Can Moonlighting Officer's Widow Get Survivor Benefits?

The Texas Supreme Court has held that a deputy sheriff who was killed in an accident while driving his marked patrol vehicle home from an extra-duty assignment was acting within the course and scope of employment because he was engaged in a law enforcement activity. The case is Orozco v. Cty. of El Paso, 63 Tex. Sup. Ct. J. 607 (2020).

Ruben Orozco, a sergeant with the El Paso County Sheriff’s Department, was killed instantly when a wheel from another vehicle came loose and crashed through his patrol car windshield. At the time of his death, Orozco was assigned to a patrol division and was a leader on the department’s crisis negotiation team. He was assigned a marked patrol car as a take-home vehicle due to his rank and work on the crisis team.