Police unions sue Erie County over COVID-19 names
The courts have become involved in the dispute between local police and Erie County government over the release of names of COVID-19 patients.
The labor unions for police officers in the city of Erie and Erie County are suing the Erie County Department of Health over its policy of giving the county 911 center the addresses of the patients but not their names.
The police unions are claiming the Department of Health, by not providing the names to the 911 center, is violating the department’s duty to be “responsible for the prevention and control of communicable and non-communicable diseases” under the state’s Disease Prevention and Control Law.
The Department of Health’s “failure to comply” with the law “with regard to the COVID-19 disease pandemic places every active police officer and law enforcement member in danger of exposure, contraction and the attendant consequences of COVID-19,” the suit claims.
Read more: https://www.theintell.com/news/20200422/police-unions-sue-erie-county-over-covid-19-names
(Doylestown Intelligencer)