Officers' Families Denied Benefits

Officer Pekearo, 28, and Officer Marshalik, 19, were fatally shot on the evening of March 14, 2007, in a confrontation with David R. Garvin, who had fatally shot a bartender in a pizza restaurant. Mr. Garvin, 42, shot Officer Pekearo six times in the back, shoulder and side, the authorities said. Another bullet lodged in a bullet-resistant vest that Officer Pekearo had bought for his own protection; such vests were not at the time provided by the city to auxiliary officers.

Seconds later, Mr. Garvin shot Officer Marshalik in the back of the head. Armed officers shot and killed Mr. Garvin when he refused to drop his gun.

Soon after the deaths of the auxiliary officers, their families applied for federal benefits under the Public Service Officers Benefits Program, intended to compensate the families of the police, firefighters or other public safety officers who are killed in the line of duty. Both families were informed by the federal agency in September that their applications had been denied because, as members of the police auxiliary, Officers Pekearo and Marshalik were not authorized to make arrests, and not considered peace officers under federal guidelines.