No Money Paid to Families of Slain Santa Cruz Police Officers

Nearly a year after two Santa Cruz police officers were shot and killed, a fund set up for their families has collected more than a half-million dollars but hasn't distributed a dime, a newspaper reported.

The delay was caused by a web of threatened legal action, and the lack of a plan by city officials and police union leaders to distribute the money, the Santa Cruz Sentinel reported Sunday.

More than $556,000 was collected after Sgt. Loran ``Butch'' Baker and detective Elizabeth Butler were killed last February by a suspect who was fatally wounded in a subsequent chase.

Last week, the union proposed halving the money between the two families.

But Ashley Baker, the daughter of Butch Baker, said she plans to contest the payout plan because the money was initially promoted as a scholarship fund for the officers' children, and later called a memorial fund.

Butler's domestic partner, Peter Wu, said he did not receive her death benefits -- - which are separate from the memorial fund -- because the couple was not married. Wu returned to work as a bus driver in November and is raising their two boys, 3 and 6, the Sentinel reported.

Baker had three children, all adults, including Ashley Baker, who is 25.

After the officers were killed, donations flooded the Police Department and City Hall. Two different scholarship funds were set up -- one at a credit union and another at a bank.

The city finance department initially managed the funds, which were eventually combined and turned over to the union to handle. The union has set a deadline of Feb. 21 for families to respond to the money arrangement.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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