Police-supported PTSD bill fails at State Capitol
A bill to cover post-traumatic stress disorder treatment under worker's compensation failed once again at the State Capitol Monday. Officers at the Norwalk Police Department say they are in need of
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Apr 19, 2016, 6:22 AM
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Updated 3,173 days ago
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A bill to cover post-traumatic stress disorder treatment under worker's compensation failed once again at the State Capitol Monday.
Officers at the Norwalk Police Department say they are in need of coverage for PTSD.
Police say an officer who can't pay for counseling will not get it, leaving that officer to be put back on duty.
Norwalk Police Sgt. Dave Orr says many officers were diagnosed with PTSD after the Sandy Hook school shootings.
"The investigators were on scene for days on end, amidst the carnage that was inside that classroom and the entryway," he says.
Long-term PTSD treatment typically requires police officers and firefighters to use their own health insurance and paid time off.
Nationally, insurance figures show mental health injuries average anywhere from $20,000 to $150,000 each.
Sgt. Orr says the cost of leaving PTSD untreated is much higher.
"There are mental scars that those men and women are going to deal with the rest of their life, associated with what they saw, what they heard," he says.
Supporters say the bill may not be dead just yet. They plan to track in onto another piece of legislation and try to pass it that way.
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