The State Retirement Board in Massachusetts has awarded a line-of-duty death benefit to the family of a police officer who was wounded in a shootout with the Boston Marathon bombers and died a year later.
The family of Boston Officer Dennis Simmonds will receive a one-time payment of $150,000 under the Retirement Board decision on Thursday.
Police say Simmonds suffered a head injury when the bombers - brothers Tamerlan and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev - shot at police and threw homemade bombs in Watertown days after the April 2013 bombing that killed three people and injured more than 260.
Simmonds died a year later at the Boston Police Academy gym.
Retirement Board officials cited a state medical panel's report that said Simmons' death was probably related to the confrontation with the bombers.
Death Benefits Approved for Family of Boston Officer Wounded in Boston Marathon Shootout
The family of Dennis Simmonds will receive a one-time payment of $150K
Copyright AP - Associated Press