Category: Recent Developments

A Prince George’s County police officer was suspended Tuesday after the department said it learned of a photo in which the man flashes his gun and badge while wearing a campaign T-shirt supporting President Trump — a violation of the department’s social media policy. The officer was not named in a department news release announcing the suspension and the department did not include the image in question. But a…

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OAKLAND, Calif. – Oakland city leaders are fine-tuning a plan to have two to three fewer fire engines able to respond to emergencies each day. The reason: Budget cuts due to COVID. Firefighter union leaders say it’s a dangerous idea. “In the middle of a raging pandemic and wildfire season getting worse by the year, the idea of closing fire stations is absolutely ludicrous,” says union president Zac Unger. No fire…

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The union that represents more than 3,600 Los Angeles city firefighters has agreed to push back a 4.5% raise scheduled for this summer, the latest concession offered up by a labor group as the city seeks to address a major budget crisis, according to a union bulletin sent Thursday. United Firefighters of Los Angeles City Local 112 tentatively agreed to postpone its next pay increase by 18 months in exchange for…

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Fraternal Order of Police President John Catanzara said the union is challenging all the suspensions, ranging from one day to 20 days, arguing that the officers did nothing wrong. The department declined to comment, and has not disclosed what, if any, penalties were handed out. The Chicago Police Department has doled out suspensions of up to 20 days against 17 Chicago Police officers and supervisors accused of sleeping on…

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A supermajority of aldermen called on the head of the union representing Chicago’s rank-and-file police officers to resign after praising the rioters who stormed and invaded the U.S. Capitol building last week. John Catanzara, head of the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 7 and an outspoken supporter of President Donald Trump, told WBEZ he understood the frustration that led to the riot Wednesday, which left five dead including one…

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In the months since George Floyd’s death, Kroll has faced calls to resign from many community groups. He was originally planning to retire at the end of May. MINNEAPOLIS — The controversial head of the Minneapolis police union has announced his intention to retire at the end of the month. In a letter to the members of the Police Officers Federation of Minneapolis obtained by KARE 11, Kroll wrote…

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HENDERSON, Ky. — Six months out from a new fiscal year and county officials are already thinking about the 2021-2022 budget. Specifically, they are considering what to do regarding increasing pay for Henderson County sheriff’s deputies. During a Henderson County Fiscal Court meeting in early 2020, Sheriff Ed Brady read a statement to the magistrates telling them that due to retirements and retention issues, the department was heading for a…

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ATLANTA – Atlanta Police Union officials say the city’s already low manpower situation has worsened as more police officers turn in their badges. Multiple sources inside the Atlanta Police Department and City Hall tell FOX 5 that police supervisors have had to deny days off to officers just during the workweek. Atlanta cannot graduate police recruits quickly enough to stem the number of officers leaving — another 15 exiting in December.  “APD…

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JAMESTOWN – Mayor Eddie Sundquist tells WRFA that the city of Jamestown will have to pay an estimated $1.1 million in back pay to members of the Jamestown Kendall Club police union, following the announcement last month that the highest court in New York State has refused to hear the city’s appeal regarding an arbitration ruling. Last month the New York State Court of Appeals announced it would not take up the appeal by Jamestown involving…

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A police officer in Essex County who was fired over a year ago after he filed suit against Caldwell and its police chief alleging his bosses made racist remarks will get his job back, a judge has ruled. Lt. Michael Geary was terminated by a 4-0 borough council vote in December 2019 after a hearing officer determined he violated departmental policies, rules and regulations. Before his termination, Geary claimed in a…

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BALTIMORE (WBFF) – The union that represents Baltimore City Police Officers blames the rollout of the city’s new human resources system for smaller and missing paychecks for officers. In a tweet on Tuesday, Union President Mike Mancuso complained that “City leaders have shown nothing but contempt for our members by rolling out the new Workday HR system before it was ready.” The new system is supposed to modernize the…

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The Houston police officer who may face federal charges for participating in the Capitol takeover resigned Thursday, ahead of his disciplinary meeting with HPD Chief Art Acevedo, officials said. Tam Pham was placed on administrative leave Wednesday and scheduled to attend a disciplinary hearing with Acevedo — though the chief expressed doubt that the officer would attend. Pham, an 18-year veteran of the Houston Police Department, was believed to have attended the insurrection…

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Videos show pro-Trump rioters pulling three officers down a set of stairs during a violent attempt to breach the building. The Jan. 6 assault on the Capitol building by a pro-Trump mob left a police officer and a rioter dead. More than 50 members of the U.S. Capitol Police were injured, including 15 who required hospitalization, most of them with head wounds, according to Representative Tim Ryan, Democrat of…

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BOSTON (AP) — A former Boston firefighter who said she was sexually harassed by male colleagues while on the job, then denied a better position as retaliation for reporting the harassment, has reached a $3.2 million settlement with the city, her attorneys said Tuesday. The agreement with Nathalie Fontanez was finalized last month, said her attorneys, who include Gloria Allred. A message seeking comment was left with the city….

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SAN ANTONIO (KTSA News) – A Bexar County detention officer is under investigation for her role in the protests at the U.S. Capitol Wednesday. Sheriff’s Lt. Roxanne Mathai posted on social media numerous photos of herself and others during the pro-Trump events throughout the day. “We all have a right to assemble and to voice our opinions, but I do know that at a certain point, things became criminal…

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After getting fired from the Baton Rouge Police Department earlier this week, the vice president of the BRPD union filed a request for injunction Friday, asking a judge to order that he remain employed and retain his health insurance amid ongoing cancer treatments.  The court filing was the latest development in a longstanding feud between union leaders and Chief Murphy Paul, which culminated in Paul’s recent decision to fire…

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Since March, about 100 of Fairfax County’s firefighters and paramedics have tested positive for the coronavirus, which its union says is part of the hazard that comes with emergency calls involving residents who’ve been infected, then sleeping in sometimes crowded fire stations for days at a time. Yet only 14 of those first responders have had Virginia-funded workers’ compensation benefits approved by the county, forcing those who’ve had claims rejected…

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HARRISBURG — The state Department of Corrections defied federal guidelines and a doctor’s order last week, demanding that an officer who tested positive for COVID-19 come back to work at a Pennsylvania prison struggling to contain the spread, Spotlight PA has learned. The correctional officer, who asked to remain anonymous for fear of losing his job, tested positive in November and was scheduled to return Dec. 5, but his…

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NORMAN, Okla. (AP) — An Oklahoma judge ruled in favor of a police union that sued the Norman City Council for cutting the police budget amid calls from protesters to “defund the police” after the May death of George Floyd in Minneapolis. Carter County Associate District Judge Thomas K. Baldwin ruled Thursday that the council violated the state Open Meetings Act when it voted to slash $865,000 from the police budget…

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Officer Titus Moore, found dead at his South Side home, was quarantining with flu-like symptoms. The Chicago Police Department held off on deciding whether he died in the line of duty. Officer Titus Moore will get an honors funeral after all. The Chicago cop died Nov. 24 from what his family says was a coronavirus infection. They were upset the Chicago Police Department hadn’t declared that Moore — whose…

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A three-judge panel of the state Court of Appeals has upheld a Fayette judge’s ruling ordering the city of Lexington to reinstate and pay back wages to a jail employee who was fired in 2017 after he accepted a plea deal on three misdemeanor counts of unlawful transactions with a minor. The Court of Appeals decision, released Friday, upheld Fayette Circuit Court Judge John Reynold’s November 2019 decision that ordered former Sgt….

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CLEVELAND, Ohio — A Cleveland police dispatcher was fired Friday after investigators learned he spoke with Cuyahoga County Jail inmates while one the clock and repeatedly disrespected his boss. Cleveland Safety director Karrie Howard fired Charles McGeever after a police internal affairs investigation, city officials said in a statement issues late Friday. McGeever was hired in 1998. It’s the second time McGeever has been fired from the city; an…

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The FDNY has distributed a “five facts” memo detailing what they believe to be key information about the COVID-19 vaccines to members of the fire department and EMS as the date for potential vaccinations grows closer, a memo obtained by  NBC News shows. The news comes after a firefighter union poll released this weekend appeared to show reluctance among the corps of city first responders most likely to come…

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NEW BEDFORD, Mass. (WJAR) — New Bedford city councilors approved an ordinance impacting non-resident municipal employees by way of a 10% pay cut. The residency requirement ordinance encourages city workers to live where they work, but there are some exceptions. It passed 10-1 at the New Bedford City Council meeting on Thursday. Debora Coelho was the only city councilor who expressed concerns. A copy of the ordinance says exceptions include…

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“I think it’s creating a potentially dangerous situation for both the firefighters and the public,” said the president of Kansas City’s firefighters union about the department’s policy for the virus.  Kansas fire department is asking firefighters who have been exposed to COVID-19 but haven’t tested positive for the virus to stay on the job. The Kansas City Fire Department policy has the firefighters union concerned for the safety of…

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