Gradual build for tuesday. Fast track lanes moving well. Back to you. We have breaking news where at least 20 people are dead, killed when two trains collided head on. Dozens of others were hurt. Take a look at the damage there. The crash happened on a single track railway line. Both trains had full cars and rescue crews are trying to get to more victims. Italys Prime Minister described the crash as quote a moment of tears. We are monitoring all the information coming into our news room. We will bring you updates as soon as we get them. Happening today family members of the vallejo woman believed to have been kidnapped for ransom will hold a News Conference, the first time we are hearing from the family. The victims family will be out here talking to the media getting us more information about the bizarre and disturbing case. Elvira babb has been missing for two weeks last seen by a coworker who dropped her off at sea food city. Her son got a text message asking for a 60,000 ransom. He
During my 23 years as a Police Officer from the oldschool you didnt see that but now you do. You see that probably because of social media and more exposures to a bad health can do to you. I think also young officers are more apt to go for psychological help if they need it. Again the oldschool probably not so much. One of the sad things i have seen in my research into ptsd is that when they look up a mortality studies of Police Officers, Police Officers compared to the general population die at a younger age. Some 10 years younger on average than those in the general population. So we are seeing greater numbers of death of cardiovascular disease among younger officers which is kind of surprising and kind of shocking. The thing you should understand about stress is its cumulative as you are continually exposed to trauma day after day and stress day after day eventually is going to wear your system down. Some of our Research Shows for example the body becomes this regulated under chroni
Over 146 officer fatalities per year. That is a shocking number. One officer killed somewhere in america every 60 hours. All right. But the good news is that numbers are going down. If you go back to the 1970s we were averaging 231 officers killed in the line of duty each and every year. That means the 146 number i cited is 37 lower than it was 40 years ago. That is at a time we have double number of officers serving and putting themselves at risk. Would you have expected that number would have gone up, not down. There are a number of factors that are responsible for that and i have enumerated some of them in my written testimony. I want to just spend a moment though reemphasizing the leadership that the attorney general of the United States eric holder, has focused on issue of officer safety and wellness. Im not sure he is getting enough credit for his leadership. Just a few years ago, when deaths were spiking, 171 officers killed in 2011 he held a summit in his office with about 40 L
We have one on skype. Well start with chief zachery, the Public Safety director woodway, texas, and immediate past president of the International Association of chiefs of police. Yost, good to have you. Thank you, sir. Thanks for inviting me to testify today. My name is yost zachery, immediate past president of the im sorry i wasnt able to join you in person today. I intended to but my flights were canceled. I began Law Enforcement dispatcher woodway in 1979 and im still there today and currently serve as a chief and a director of the Public Safety department. One of my main duties as a chief is to ensure safety and wellbeing of my officers is there. This means making sure they have the proper training and equipment they need to do their job safely so they can return home each and every day to their loved one. During my time as president iecp, officer safety and wellness was one of my top priorities. Its always been a top priority of iecp. It is the position of that organization that n
Bulletproof vest program, Critical Resources to enable state and local Law Enforcement jurisdiction to purchase their lifesaving vests. It is imperative the program be funded and reauthorized with Adequate Funding. Physical wellness is a huge part of an officers safety. A fit officer will be able to serve his or her Community Better as well as provide better support to his or her fellow officers. It is imperative chiefs promote wellness within their departments and encourage their officers to get regular physical checkups and exercise frequently. The iecp center for officer safety and wellness can be a resource for Law Enforcement in this area. The center promotes health and wellness as part of reducing officer injuries initiative. Iecp released the impact of fitness and weight on injuries fact sheet, reducing officer injuries final report, which highlights the importance of physical wellness. Recently iecp also released two resources examining the importance of officer nutrition. A gu