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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
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State
Rep. Marc Gergely |
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Governor signs Gergely bill to protect law enforcement
HARRISBURG, July 9 – Law enforcement officers dealing with stressful incidents have new privacy protections after Gov. Ed Rendell today signed into law a bill authored by state Rep. Marc Gergely, D-Allegheny.
"This legislation was inspired by the murder of three Pittsburgh police officers last year," Gergely said. "With this new law, officers who have faced a difficult situation will have the freedom to speak with specially trained response teams without fear that their confidential comments will be used in any future legal proceeding.
"I commend the legislature and the governor for acting quickly to enact this new law. Our police officers, corrections officers and other public safety responders put their lives on the line to keep all of us safe. We have a responsibility to ensure their comments to Critical Incident Stress Management team members remain private."
Critical Incident Stress Management teams are deployed across the state to provide consultation, risk assessment, referral and on-site crisis intervention services to law enforcement officers following incidents claiming their colleagues' lives or involving the use of deadly force.
Gergely said CISM team members generally do not share information from discussions they have with law enforcement officers in legal proceedings, trials or investigations, but the law will protect them from having to deal with requests to do so.
"The crisis teams exist to help law enforcement officers who have been through a stressful situation on the job, such as the death of a fellow officer in the line of duty," Gergely said. "This ensures anything officers say to CISM teams remains private and confidential, and assures officers they can be as open and honest as they need to be when receiving crisis counseling and other services."
The law provides for exceptions, such as cases where the information indicates a clear and present danger to the law enforcement officer receiving services or other people; a law enforcement officer gives express consent to the testimony or voluntarily testifies; or the officer is deceased and the surviving spouse or estate administrator gives consent.