Coroners Seek First Responder Status in Alabama

0:00Reporting from the Daily News Now, I'm Corey with the latest in Birmingham. Corners across Alabama are pushing to be added to Senate Bill 293. The bill, sponsored by State Senator April Weaver from Breyerfield, creates a new crime called interference with the first responder. Right now it protects police, firefighters, and emergency medical workers at crime scenes. The push comes from folks like Morton County Corner, Jeffrey Chun, who's been on the job for 15 years after a career in law enforcement. He points out that Corners often arrive at death scenes first, especially in rural areas, sometimes before deputies or even alone if it's not a criminal case. Chun and others highlight real dangers. Like dealing with upset family members, plus the heavy emotional load from handling homicides, suicides, accidents, and worse. Without first responder status, they miss out on mental health support and injury protections that police and fire get. Officers like the Alabama Corners Association and the Training Commission have met with

1:00lawmakers to request the change. But Chun says he's hit resistance from Weaver and others so far. The offense would be a class A misdemeanor with up to one year in jail and fines up to $6,000. Chun hopes the bill gets updated to match the realities on the ground. This story is made possible by our sponsor, see the episode description, lay back, press play. Let the pillow do the rest, Sal meets comfort, S-O-L-I, solely pillow.com.