sending to their peace officers is not to take action when it is certainly warranted.”

In the meantime, those whose claims are rejected have the option to sue. More than a half-dozen jurisdictions, including Los Angeles, Riverside and San Bernardino counties, might find themselves facing court battles with injured people whom, in other circumstances, they might honor for heroism.

Los Angeles County is considering whether to accept or reject claims by two sheriff’s deputies who were shot at the festival.

Eleven San Bernardino County sheriff’s deputies attended the festival and one, Sgt. Brad Powers, was shot in the leg. The deputies union is talking with the Sheriff’s Department about treating that as an on-duty injury.

In the city of Bakersfield, 14 local officers attended the festival, including Aaron Mundhenke, who was shot in the hip.

Dominguez said that through litigation he hopes to make clear what will happen if something similar occurs in the future.

“Should something tragic like this happen again, we want to make sure that officers that attend these events will do the right thing,” he said.

“Regardless of state lines, or time of day, or on and off duty, a cop is a cop,” he said.

Contact Briana Erickson at berickson@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5244. Follow @brianarerick on Twitter. The Associated Press contributed to this story.