Appeals Court: Law enforcement suicide may qualify for 'killed in line of duty' survivors' benefit

A Washington County sheriff's deputy who died by suicide after struggling with work-related post-traumatic stress can be considered "killed in the line of duty," and his wife may be entitled to the associated benefits for survivors, the Minnesota Court of Appeals ruled Monday.

Deputy Jerry Lannon, 58, took his own life in November 2018 after a 30-year career in law enforcement. His wife, Cindy Lannon, applied to the Minnesota Department of Public Safety (DPS) for benefits provided to survivors of officers killed in the line of duty. She said her husband's death was the result of work-related PTSD after a snowballing of symptoms, diagnoses and incidents that worsened his mental health.

DPS Commissioner John Harrington denied the widow's application as a matter of state law because suicide has never qualified as a line of duty death. After Lannonchallenged the decision, an administrative law judge backed the commissioner, stating: "PTSD and depression are not, themselves, fatal conditions and were not the immediate cause of Deputy Lannon's death."

The appeals court sided with Cindy Lannon. It said the meaning of the phrase "killed in the line of duty," as used in the death-benefit statute, "is broad enough to encompass a death by suicide resulting from PTSD caused by performing the duties peculiar to a public safety officer."

The Attorney General's Office can appeal, but if it doesn't, Cindy Lannon's will be the first case to proceed under the new standard.

"My whole point over the last four years was just do the right thing," she said in a phone interview Monday. "Now I feel the right thing has been done and we've come full circle."

Her attorney, Joshua Harrison, said that until this pioneering case, it was unclear whether suicide could be considered "killed in the line of duty." Now just like any other injury that results from duty, he said, "it absolutely can qualify."

"This would be the first case heard under this new ruling that acknowledges that [suicide] qualifies," Harrison said.

The ruling does not mean that Cindy Lannon is immediately entitled to such benefits. The DPS and Attorney's General Office will have an opportunity to contest the opinions of mental-health experts and present any evidence that could support a different view on the causes of Jerry Lannon's PTSD, depression and death.

Harrington said in a statement that his department continues to extend its sympathies to the Lannon family while addressing emergency responders' mental health and PTSD deaths.

"It is for this reason," he wrote, "that we have spent the better part of 2022 researching the issues, existing laws, and our federal partners' responses, as we work to propose modifications to Minnesota's statutes."

In 1973, the Minnesota Legislature established a special death benefit fund for surviving spouses and dependent children of officers "killed in the line of duty." That phrase is ambiguous, and state law provides only a partial definition, according to the appeals court's 24-page opinion. Current law does not exclude or include suicide.

In its opinion, the court looked for ways to interpret and understand legislative intent. For example, state law doesn't make clear whether an officer shot at a crime scene who later dies from an infection sustained when the bullet is removed in surgery is considered a death in the line of duty.

"A gray area exists with respect to the circumstances under which a public safety officer may be considered 'killed in the line of duty' ... when a death is not 'natural' or 'accidental,' " the court wrote.

It looked to case law that defined the phrase as "death resulting from the performance of those duties peculiar to a peace officer that expose the officer to the hazard of being killed."

The court found that the meaning of the statute may encompass suicide resulting from job-related PTSD.

Harrington said that in the most recent legislative session, the DPS proposed expanding the eligible circumstances for which families can receive death benefits to include cancer and PTSD.

Jerry Lannon joined the Sheriff's Office in 1999. Over the course of his career, he responded to a double murder, an armed domestic dispute, suicides, a child's sexual assault and fatal vehicle crashes, the court said in its decision.

He was diagnosed with anxiety and depression in 2015 and the next year started going to therapy. In 2018, he sustained a back injury while lifting his granddaughter in July, followed by a serious car crash in September after which he took medical leave.

Cindy Lannon told the Pioneer Press that after the crash, her husband's PTSD went into "overdrive."

He sought counseling with a new therapist that October who noted "an initial diagnostic impression of PTSD," according to the appeals decision.

At a November therapy session Jerry Lannon "reported ongoing symptoms of depression, including suicidal thoughts." Two days later, his supervisor brought him to the emergency room because he was experiencing thoughts of suicide.

The doctor found that Lannon was at an "extremely high risk to follow through with his suicide plan" and kept him overnight. The hospital admitted him for inpatient psychiatric care after he was diagnosed with severe recurrent major depressive disorder with psychotic symptoms and PTSD. Two days after his discharge on Nov. 21, he attended a therapy session, where he "reported ongoing symptoms of anxiety, stress and depressed mood."

On Nov. 26, Lannon died by suicide. His death certificate lists depression and PTSD as contributing conditions. At the time, he was still employed by the Sheriff's Office, which did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Cindy Lannon said the office has been nothing but supportive the past four years and has made changes to prioritize mental health, which has been a focus of her advocacy work.

As for the legal battle, she said, it was never about benefits owed to her family but helping other law enforcement families.

"It's a tough job and it affects these men and women in a huge way, and it's got to change," she said. "If this is a way for it to change, amen."