A police officer who was injured while protecting Vice President Kamala Harris is about to lose his health benefits, The Post Millenial reports. 

The officer is Kevin Bereta of the Bellevue Police Department in Washington.

The incident took place in Seattle in August 2023.

Bereta suffered serious injuries, from which he is still recovering, which is why it would be particularly bad news if he were to lose his health benefits.

What happened?

NBC News covered the injury when it took place.

The outlet reported:

A Bellevue, Washington, motorcycle police officer assigned to a visit by Vice President Kamala Harris was injured Tuesday when he fell about 50 feet from a highway on-ramp in Seattle, police said . . . The officer fell 50 to 60 feet from an on-ramp onto Interstate 5 below, the police department said.

Luckily, Bereta was not struck by a vehicle when he landed on Interstate 5. In fact, officials, at the time, said that he was still conscious after the fall, when he was transported to the Harborview Medical Center.

Bereta was on vice presidential detail when this incident occurred. Harris was in Seattle to fundraise for President Joe Biden's reelection campaign. NBC News indicates that Harris, after the incident, spoke with Bellevue's police chief, and, in doing so, she "extend[ed] support to him and his family, a person familiar with the call said."

It is unclear, however, whether Harris ever spoke directly to Bereta. And, about now, he can really use her help.

The latest

On Friday, The Post Millenial reported that Bereta's health benefits are expiring.

Mo Hamoudi, Bereta's attorney, told The Ari Hoffman Show, "This is a crisis what's happening here…he's losing his benefits, and he's going to have to go on COBRA. And, if anybody knows anything about COBRA, it's very expensive coverage. It's going to run him about a couple of thousand dollars a month."

Hamoudi continued, "It's also not the police department's responsibility, it's the city's responsibility. The police department has been very supportive of Kevin. It's that they (the city) are not agreeing to extend those benefits. It's a contract issue. And as we know, any contract can be modified and changed. An exception can be made."

The attorney went on to say that neither he nor Bereta has heard anything from Harris.

"We haven't heard anything from them. I mean, I am sure if somebody from the Vice President's office picked up the phone and called the city of Bellevue and said, ‘Hey, don't cut this guy's benefits’ …you think that would move the needle one direction or another," Hamoudi said.