Atlanta's WSBTV Channel 2 Runs IBPO Story of Misreatment of Disabled Officers
Thanks to the hard work of the leaders of Atlanta’s IBPO Local 623 and the support of the national union, Atlanta residents are now learning about the city’s disgraceful treatment of five current and former officers who were badly disabled on the job.
Atlanta's WSBTV Channel 2 picked up the heartbreaking story and covered it in their broadcast Wednesday night (May 20). Watch the Channel 2 broadcast
Atlanta’s alternative Sunday Paper also covered the story in its Sunday, May 17, 2009 edition.
Local 623 President and National Vice President Scott Kreher worked with a local film crew and the national’s communications staff to produce a video (watch the video) revealing how the city’s workers compensation administrator and a third-party company have repeatedly denied payment for the medications, wheelchairs, and other treatments for five officers.
Four of those officers were shot in the line of duty; one was responding to a call when another car broadsided his. Four of the officers are paralyzed from the chest or neck down while the fifth suffers from severe migraines and had to learn to read and write again.
“The people responsible for treating these officers so callously should be ashamed of themselves,” said David J. Holway, IBPO national president. “These five heroes answered the call and paid with their bodies. The least the city can do is honor its commitment to give them proper, prompt care with dignity.”