Lawton police will continue existing funeral escort policy

Lawton police will continue their existing policy of escorting funeral processions, a practice heavily influenced by emergency calls and staffing levels.

City Council members had been ready to put a new policy into place that would retain police escorts, but give that task to off-duty officers who volunteered for it. Interim City Manager John Ratliff, who initiated the item, said a policy of using off-duty officers would allow funeral escorts to continue without that service being impacted by last-minute changes stemming from an emergency incident that draws officers away.

The existing policy requires funeral homes to call E-911 dispatch to arrange for an escort. The duty falls under the “non emergency” heading, meaning officers can be pulled from funeral escort duty should an emergency arise, and that is not an uncommon occurrence. Ratliff said the situation forces the police department to decide whether to continue supporting the funeral procession or respond to an emergency call.

“It creates issues for the families of the deceased,” he said.

His solution: a new policy that designates a roster of off-duty officers who would be available to provide funeral escorts, using city vehicles and equipment. The policy means on-duty staffing levels would be unaffected while families continue to receive an important service.

The policy also specified that those officers would be paid $125 for funeral escort duty, another incentive for those officers willing to take on the duty during their off hours. The fee was to be paid by the funeral home, under the policy.

Ratliff said a recent meeting between city officials and funeral home representatives indicated funeral home operators were OK with the idea of using off-duty officers, to include what he called incentive pay. He said a sticking point was a city requirement that funeral homes also provide comprehensive liability insurance in case something happened to the officer during escort duties.

Linda Newsom, managing partner with Ritter Gray Funeral Home, said funeral homes weren’t in agreement with the plan to pay officers to be funeral escorts.

“I cannot absorb that cost,” she said, adding the cost would have to be passed onto families and not every family could afford it. “I’m not in favor of it.”

Amber Woommavovah, funeral director in charge at Whinery-Huddleston Funeral Home, disagreed, saying she doesn’t know anyone who doesn’t agree with paying officers to be escorts, a common practice in most large cities. She said the real problem is the insurance requirement that the policy specifies would be a funeral home cost. Woommavovah said she defines the funeral escort service as a public safety issue, and that means the City of Lawton should be covering the cost.

Chris Rabon, funeral director with Becker-Rabon Funeral Home, said he wanted clarification on the liability insurance issue. A funeral director in Lawton for decades, Rabon said he remembers when today’s policy evolved from funeral homes calling for a police escort an hour before the procession left the church, to today’s policy of arranging for an escort the day before.

“We have had times we’ve asked, but no units were available,” he said, adding sometimes funeral directors don’t know an officer won’t be available until the last minute.

Based on the number of times that Becker-Rabon has asked for a funeral escort, Rabon estimated the total annual cost of paying officers for their time at $92,000, a cost that would be added to the families holding the funeral.

Council members said they understood the need to address the problem but weren’t certain the proposed policy resolved the issue. Several asked about the idea of the City of Lawton covering that $125 fee and the liability insurance. But, Acting City Attorney Tim Wilson said there are issues to cover there, noting, for example, that the existing contract with city police specifies off-duty officers called to short-term duty must be used and paid for a minimum of two hours. Ward 8 Councilman Randy Warren had another concern: would a plan calling for some officers to work overtime evolve into an on-call policy.

In the end, council members voted unanimously to retain the existing policy.