15.518 Law Enforcement Professional Development and Wellness Program --
884 words·~4 min read·
/ky/15-518A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.
Administrative regulations -- Confidentiality of program participant's
communications and data -- Exceptions -- Law Enforcement Professional
Development and Wellness Program fund -- Leave following critical incident.
(1)As used in this section, unless the context requires otherwise:
(a)"Commissioner" means the commissioner of the department;
(b)"Department" means the Department of Criminal Justice Training of the
Justice and Public Safety Cabinet;
(c)"Fund" means the Law Enforcement Professional Development and Wellness
Program fund established in subsection
(8)of this section; and
(d)"Program" means the Law Enforcement Professional Development and
Wellness Program established in this section.
(2)The department shall develop a Law Enforcement Professional Development and
Wellness Program.
(3)The program shall use seminar-based peer support and counseling services designed
to reduce negative mental and behavioral health outcomes.
(4)The program shall be offered to Kentucky law enforcement officers and
telecommunicators at least two
(2)times each calendar year.
(5)On a limited basis, the program may be offered to law enforcement officers from
states other than Kentucky upon application to and approval by the commissioner.
However, no Kentucky law enforcement officer or telecommunicator may be denied
admission to the program if law enforcement officers from another state are
admitted to the program.
(6)The department shall promulgate administrative regulations in accordance with
KRS Chapter 13A to implement this section. The administrative regulations shall
address, at a minimum:
(a)The required qualifications and duties of any person used by the department to
implement or administer the program;
(b)The curriculum, programming, seminar type, and treatment modalities used in
the program;
(c)The extent to which a participant's relatives or friends may participate in
seminars;
(d)The standards by which law enforcement officers from other states may be
accepted into the program by the commissioner; and
(e)A protocol for establishing reciprocity for interagency assistance with other
state, federal, and tribal law enforcement agencies and officers in
administering the program.
(a)Except as provided in paragraphs
(b)and
(c)of this subsection,
communications, identifying data, and any reports made in the application for
or in the course of an officer's or telecommunicator's participation in the
program shall be confidential and privileged from disclosure in any civil or
criminal proceeding and shall not be subject to discovery, disclosure, or
production upon the order or subpoena of a court or other agency with
subpoena power, regardless of who possesses them. The participating officer
or telecommunicator is the holder of the privilege.
(b)The department may use anonymous data for research, statistical analysis, and
educational purposes.
(c)Any communication making an actual threat of physical violence against a
clearly identified or reasonably identifiable victim or an actual threat of some
specific violent act may be revealed by the program in order to prevent the
commission of any physical violence or violent act using the protocol
established in KRS 202A.400.
(a)There is hereby established in the State Treasury a restricted fund to be known
as the Law Enforcement Professional Development and Wellness Program
fund.
(b)The fund shall consist of moneys received from the Kentucky Law
Enforcement Foundation Program fund established in KRS 15.430, grants,
gifts, state appropriations, and federal funds.
(c)The fund shall be administered by the department.
(d)Amounts deposited in the fund shall be used only for administration of the
program.
(e)Notwithstanding KRS 45.229, fund amounts not expended at the close of a
fiscal year shall not lapse but shall be carried forward to the next fiscal year.
(f)Any interest earnings of the fund shall become a part of the fund and shall not
lapse.
(g)Moneys deposited in the fund are hereby appropriated for the purposes set
forth in this section and shall not be appropriated or transferred by the General
Assembly for any other purposes.
(a)For the purposes of this subsection, "critical incident" means any event that
has a stressful impact sufficient enough to overwhelm a peace officer's usual
coping strategies. These events may include:
1. An officer-involved shooting;
2. A vehicle crash resulting in serious injury or death to an officer or
citizen;
3. An officer being the victim of a felonious assault;
4. The death of a colleague or partner;
5. The death of, or serious injury to, a person in the custody of the officer;
6. The severe injury to, or death of, a child, particularly if the officer has a
child of or near the same age; or
7. An incident involving multiple deaths or injuries in a short amount of
time.
(b)Any peace officer involved directly in a critical incident may take up to forty-
eight
(48)hours of leave immediately following a critical incident. This leave
may commence upon:
1. The completion of that peace officer's shift encompassing the critical
incident, or when all necessary administrative procedures relating to a
critical incident have been completed; and
2. The officer informs his or her supervisor.
(c)This leave may be unpaid or paid leave. The pay status is to be determined by
the officer's employment contract, collective labor agreement if any, or by
written departmental policy.
(d)This subsection shall not be construed to set aside any employment contract,
labor agreement, or departmental policies that grant more than forty-eight
hours of leave following an officer involved critical incident.