Panel OKs $200,000 for wife of Arkansas constable killed by a horse

A Columbia County constable who was killed by a horse he was trying to free from a fence on his neighbor's property was engaged in hazardous work in the line of duty, the state Claims Commission said Thursday in making his wife eligible for a $200,000 benefit.

Shirley Johnson was granted two separate awards defined by statute for the family members of officers who die in the line of duty. Her husband, Kenneth Johnson, was killed in July 2015 after responding to a call on his personal phone from a neighbor who found the horse ensnared in a barbed wire fence on her remote Columbia County property.

At issue was whether Johnson was acting in his duty as a member of the Columbia County sheriff's office when he received the call, and whether attempts to free the agitated horse amounted to "engagement in exceptionally hazardous duty."

In a response to the claim filed with the commission, Ka Tina Hodge, a lawyer with the attorney general's office, said the state could not determine if Johnson's response was a part of his police work.

Columbia County Sheriff Mike Loe, as well as two other officers in the rural southern Arkansas county, testified Thursday that officers regularly respond from home on calls on their personal phones, even though his office has a central dispatch.

After hearing the testimony, Hodge agreed that Johnson was on duty, making his widow eligible for $50,000, but she questioned whether freeing the horse amounted to hazardous duty under Arkansas Code Annotated 21-5-705, making her eligible for an additional $150,000.

After discussing the case, Commissioner Jimmy Simpson of Searcy said he and his colleagues had determined that working with a potentially dangerous -- and agitated -- animal such as a horse satisfied the requirement.

After the commission announced the award, Shirley Johnson, who was seated in the audience, wept and was comforted by her family and members of the Columbia County sheriff's office.

The claim must still go before a panel of lawmakers to get final approval before being included in a future state budget.

Metro on 09/16/2016

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