State Treasurer Dale R. Folwell, CPA, added his support to the family and friends of a Greensboro police officer who was gunned down while confronting an armed man in a grocery store, and pledged his full commitment to ensuring all benefits will be paid for the line-of-duty death.
Officer Michael Horan is part of the Local Governmental Employees’ Retirement System (LGERS), which provides death benefits to members. The system is administered by the Retirement Systems Division (RSD) of the Department of State Treasurer (DST).
“Our hearts are heavy because of this senseless killing. We grieve over a cherished life with profound purpose as a husband, father, son and public servant that was cut short. Our prayers are with those who knew and loved him,” Treasurer Folwell said. He noted somberly that it was almost a year exactly since Greensboro Police Sgt. Philip Dale Nix was murdered while attempting to stop a convenience store robbery on Dec. 30, 2023, and DST staff worked with the Police Department to secure benefits for his survivors.
“We are told ‘There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.’ Officer Horan was the embodiment of that biblical homage, protecting his country’s shorelines through service in the Coast Guard, and working as a lifeguard and beach patrol instructor in New Jersey before being hired by the Greensboro Police Department in 2017,” Treasurer Folwell said. Officer Horan received a lifesaving award in 2019 for rescuing a man and his son from drowning.
“We will do everything in our power to make sure benefits are paid as quickly as possible to this fallen hero’s survivors,” Treasurer Folwell said.
Officer Horan responded to a call about a suspicious man with a gun at a Food Lion store, according to news reports. He was shot amid a brief struggle with the suspect, Tarell McMillian, and did not have time to draw his own weapon, the Greensboro Police Department said. The suspect has been charged with first-degree murder and could face the death penalty or life in prison without parole, as well as charges for fleeing from state police in a chase that ended in Duplin County.
Treasurer Folwell indicated that he will also ask the North Carolina Industrial Commission (NCIC) to approve “line-of-duty” death benefits for the officer. The Public Safety Employees’ Death Benefits Act (Act) authorizes the North Carolina Industrial Commission (NCIC) to award a $100,000 death benefit for a law enforcement officer “who is killed or dies as a result of bodily injuries sustained . . . in the course and scope of his or her official duties while in the discharge of his or her official duty or duties.”
The Act further authorizes the NCIC to award an additional death benefit in the amount of $100,000 when a law enforcement officer is murdered in the line of duty. Once a decision to award death benefits is made by the NCIC, notice is subsequently sent to DST and payment of the awarded benefit(s) is made by the DST in accordance with the decision of the NCIC.
“No amount of money will fill the horrible void inflicted on this family,” Treasurer Folwell said.
“But they should not have an added burden of worrying about finances during the troubling days and weeks ahead, and we will do everything in our power to assist in that regard.”
RSD works with families and/or representatives to make sure death benefits are paid as soon as possible. In 2023, almost $119 million was paid to member beneficiaries or their estates. In the case of public safety workers, RSD works on behalf of the member to identify all additional benefits that may be available, including line-of-duty death benefits.
For more information, visit www.nctreasurer.com.
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