WATCH: East Texas 100 Club hosts press conference to discuss expanding eligibility for line-of-duty benefits

TYLER, TEXAS (KLTV) - Several police chiefs, fire chiefs and sheriffs from East Texas agencies met in Tyler on Thursday for a press conference in conjunction with East Texas 100 Club.

During the press conference, a representative of the East Texas 100 Club explained they are expanding the eligibility for benefits for the families of public safety employees killed or catastrophically injured in the line of duty.

The press conference took place at the Tyler Police Department at 1 p.m. Thursday.

Tyler Police Department reported the conference will discuss the club’s recent decision to expand its death benefits to cover more than law enforcement officers.

Mount Pleasant Police Chief Wayne Isbell, a spokesman for the East Texas 100 Club, said the organization has been in existence for about a year. He said in that year, they had their first line-of-duty death. Panola County Sheriff’s Office Chris Dickerson was shot and killed during a traffic stop on Dec. 31, 2019.

Isbell said that the East Texas 100 Club’s board made the decision to expand benefits to more than just law enforcement officers. He explained they now offer benefits to family members of sheriff’s deputies, constables, federal law enforcement officers, jailers, detention officers, prison guards, and firefighters.

East Texas 100 Club is a non-profit organization that helps provide financial support to the dependents of law enforcement officers who were killed or injured in the line of duty in a 20-county area in East Texas. On Jan. 1, the East Texas 100 Club board voted to make firefighters, jailers, detention officers and prison guards eligible for benevolent funds.

The club believes the topic is important to discuss at this moment in light of the recent death of Panola County Deputy Chris Dickerson.

Click here to donate to the East Texas 100 Club. Isbell said any amount can be donated, but the club encourages donors to become members.

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