A Lansford police officer injured on the job will receive full benefits while he completes his recovery.

Borough council voted 6-0 to approve officer Shawn Nunemacher's request under the Pennsylvania Heart and Lung Act.The Heart and Lung Act gives police officers access to benefits beyond normal workers' compensation. It allows police officers to receive 100 percent of their pay, tax free, while they recover from injuries incurred on the job."As you are aware officer Nunemacher was engaged in his duties and as a result he was injured. He is requesting Pennsylvania Heart and Lung Act," council president Martin Ditsky said.Workers' compensation usually pays two-thirds of a worker's salary. If an officer's request for heart and lung is approved, council agrees to pay the rest of his salary."We'll pay the heart and lung benefits from the general fund. When he gets his worker's comp check, it reimburses it," secretary Jill Seigendall said.Nunemacher was seriously injured on June 28 when his vehicle was struck by another car that had lost its brakes traveling down Route 902 into the borough.He has been out of work since the crash. Another person was seriously injured. No charges have been filed yet in the crash.Nunemacher was unavailable for comment Thursday.Councilman Joseph Butrie said that he wasn't "picking on anybody," but wanted to know why Nunemacher was driving his personal vehicle when the crash took place.Mayor James Romankow said that Nunemacher was traveling to the magisterial district judge's office in Lansford before heading home from the day. On top of that, all of the department's other cars were tied up."There's court, it's the end of the shift, all the other cars were being used for court that day," Romankow said. "He had a meeting with the ADA on charges he was filing, so he asked if he could take a personal car and go home."The benefits will continue until Nunemacher returns to work, or if it is determined he is medically unable to return to work.