Fire service leaders don’t lose sleep because the job is dangerous; we lose sleep when we know what the right move is but can’t make it. That is moral distress, and it can be heavy.The term moral distress first appeared in healthcare research decades ago to describe what happens when professionals k
HENDERSON, NV — In 2022, two Henderson police officers stood watch at a crime scene while grumbling about a labor shortage. Four years later, the complaint appeared distant to the police chief as the department touts a “near-zero” vacancy rate.The Henderson Police Department revealed training had be
HELENA, MT — The Helena Firefighters labor union says they’ve been fighting for fair wages for their staff since 2024. Recently, an arbitrator determined the city of Helena will need to pay $900,000 in back pay distributed between 36 firefighters after failing to negotiate a new salary contract in 2
PLEASANTON, CA — The Pleasanton City Council will review a new labor agreement with the Pleasanton Police Officers Association, and hear a presentation from the department regarding local crime trends.The council will first receive a presentation on local trends in property and violent crime. Accord
SAN DIEGO, CA — The president of the San Diego Police Officers Association is out less than a year after he was installed. That’s because Police Chief Scott Wahl is trying to fire him, reports Will Huntsberry. What happened: Earlier this year, Sergeant Jeremy Huff took to Facebook and brashly defend
AKRON, OH — Akron Police officers are now being required to process their own criminal complaints during a new weekend closure at the Akron Municipal Clerk of Courts Office, a move the Fraternal Order of Police Akron Lodge 7 says is adding pressure to an already short-staffed department.The change i
NEW YORK — Ty Wooten didn’t realize the weight of answering his first 911 call — until more than a decade later.A woman had dialed 911 to report that her husband had shot himself in front of her and their 7-year-old son, on the family’s living room couch. It was Wooten’s first call as a dispatcher.“
AKRON, Ohio – A new independent review of the Akron Police Department recommends sweeping changes to the department’s use-of-force policies, training, accountability systems and community engagement efforts as city leaders push to rebuild public trust in policing.Akron Mayor Shammas Malik commission
A federal judge on Tuesday refused to stop the Phoenix Police Department from holding a hearing that could lead to the firing of a sergeant who got into a confrontation at a Hamilton High School protest while off duty.Sgt. Dusten Mullen and the Arizona Conference of Police and Sheriffs asked U.S. Di
FORT WAYNE, IN — After one final issue held up a collective bargaining agreement between the city and a firefighter union, the arbitrator assigned to the case has come up with a solution.On Thursday, the City of Fort Wayne announced in a press release that an agreement had been reached with the Fort
BUFFALO, N.Y. — It’s a new era underway for the Buffalo Police Department with an outsider taking over as Commissioner Erika Shields was sworn in Monday. But now serious questions remain as the police union warns about staffing shortages, rising and the lack of a contract dating back to last year. A
NEW YORK, NY — On the public records search website 50-a.org, anyone can search through the roughly 523,000 misconduct allegations made against NYPD officers through the Civilian Complaint Review Board (CCRB). The third-party database compiles the complaint history of around 96,500 past and present
From NBC Bay Area.
A federal district court decision issued earlier this year in favor of Genoa Township, Ohio, in a firefighter hearing-loss discrimination case has now been docketed with the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals.The appeal follows a February 13, 2026 ruling by the U.S. District Court for the Southern Distr
BALTIMORE, MD — A growing staffing shortage in the Baltimore County Police Department is fueling a dispute over how many officers the agency is actually down — and raising concerns about response times and officer burnout.FOP President Douglass Jess said the department is facing far more vacancies t
NORTH ROYALTON, OH — The North Royalton Police Department has fired a patrol officer and demoted a sergeant following an internal investigation into the handling of confidential police records tied to a 2025 traffic stop that also sparked a whistleblower complaint.Police said in a press release that
AUSTIN, TX — The Austin Firefighters Association is rallying behind a lieutenant who was denied workers’ compensation despite battling terminal cancer.Suzanne LaFollette, a 19-year veteran of the Austin Fire Department, was diagnosed with Stage 4 ovarian and endometrial cancer in May 2025, but the c
WICHITA, KS — The issue of paid parental leave has boiled to the forefront of public discussion around the Wichita Fire Department’s contract negotiations.Despite Sedgwick County Fire and the Wichita Police Department both receiving paid parental leave within the last two years, WFD has to rely on a
Kingston police Sgt. Sam Blaski, the longtime leader of the local Fraternal Order of Police union, recently retired along with several other veteran officers from the Wyoming Valley, signaling a changing of the guard in the profession.Wilkes-Barre City police Chief Joseph Coffay retired to take over
CAPE CIRARDEAU, MO — International Association of Fire Fighters Local No. 1084 has filed a lawsuit against the City of Cape Girardeau, alleging municipal officials have not negotiated in good faith over a new contract.The suit contends negotiations involving city manager Ken Haskin and human resourc
CHARLOTTE, NC — CHARLOTTE (QUEEN CITY NEWS) — A legal battle between a CMPD employee and the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Fraternal Order of Police has officially come to an end, with North Carolina’s Court of Appeals ultimately siding with Char-Meck FOP.Sandra Vastola, who serves as Director of Public Aff
The city of Houston must pay $10 million to $12 million in additional raises to its firefighters after an arbitrator ruled in the union’s favor in a contract dispute, Controller Chris Hollins said Wednesday.The city’s 2024 contract with the Houston Professional Fire Fighters Association gave the fir
For any police officer charged with a felony in Massachusetts, discipline from the state’s police oversight board is automatic — their certification to work in law enforcement is suspended.But when officers are cleared of those criminal charges, either by acquittal or some other disposition, the Pea
