Several area firefighters attended Wednesday’s Oneida County Board of Legislators meeting to ask the board to support them and pen a resolution calling for changes to state law that would protect their personal information from being released to defendants in criminal cases.
Under New York’s new discovery laws, prosecutors must release all case evidence to defense attorneys within 15 days. This includes the disclosure of names and adequate contact information for all people, with the exemption of law enforcement, that the prosecutor knows to have evidence or information relevant to charges.
Brian Healey, president of Oneida County Fire Chiefs Association, spoke Wednesday on behalf of three other fire officials who also attended the meeting. Healey asked that firefighters and other emergency services personnel be included with law enforcement and have their information excluded.