-A member in good standing shall nominate, for inclusion, the name of a law enforcement officer who dies in the line of duty. A request shall also come from the deceased officer’s police department requesting inclusion consideration. The deceased officer’s case shall be referred to the Delaware County Law Enforcement Memorial Foundation Inclusion Committee for review. This committee shall uphold the integrity of the foundation at all cost.

The following information shall guide the committee in its referral for inclusion to the board of directors for final approval:

-For the purpose of this memorial, “law enforcement officer” means an individual involved in crime control or reduction. It also means one who is directly employed on a full time or part time basis by a local, county, state, or federal law enforcement agency, with or without compensation, who is duly sworn, and has arrest powers. Furthermore, law enforcement officers who, while in an off duty capacity, are actually in route to or from a specific emergency or responding to a particular request for assistance, or the officer is, as required or authorized by law or condition of employment, driving his/her employer’s car to or from work, or when the officer is, as required by law or condition of employment, to drive his own personal vehicle at work and dies while in route to or from work. In such cases where eligibility is in question, a determination will be made by inclusion investigating committee after a review of several issues, including, but not limited to, job description, federal, state or local statutes, training and circumstances of death.

-In such cases where the matter of death is in question, the Inclusion Investigating Committee will conduct a review of the circumstances of death and a decision on inclusion will be determined and forwarded to the Board of Directors. Also, an officer shall be considered for inclusion if his or her department states that the officer has died while on duty and there is no information to believe otherwise. The Delaware County Law Enforcement Memorial Foundation Inclusion Investigating Committee shall exhaust all possible means available to verify an officer’s eligibility status, and the correct spelling of his or her name. Efforts will include having his or her name verified by the law enforcement agency of record and/or a surviving family member.

-When there is doubt arising from the circumstances of the officer’s death or with respect to individual status as a law enforcement officer, the matter shall be resolve in favor inclusion.