Police reserve officers may be covered by WC medical and burial benefits.
Indiana Code 36-8-3-20(j) provides that a police reserve officer may be covered by WC medical and burial benefits (see statute text below). The statute does not specify if the police reserve officers are employees or volunteers. In either case, such an officer may be covered, so we can process applications seeking to cover entities that are police reserve officer “companies.”
Police reserve officers
Sec. 20.
(a) This section applies to counties and towns as well as cities.
(b) A unit may provide by ordinance for any number of police reserve officers.
(c) Police reserve officers shall be appointed by the same authority that appoints regular members of the department.
(d) Police reserve officers may be designated by another name specified by ordinance.
(e) Police reserve officers may not be members of the regular police department but have all of the same police powers as regular members, except as limited by the rules of the department. Each department may adopt rules to limit the authority of police reserve officers.
(f) To the extent that money is appropriated for a purpose listed in this subsection, police reserve officers may receive any of the following:
(1) A uniform allowance.
(2) Compensation for time lost from other employment because of court appearances.
(3) Insurance for life, accident, and sickness coverage.
(4) In the case of county police reserve officers, compensation for lake patrol duties that the county sheriff assigns and approves for compensation.
(g) Police reserve officers are not eligible to participate in any pension program provided for regular members of the department.
(h) A police reserve officer may not be appointed until he has completed the training and probationary period specified by rules of the department.
(i) A police reserve officer appointed by the department after June 30, 1993, may not:
(1) make an arrest;
(2) conduct a search or a seizure of a person or property; or
(3) carry a firearm;
unless the police reserve officer successfully completes a pre-basic course under IC 5-2-1-9(f).
(j) A police reserve officer may be covered by the medical treatment and burial expense provisions of the worker’s compensation law (IC 22-3-2 through IC 22-3-6) and the worker’s occupational diseases law (IC 22-3-7). If compensability of the injury is an issue, the administrative procedures of IC 22-3-2 through IC 22-3-6 and IC 22-3-7 shall be used to determine the issue.
(k) A police reserve officer carrying out lake patrol duties under this chapter is immune from liability under IC 34-30-12, notwithstanding the payment of compensation to the officer.
As added by Acts 1981, P.L.309, SEC.52. Amended by P.L.30-1992, SEC.6; P.L.72-1992, SEC.3; P.L.57-1995, SEC.10; P.L.1-1998, SEC.212.
