Category: Recent Developments

As the world watched a pandemic unfold last week, Pasadena Fire Chief Bertral Washington announced his retirement in an email to colleagues, quietly making an exit after a controversial reassignment to the City Manager’s Office led to weeks of City Hall protests. His last day will be April 10. Although Washington has avoided addressing the matter publicly, members of Pasadena’s black community — including two city councilmen — said the chief’s new position was simply…

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CAMDEN — Camden Fire Department members knew before the outbreak of COVID-19 that the loss of federal grant money might force layoffs. But receiving layoff notices this weekend — as part of a state-mandated 45-day notice — still felt like “a slap in the face to any first responder” in the midst of a public health crisis, as one firefighter put it. “It feels like we are expendable,” said Kevin Cooper, a…

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Chicago Police Union President ‘Not Happy’ With COVID-19 Protection For Officers CHICAGO — As cases of COVID-19 rise, so does the need for proper safety — and there’s not enough for hospitals and first responders. Some of those workers have tested positive for COVID-19 and some feel they have contracted it while on-the job.  At least four Chicago police officers have contracted the virus, and Fraternal Order of Police…

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Thirteen years ago, the state Court of Appeals upheld City Council legislation enacted over then-Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s veto granting uniformed status to Emergency Medical Service workers. The president of EMS Local 2507 of District Council 37 at the time, Pat Bahnken, was not as effusive as some might have expected over this ruling by the state’s highest court, simply saying, “I think this will enable us to address some…

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The head of the Kansas City police union said Tuesday that some officers rent trailers and keep two homes to skirt rules that require them to live within the city limits. The comment came during a contentious exchange between Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 99 president Brad Lemon and police commissioner Cathy Dean, during a monthly meeting of the Kansas City Board of Police Commissioners. During the exchange, Dean questioned Lemon…

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DRACUT — Dracut Police Chief Peter Bartlett released an unsolicited statement on Monday defending himself against what a representative of the Dracut Police Patrol and Supervisor’s unions says are concerns they raised about management within the department. In Bartlett’s statement he said, “Leading a complex municipal police agency in the 21st Century is challenging work.” “Progressive police chiefs recognize the importance of supporting the law-abiding women and men under…

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SALEM — An Oregon Department of Corrections officer is suing the state, a former coworker and corrections officials for $7 million after he was attacked with a stun gun. The civil rights lawsuit filed last week on behalf of Michael Kilgus accuses Coffee Creek Correctional Facility of maintaining a culture of “silence enforced through violence, threats, and hazing,” The Statesman Journal reported. The lawsuit says Kilgus was tased in the back,…

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Cleveland Police Union Head Says Cops Should Focus On Major Incidents Amid Coronavirus Outbreak CLEVELAND, Ohio — The president of Cleveland’s police union said on Monday that officers should scale back “proactive policing” to protect officers from exposure to coronavirus. Cleveland Police Patrolmen’s Association President Jeff Follmer said he believes officers should focus on high-priority calls and crimes of violence and pay less attention to less serious calls like…

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LAS VEGAS (AP) — A veteran Las Vegas police officer who was fired for hesitating in a casino-hotel hallway in October 2017 while a gunman upstairs carried out the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history has been reinstated to his job, authorities said Friday. Officer Cordell Hendrex is due to return to work March 21 following an arbitrator’s ruling in his bid to get his job back, according…

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A proposal moving through the New Jersey legislature that allows police officers and firefighters to retire after 20 years of service has divided union members and local governments.  Under the current law, workers in the Police and Firemen’s Retirement System (PFRS) must be at least 55 years old to get retirement benefits. The pension plan guarantees half their highest-earned salary every year for the rest of their life. Right…

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PORTSMOUTH, Va. — Short staffing continues to put a strain on Portsmouth emergency services, according to the union representing the city’s firefighters and paramedics. Portsmouth City Council will soon review a budget for the next fiscal year. Portsmouth Professional Firefighters Vice President Levin Turner said the union plans to lobby for more money “This means a lot to them, the community’s safety means a lot to them,” Turner said….

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The Bellevue Police Department has closed two substations to limit contact with the public amid the COVID-19 outbreak. Meeghan Black with Bellevue Police said this decision was important for the people that volunteer at the department. “Our volunteers, there are 16 of them that rotate through the substations, are considered to be at high risk if they were to contract this virus,” Black said. “We’re trying to reduce unnecessary…

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AUSTIN, Texas — Austin Police Association President Ken Casaday said the Austin Police Department (APD) will pull some officers from specialized units and put them back on patrol shifts. “They’re being moved off of specialized units like from our organized crime division, from our highway enforcement unit and from our parks division. And it has to be done because we have shifts with only two people on it, normally when they should have…

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A 24 percent pay bump offered three years ago failed to convince enough psychiatrists to go to work in California’s prisons, where inmate suicides reached record highs last year, according to prison and union officials. Lawmakers and unions agree the record 38 suicides recorded last year reflect fundamental problems in the state’s correctional system, and that a lack of psychiatrists contributes to the problems. “We’ve got a serious issue,”…

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The City Council does not plan to change the mandatory retirement age for public safety employees, meaning Virginia Beach will have to say goodbye to Police Chief Jim Cervera in the next two months after he turns 65. “I moved to Virginia Beach because I fell in love with the city and because I thought it was an excellent police department,” Cervera said Monday morning after leading the department…

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BALTIMORE (WBFF) As Baltimore Police Commissioner Michael Harrison battles the city’s crime, the department is also under pressure to recruit and retain officers. Mike Mancuso is president of The Fraternal Order of Police, the city’s police union. Mancuso is speaking out through a letter that puts the commissioner and Mayor Jack Young under scrutiny. The criticism comes as Harrison and Young welcomed a new class of recruits Monday to…

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Menomonee Falls, WI (CBS 58) – Staffing and equipment issues have plagued the Menomonee Falls Fire Department over the last year and a half. And now the village’s fire union blamed a new financial restriction for causing more of the same problems. Fire station five was closed from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on March 6th. One firefighter called in sick and the village shifted the other firefighter to…

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ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WHEC) — A 30-year-old woman says she was disqualified as a candidate to be a Rochester Police Officer because the city’s Civil Service Commission considers her too short.  The paperwork filed in this case says Alanna Perna-Polisseni was disqualified because, among a list of reasons, she smoked marijuana when she was a teenager and she got a speeding ticket as a teenager. Perna-Polisseini appealed that decision.  Her…

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Members of Boston’s EMS union are blasting Faulkner Hospital for not properly informing paramedics of coronavirus testing that took place in their sub-station, leaving their workplace possibly contaminated, a letter obtained by the Herald alleges. The flare-up comes as state health officials on Saturday reported five new cases of coronavirus in Massachusetts, bringing the total to 13 cases. “The disrespect this shows is outrageous, we are willingly putting ourselves…

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MIDDLETOWN, Conn. (AP) — A flood of retirements has helped push Connecticut State Police overtime costs to nearly $23 million this fiscal year. The agency is on track to finish the fiscal year that ends June 30 with an estimated $30 million in overtime costs, which has led to a $5.8 million deficit in the budget of the Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection, Hearst Connecticut Media reported Wednesday. State…

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The Fire Department of the City of New York has ordered firefighters to stop responding to calls involving potential coronavirus symptoms. The order issued on Friday directs firefighters to stop supporting EMS paramedics and EMTs on 911 calls involving coughing, fever, difficulty breathing or possible asthma attacks, the New York Daily News reported.  FDNY firefighters all have certified first responder medical training, and they often respond to medical calls to…

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An Erie County community recently learned how uncertain EMS can be in rural towns. UNION CITY, Pa. (AP) — The first responders’ biggest fear was realized one night in December when someone called 911 for help in rural Erie County and nobody came. The first dispatch went to Union City Fire Co. When Union City couldn’t crew its ambulance, the call rolled over to neighboring Waterford Volunteer Fire Department….

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