Bellevue Police officer keeps medical coverage

BELLEVUE, Wash. - Bellevue leaders have changed city policy to continue medical coverage of the officer injured in a vice presidential motorcade back in August.

Bellevue Police officer Kevin Bereta was serving as security detail for Vice President Kamala Harris in Aug. 2023, when his motorcycle went off over the railing near the Michigan St. on-ramp. Bereta fell 60 feet from a bridge and landed on I-5, seriously injuring his back, leg and shoulder.

Stipulations in the contract between the City of Bellevue and the Bellevue Police Officers’ Guild gave Bereta only six months to recover from a traumatic, debilitating injury and get back to work.

Months later in February, attorneys representing Bereta accused the city of declining his request to retain benefits and health insurance beyond six months.

Health care providers would not clear him for light duty, his attorneys said, leaving Bereta precariously without health insurance while still awaiting further surgeries and treatment.

Until the city reworked its policy, Bereta and his wife were relying on GoFundMe donations and her part-time income to stay afloat.

On Monday, the city and Police Guild reached an agreement to change city policy, which extends Bereta’s medical coverage for several months. It provides reimbursement for insurance premiums for any injury or illness that prevents someone from working enough hours to keep their benefits.