of New York (APBA). While Auxiliary Police Officers are not full-time employees of the NYPD, they face many of the issues regular Police Officers face regarding working conditions, including safety, disciplinary actions, and uniform allowance reimbursement. Membership is voluntary. Line-of-duty deaths Since the establishment of the New York City Police Department Auxiliary Police, seven officers have died in the line of duty. Controversy Currently, there is major controversy over benefits afforded to Auxiliary Police Officers. Under New York law stated above, Auxiliary Police are trained "peace officers", but do not have on- or off-duty status. In 2008, the federal government denied death benefits for the families of Auxiliary Police Officer's Eugene Marshalik and Nicholas Pekearo, who were killed in the line of duty, due to their lack of peace officer status when they were killed. After an appeal, the federal government reversed their decision and approved their death benefits. In January 2018, a former NYPD Auxiliary Police Officer began a lawsuit against the department and the Auxiliary Police Section in particular, for not adequately nor professionally processing her allegations of sexual harassment on two of her supervisors out of the Queens police precinct she worked out of. Her allegations, written into a formal complaint to the Division of Human Rights, said that on the night of August 22, 2017, her Coordinator (Police Officer Andrew Thaler) and one of her Auxiliary Police Supervisors (A/Sergeant Rohnit Singh) texted her following her regular tour of duty that night. They allegedly proceeded to insist, against departmental policy, to ask her to get off of her local bus early and meet them a block back in the direction of their station house. Upon arrival, the former APO claimed that she was molested by Officer Thaler and that her patrol supervisor, Auxiliary Sergeant Singh, stood by in the front of the NYPD vehicle they were in. After noticing that she wasn't interested, Officer Thaler had her dropped back off at the bus stop and returned to their assigned duties. Following a formal complaint to the NYPD regarding the incident, she was removed from the Auxiliary Police and given the reason that she broke departmental policy by entering the vehicle, knowing fully that it was in violation of said policies. As of April 2018, she is still fighting the department and the Auxiliary Police Section. Awards and decorations Medal of Honor (Solid green bar speckled tiny gold