Bill Would Give Police Weapons Back Sooner After Treatment

Monday, March 11, 2019 | 0

Connecticut lawmakers have yet to pass a PTSD presumption bill for first responders, but another bill could shorten the time that traumatized police officers would be off the job.

House Bill 5154, sponsored by Rep. J.P. Sredzinski, R-Monroe, would allow police who seek psychiatric care to carry their service firearm as soon as they are cleared to return to work, according to a local news report. Under current law, the officers lose access to their weapons for at least six months, which means many cannot work during that time.

Being out of work has led to depression among some officers, police testified at a House hearing this week.

"No other segment of the population faces job loss because they have to wait six months to carry a weapon,'' said Louise Pyers, executive director of the Connecticut Alliance to Benefit Law Enforcement. “Many officers will not seek help under these circumstances. The current statute does nothing to encourage our officers to seek help. In fact, it is a deterrent.”

The bill would still prohibit the treated officers from accessing other firearms, and Rep. Craig Fishbein, R-Wallingford, expressed reservations about that provision.

"You could create just as much damage with a service weapon,'' he said. “In the interest of public safety, why should I be OK with a service weapon being returned but still be concerned about the other guns?”

The bill is in the Joint Committee on Public Safety and Security.

Meanwhile, Senate Bill 699 has been assigned to the Senate Committee on Labor and Public Employees, but it has seen little action in the past six weeks. It would allow compensation for police and firefighters diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder.