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Sunday, April 28, 2019

‘Outrageous’ bill may release murderers, rapists back on city streets


A state bill that could unleash hundreds of locked-up murderers, rapists and other hardened felons is incensing New York City law enforcement officials who say it would undo years of crime-fighting.

The “elder parole” bill, which would grant parole eligibility to all inmates ages 55 and up who have been in prison at least 15 years, is “outrageous and idiotic,” said Staten Island District Attorney Michael McMahon.

The legislation would even extend to those serving life without parole, a group which includes famed criminals such as ‘90s serial killer Joel Rifkin, the Queens Wendy’s massacre mastermind John Taylor, and Bronx child rapist Clarence Moss.

The rush to let killers loose leaves the families of the victims by the wayside, said Queens Chief Assistant District Attorney John Ryan.

“The loved ones they lost are not coming back when the defendants turn 55 — they are never coming back,” Ryan told The Post.

The legislation has quietly flown under the radar since being introduced in the Assembly in February by Queens Democrat David Weprin.

The release of Weather Underground terrorist Judith Clark, paroled earlier this month after serving more than 37 years in prison, gave the bill’s backers a new talking point.

Sen. Brad Hoylman (D-Manhattan), who introduced the accompanying Senate bill about a week before Clark’s release, praised her parole, saying “there are so many more Judith Clarks out there” and “we must work to fight for their freedom.”

If the legislation — which has already moved through crime committees in both the Senate and Assembly — becomes law, 900 convicts could have a chance at freedom, according to Hoylman’s office.

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Sunday, April 21, 2019

Ledyard Police Chief supports the 911 SAVES Act, a pending federal bill that would classify dispatchers as first responders


Ledyard — Fires. Car crashes. Assaults. Suicides.

In each situation that a firefighter or police officer handles, a dispatcher is on the other end, calming the caller, gathering information and orchestrating the response.

“We’re often hearing people at their worst,” said Ruby York, a dispatcher in Ledyard for 21 years. “We’re the first person they talk to — and sometimes the last.”

Yet the federal Office of Management and Budget considers the position “clerical,” like a secretary, rather than “protective,” like an officer.

Police Chief John Rich said this past week that he supports the 911 SAVES Act, a pending federal bill that would change that designation, which he considers a slap in the face.

“I see them as first responders, most definitely,” he said. “The nature of their job is much more than clerical."

Rich said seven full-time and eight part-time dispatchers handle about 2,000 calls a month for American Ambulance, Ledyard police, Ledyard and Gales Ferry firefighters, and Preston and Poquetanuck fire and emergency medical services.

From their seats within the Colonel Ledyard Highway headquarters, the dispatchers let first responders know where construction sites are, or if they’ve been to a home multiple times in a short span. They ask callers if weapons are involved or teach people how to render first aid while services are en route. They relay information to responders and enter details into various databases.

“It’s a super technical job,” said Rich, who has been in law enforcement for 32 years. “They’re in there trying to juggle the whole situation."

“You realize very quickly the critical role of the dispatcher in the entirety of the picture on any call,” he added.

‘You don’t have time to decompress’

York, 51, said one of her craziest calls happened when she answered the phone and learned the caller was trapped in the trunk of her ex-husband’s car.

The car left York’s coverage area, so she transferred the call to another dispatch center, which promptly hung up.

“I made contact with that area and said, ‘Hey, you just hung up on a caller in the trunk of a car,’” York said, shaking her head. “They eventually found her — she was taped up and everything."

Michael Gilman, a part-time dispatcher who has done the work for 22 years, said one of his more memorable calls was from an elderly woman who had seen a pretty bird outside her home. “She was so concerned it was someone’s pet,” the 45-year-old said, smiling.

Taking advantage of a relatively quiet day, the pair kept exchanging silly stories.

“People call 911 because they know it’s the only number a human will answer all the time,” York said.

But the conversation in the dimly lit center soon took a darker turn.

York remembered learning from a caller that a driver had hit and killed a young girl. The girl's brother survived because he was on a snow bank, but he saw the whole thing.

Just a few weeks earlier, another pair of children had died in a crash, she said.

Gilman said he has listened to several people die.

“It's hard when they’re begging you for help and you keep telling them, ‘Help is on the way,’” he said. “Then you hear them fade away to the point that they’re not breathing.”

Asked how he copes, Gilman said, “I go on vacation.”

“I think (dispatchers) get forgotten in the aspect of being a witness to a traumatic event without being there,” Rich said. “But you’re a witness because it’s happening on the other end of the phone.”

York thinks the federal bill could make it easier for dispatchers to be diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, and may make legislators more likely to include dispatchers in future bills regarding mental health.

“We grew up in the era of, 'Suck it up and move on,'” York said. “So this legislation is huge for us.”

“Some days you just never get to come down from a call,” she said. “You don’t have time to decompress, you just compartmentalize. Some people move on, but it’s a cumulative stress.”

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Tuesday, April 16, 2019

Proposed Legislation Aims to Help First Responders Struggling With Psychological Trauma


SACRAMENTO -- First responders are often forced to deal with trauma on a daily basis and for some, it eventually takes a toll.
Now, per Fox40 lawmakers in California are trying to make it easier for firefighters, police officers and others in the emergency services sector to get help.
"In 2010, I was involved in a house explosion. It injured me, I was burned," said Mike Feyh.
Feyh said after that explosion he and his crew suffered trauma and signs of PTSD.
"Some of the research has shown that 20 percent of firefighters, public safety professionals, are suffering from some of these things," Feyh told FOX40.
Today, Feyh works with other firefighters on emotional health through peer support groups.
Whether it's near-death experiences fighting wildfires or responding to fatal calls, sometimes involving children, Feyh said first responders go through trauma they often don't know how to deal with properly.
"So, years after years they’ll throw one more thing in the closet and then someday it’ll just take one thing and it’ll kick that closet door open," he explained. "We started to realize regionally that we suffering one firefighter death a year from suicide."
Now, lawmakers are stepping in.
"So, we all come out and say thoughts and prayers for our first responders. 'We appreciate you.' But words are a little thin," said Sen. Henry Stern, D-Calabasas.
Stern comes from a district where in one year first responders handled a deadly mass shooting and a massive wildfire.
He authored Senate Bill 542 to provide first responders with workers' compensation while they recover from their mental health scars.
"People think that they need to be a tough guy when they do these jobs," Stern told FOX40. "The real toughness is in saying you need help. This bill is supposed to create that kind of space."
Feyh said it's an important step and one that might stop another firefighter or police officer from taking their own life or suffering in silence because of on-the-job trauma.
"Hopefully with this legislation, more people are gonna start to come forward and actually seek the help that they need," he said.
Sen. Stern said he hasn’t quite put the numbers together for a total cost but says it will likely be less than $10 million annually, a small sliver of California's multi-billion dollar annual budget.
The bill passed through the first committee without any opposition.

Monday, April 8, 2019

Texas campuses could soon have more armed marshals


In the first legislative session after a deadly shooting at Santa Fe High School that left 10 dead and 13 others wounded, the Texas Senate today advanced a bill that would abolish the limit on how many trained school employees — known as school marshals — can carry guns on campus.

Under the marshal program, school personnel whose identities are kept secret from all but a few local officials, are trained to act as armed peace officers in the absence of law enforcement. Currently, schools that participate in the program can only designate one marshal per 200 student or one marshal per building.

“School districts need to be able to tailor the school marshal program for their unique needs,” State Sen. Brandon Creighton, a Conroe Republican who authored Senate Bill 244, said about the legislation last week. “SB 244 removes those limitations in statute on the school marshal program to accommodate the unique needs of districts across the state.

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