Fresh Intel: The Weekly Roundup
Weekly News Roundup submitted by Ron DeLord
News and commentary impacting police, deputies, corrections, fire, emergency services and public employees throughout the United States. You can access the full article by clicking on the link. Articles are archived on my web page for those searching for information on a particular topic. The posting of an article does NOT reflect my opinion.
Find more police, fire, and public employee labor news from Ron on Twitter @RonDeLord
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Stealth Mode? Built-In Monitor? Not All Body Cameras are Created Equal
Amid the recent pressure on police to wear body cameras, one thing is often overlooked: Not all cameras are created equal. In fact, cameras vary a lot — and the variations — some contentious — can have a profound effect on how the cameras are used and who benefits from them. Take the buffer function.
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‘Frustrated’ Union, Auburn Police Chief Clash Over Training, Equipment, and Other Issues
The crumbling walls of the Auburn Police Department building house an organization that may have its own internal issues. As officers are working as hard as ever, on pace to respond to more than 30,000 service calls this year, police union leaders believe potential public safety issues exist as the uncertain futures of various police assets linger.
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Advisory Opinion: Double-time Holiday Pay Can’t Count Toward Firefighter Pensions
The Illinois Department of Insurance is advising the Springfield Firefighters Pension Board to halt allowing double-time holiday pay to be factored into firefighter pension calculations, a longtime practice that’s been called into question. For each holiday that isn’t worked, Springfield firefighters receive an additional eight hours of regular hourly pay, which factors into pension calculations.
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Eyeing Police Proposal, Firefighters Union Will Move to Ratify Contract
The rank-and-file firefighters union will move ahead next week with a vote to ratify their contract with the city, union president Steve Cassidy told POLITICO New York. Cassidy, who leads the Uniformed Firefighters Association, had placed the contract on hold until the union that represents rank-and-file police officers, which is currently in arbitration proceedings, reached a deal with the city.
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Another Attempt at Paycheck Protection
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — The House sponsor of what supporters call “paycheck protection” and opponents call “paycheck deception” wants to file that bill again in 2016.
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Denver Police Going Ahead With Body Cameras Despite Union Lawsuit
DENVER (CBS4) – The Denver Police Protective Association filed a lawsuit against the City of Denver on Wednesday over its body camera policy and the Denver Police Department has responded to the suit. The association said it supports the use of body cameras but objects to the city’s “failure to seek input from the 1,310 Denver police officers represented by the association.”
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Arbitrator’s Draft Contract Backs Police Union Into a Corner
The head of the city’s rank-and-file police officer union seems to have lost a bid to get substantial raises for the city’s 24,000 officers. In a draft contract distributed Monday, an independent arbitrator proposed that Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association president Patrick Lynch’s officers follow a bargaining pattern established by their uniformed counterparts that would grant them only 1 percent raises for two years.
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Cleveland Voters Approve Change to Civil Service Hiring Rules, in Compliance with DOJ Consent Decree
CLEVELAND, Ohio — Voters in Cleveland adopted a city charter amendment Tuesday, changing the city’s civil service hiring rules in an attempt to boost diversity on the payroll and meet the requirements of a consent decree with the U.S. Department of Justice. The amendment, which passed with 64 percent of the vote, gives the city greater flexibility in choosing candidates for civil service positions.
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Local Police Push for Pay Raises
Lawton police officers want the City Council to increase pay for officers already on the local force before implementing plans to hire new ones. The union, whose membership voted Oct. 13 for impasse in contract negotiations between the City of Lawton and the union, has been in contract talks with the city since spring.
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Atlanta Employees Lose Pension Lawsuit Against the City
The Georgia Supreme Court ruled in favor of the City of Atlanta in a class action lawsuit filed by firefighters, police and other city employees over changes to the city’s pension system. Plaintiffs claimed a 2011 ordinance increasing their contribution is unconstitutional.
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Harteau Pledges ‘Holistic’ Plan to Combat Violence
Little more than a month after her reappointment as Minneapolis’ top cop, police Chief Janeé Harteau on Monday announced new initiatives to fight crime, improve community relations and replenish the police force’s ranks.
Among the changes, Harteau said, was the creation of specialized units to investigate gun violence, gang-related crime and cold cases.
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East St. Louis Police Picket to Protest Police Layoffs
EAST ST. LOUIS – Members of Fraternal Order of Police Union Local 126 took their frustration to the street Monday morning, fed up with not being able to get the city manager to find other ways to reduce the city’s budget besides cutting police officers from the payroll.
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As Cadillac Tax Threat Looms, How Can Unions Respond?
Your employer has already brought it up in bargaining, or else is about to: the health care headache known as the “Cadillac tax.” How hard are unions getting hit—and what can we do about it? Labor Notes interviewed Mark Dudzic, coordinator of the Labor Campaign for Single Payer, which just issued a new report on the tax.
Download it atlaborforsinglepayer.org.
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Chicago Police Hope to Attract More Minorities to the Force
The Chicago Police Department is making a push to increase the number of minorities on the force as it announces it will administer the first police exam since 2013. At a Monday news conference, Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy says the number of African Americans and Hispanics on the force is not as high as he’d like — particularly in the department’s upper ranks.
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What a Texas Department is Doing to Recruit More Women
AUSTIN, Texas — Jessica Robledo stood before a group of three dozen women scattered throughout the pews of a cavernous East Austin church. “Today is your day,” Robledo proclaimed to the group. “Today is about YOU! Be selfish.”
She paused, pacing up and down the center aisle. “Women have a tendency to put everybody ahead of them, and they leave themselves in the back,” She looked at a little boy sitting with his mother.
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L.A. County Supervisors Approve Three-Year, 10% Pay Increase for Deputies, Firefighters
Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies, firefighters and members of several other employee groups will get a 10% pay increase over three years under contracts approved Tuesday by county supervisors.
The agreements mirror deals approved in September for lifeguards, public defender investigators and supervisors in the sheriff’s and probation departments.
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Ohio Bill Seeks to Open Review When Officers Use Deadly Force
COLUMBUS, Ohio — A bipartisan proposal in Ohio seeks to provide a more transparent investigative process when a law enforcement officer fatally shoots another person.
A bill recently introduced by state Reps. Alicia Reece, a Cincinnati Democrat, and Jonathan Dever, a Madeira Republican, would require law enforcement agencies to adopt written policies for investigating officers involved in firearms-related deaths.
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Reed Signals Thaw in Feud With Public Safety Workers
ATLANTA — Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed signaled a thaw in an ongoing feud with public safety workers Monday, after the Georgia Supreme Court ruled in favor of the city in a lawsuit filed by firefighters, police and other city employees over changes to the city’s pension system.
The ongoing suit had led Reed to withhold raises to public safety personnel. The mayor said he wouldn’t give raises to employees who had sued the city.
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SAPD Applicants No Longer Excluded for Previous Cocaine Use
SAN ANTONIO – A past night of youthful partying and experimenting with drugs no longer means an automatic end to dreams of a law enforcement career with the city of San Antonio.
Under recent changes made to the Fire Fighters’ and Police Officers’ Civil Service Rules, some candidates who used cocaine in the past may be able to qualify for a job as a police officer.
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Sheriff Outlines Policy for Body Cams
The Ventura County Sheriff’s Office is getting very close to equipping its deputies with body-worn cameras.
During a presentation to the Thousand Oaks City Council on Oct. 20, Sheriff Geoff Dean said it was his intention to have deputies wearing the recording devices by the end of the year.
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UAW Embarks on Social-Media Blitz to Enlist Support for Labor Deal
Leaders at the United Auto Workers union have launched a social-media blitz to help sell a new tentative labor deal ahead of a critical vote this week, hoping to persuade skeptical rank-and-file workers to support the pact after poor communication contributed to a previous agreement being rejected by a wide margin.
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