The first school district police officer to confront the gunman who stormed the Santa Fe High School campus in May 2018 has been denied a federal benefit. The denial comes after retired officer John Barnes spent years waiting for an answer from the Public Safety Officers’ Benefits Program (PSOB).
“I don’t know why exactly I was denied,” said Barnes. “The said they’d send a file with medical reasons why, but I haven’t received it.”
When Barnes tried to stop the gunman, he was ambushed and hit with a blast from a shotgun that shredded an artery in his arm. Barnes had to be revived twice the day of the shooting and his arm has permanent damage. The injuries forced Barnes to medically retire from police work.
A year after the shooting, Barnes applied to PSOB and said he learned last week he had been denied. The PSOB office is overseen by the Bureau of Justice Assistance, which is part of the US Department of Justice.
PSOB offers a one-time benefit to the family of first responders killed in the line-of-duty or those who suffered catastrophic injury.
Read: Public Safety Officers' Benefits Program Fact Sheet
“What is so frustrating, is to have to wait that long for an answer is ridiculous. I mean, why drag it out like that?” said Barnes.
Texas Congressman Randy Weber and Sen. Ted Cruz are asking the same question and want more answers as to why Barnes was denied.
“I’d like to have the person come to my office and tell me face to face why this is a, ‘no,” said Weber. “There’s no reason why some bureaucrat sitting in an office up here; number one, should even question the fact that this wouldn’t qualify on the Public Safety Officers' Benefit. Number two, that it should take this long; it’s totally unacceptable.”
Weber and Cruz have now reintroduced the ‘Officer John Barnes Act,’ which would set a 270-day deadline on deciding claims filed with PSOB. The pair filed the bill last year, and have now refiled since a new Congress is in session.
“Across the country, our nation’s law enforcement officers selflessly serve as the front line of defense for our communities. Every single day, they put their lives on the line for their fellow Americans, and in times of crisis these heroes deserve to access the benefits they have earned without red tape getting in the way. We owe it to our law enforcement officers, like Officers Barnes who has waited for far too long, to eliminate these bureaucratic barriers hindering their access to benefits. I am proud to reintroduce the Officer John Barnes Act to ensure our men and women in blue receive the prompt support they deserve,” Cruz wrote in a statement to KPRC 2.
Barnes said he applied to PSOB after learning he did not qualify for medical disability from Santa Fe ISD police. Barnes, who retired from the Houston police department, had only been working at Santa Fe ISD police for four months before the mass shooting.
When Barnes went to work for Santa Fe ISD police he was put under the Teacher Retirement System. According to TRS’s website, an employee can qualify for disability retirement if they have “at least ten years of service credit.” TRS’s website states an employee with less than 10 years service credit can receive a disability retirement benefit of $150 a month for “the lesser of the number of months you have been covered by TRS, the duration of your disability, or your lifetime.”
“I can’t try to go get a job working in the plants or anything like that, anything like that, because of my arm and so there are lots of things that I can’t do because of my arm,” said Barnes. “The frustrating part is I had 23 years working as a police officer, a detective that I can’t use anymore. I can’t use that to earn a better living because I can’t pass the physical to be a police officer."
Cruz and Weber’s bill is not the first time lawmakers have taken PSOB to task for the length of time it takes to decide claims. A 2015 audit by the DOJ’s Office of Inspector General gave several recommendations as to how the process could be improved.
Full document: Audit of Public Safety Officers' Benefit Program Claims
In 2016, the DOJ’s deputy inspector general testified before the Senate Committee on the Judiciary on “The Need for More Timeliness and Transparency,” regarding PSOB.
Full document: Public Safety Officers' Benefits Act Claims Determinations (2016)
In 2017, Congress passed the Public Safety Officers’ Benefits Improvement Act, which addresses lags in deciding death benefit claims. Senator Chuck Grassley/(R) of Iowa led the effort to get that law passed.
“People deserve fair and timely consideration of their application for these benefits, instead of the run-around from the federal government,” Grassley wrote in a news release announcing President Donald Trump signed the bill into law.
This law requires PSOB to file weekly status reports on claims and make a detailed biannual report to Congress.
A PSOB report dated Feb 7, 2025 shows there are 635 pending death claims, 662 pending disability claims and 1,395 pending applications.
Full document: Public Safety Officers Weekly Data Report
Meanwhile, the charged gunman in the Santa Fe high mass shooting remains incompetent to stand trial.
