Ohio lawmakers at odds over PTSD coverage for cops, firefighters

Cops and firefighters suffering from PTSD want the condition covered by Ohio’s workers’ compensation system — something the Ohio House included in the BWC budget bill but the Senate stripped out.

Now the House and Senate are at loggerheads over which version of the bill should become law.The Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation is a state run insurance program for injured workers that pays their lost wages and medical expenses. It is funded by employer premiums and investment returns.READ MORE: 5 things to know about the Dayton region’s housing market Senators said they prefer to deal with the issue of covering post traumatic stress disorder as a standalone bill.“We were very disappointed to learn that the Ohio Senate removed the PTSD provision from the Ohio BWC budget,” said the Fraternal Order of Police of Ohio in a tweet. “We have been leading this effort to get first responders protected by this for years and the FOP of Ohio will not stop fighting for our members!”

Police and firefighters argue that they are exposed to trauma on the job but there is no help for them to cope with the mental toll that takes. Ohio has more than 30,000 police officers and firefighters.

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FOP says Baltimore Police Commissioner's crime fighting plan is nothing new

Baltimore Police Commissioner Michael Harrison has announced a new crime fighting strategy.  The commissioner says there will be an increased police presence and patrols in 120 of the city's most violent "micro-zones."

The Baltimore Police Union has issued a statement regarding the strategy, saying in part the micro-zones are nothing more than the regurgitation of past efforts.  At a news conference Tuesday, Harrison was asked about his thoughts about what the FOP said about his plan. "True leadership is defined by someone who can remain focused and not be dissuade by negative comments and opinions," said Harrison.  The FOP says this plan has an increased number of zones that previous plans and the shortage of officers with more zones to cover means a thinly-stretched Patrol Division.

Under Harrison’s plan, officers are required to patrol three times per shift in 120 of the city's most-violent "micro-zones" within their districts.  The two-block-by-two-block zones are where 30-to-40 percent of the city's serious violent crime occurred in the past five years.

As for how officers are expected to conduct the micro-zone patrol and respond to the an already high number of calls, the Commissioner says it's all part of good supervision that [they're] working and creating performance metrics and making sure supervisors are bought into the deployment strategy.

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Federal judge blocks ICE from making arrests inside Massachusetts courthouses

A federal judge in Massachusetts on Thursday blocked federal authorities from making civil immigration arrests inside the state's courthouses.

US District Judge Indira Talwani issued a preliminary injunction that blocks US Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Department of Homeland Security "from civilly arresting parties, witnesses, and others attending Massachusetts courthouses on official business while they are going to, attending, or leaving the courthouse," according to the court order.

The order follows a lawsuit from Middlesex County District Attorney Marian Ryan and Suffolk County District Attorney Rachael Rollins, the Committee for Public Counsel Services -- Massachusetts' public defender agency, and advocacy group Chelsea Collaborative. It also comes after a Massachusetts judge and a former court officer were accused in April of helping a twice-deported undocumented defendant elude immigration authorities by slipping out a rear courthouse door.

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Sanctuary cities could be banned in Michigan

Two Michigan senators have introduced legislation that would ban cities from adopting sanctuary city policies protecting immigrants in the United States illegally.

State Sens. Aric Nesbitt of Lawton and Tom Barrett of Charlotte, both Republicans, filed the bills on Wednesday. Nesbitt said he has a difficult time understanding while some local governments want to hinder enforcement of immigration laws.

“Local governments with sanctuary policies protect criminal illegal aliens instead of their own residents," he said. "This dangerous lawlessness must be stopped.”

Senate Bill 382 would amend state laws to prohibit a county from enacting a law or policy prohibiting local law enforcement from communicating or cooperating with immigration law enforcement.

Senate Bill 383 would do the same for cities, townships and villages.

Any local governmental body in Michigan with laws or policies in violation of the bills would have 60 days after the state law is enacted to change and get into compliance. The state could bring legal action against any governmental bodies refuse to comply.

“This is not only a public safety issue, but also an issue of allowing federal authorities to do their jobs,” said Barrett. “With this legislation we are sending a clear message to our local governments — follow the law."

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