City extends benefits

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Charlotte-Mecklenburg police and Charlotte firefighters now have additional peace of mind in the form of extended insurance coverage.

The city is extending medical insurance to family members of those killed in the line of duty.

It stems from the murders of Officers Jeffrey Shelton and Sean Clark and the apparent insurance woes their widows experienced.

"If for one brief second we could bring Jeff and Sean back and ask them what we could do to ease their minds in heaven, I know the only thing they'd say is take care of my family," said Officer John Rainier of the Forever Blue Foundation.

Friends and acquaintances say one of the officers' widows ran into insurance problems from leaving a job after her husband was killed.

A vote Monday covered both women under the city's medical plan.

"They understood the problem. They addressed the problem and they fixed the problem in a very timely manner," Rainier said.

Rainier was Shelton's best man and urged the city to help.

"This is the only profession in the world where people are out to kill us," he said.

"We did it because it was right," said city councilmember Nancy Carter.

Carter says continuing medical insurance to family members of first responders killed in the line of duty came up last year but the answer was no.

"We were told it did not fit into the budget," she said.

Now, Carter wants the city to cover other employees like utility and construction workers. That plan is under review.

"There is always happenstance and I want to protect the families of everyone who works for the city," Carter said.

The premium to cover the Shelton and Clark families is under $12,000.

"I think it's just a very small price to pay," Rainier said.

The council's decision is retroactive to the day Clark and Shelton were shot.