Advocates from Lubbock want to make it easier for first responders who have been hurt on the job. Monday they had some success on the House floor.
“Lubbock and the Police Department, the Sheriff’s Office…there’s no better law enforcement community than there in Lubbock County,” Retired LPD Officer Jacob Flores said.
The responders are top of the line, but members of the West Texas Crime Victim Coalition don’t believe they’re getting the care they need.
After breaking his leg in 2014, Flores assumed he just had bad luck with worker’s compensation. It wasn’t long before he realized that he wasn’t alone.
“Talking to several officers within our department, and then other officers outside our department, and eventually talking to officers throughout the state [I realized] that this wasn’t just an isolated incident,” Flores said, “It’s happening all throughout Texas, and it’s affecting all of our first responders.”
Crime Victim Coalition President Mary Duncan has been working on Bill 2082 with Representative Dustin Burrows for over a year. The bill aims to designate a liaison between an injured first responder and their department to help with workers’ compensation claims.
Flores said when he first got injured, he wasn’t sure who to contact.
“Having someone specifically assigned to an officer to walk them through the process is going to be a smooth ride for the officer to get the things he needs and back to recovery.”
And whether you think so or not, advocates argue that this bill affects everyone.
“Once law enforcement and first responders get the proper medical care they need in order to get back to the duty positions they serve, then it makes the community a whole lot safer than sending an officer that is still injured, that’s struggling throughout the day to serve the citizens.”
