Bill would alter law governing political activity by police, firefighters

As current Louisiana law stands, any police officer of firefighter who engages in political activity as minute as a retweet or a Facebook post automatically is terminated on the first offense.
Sen. Ryan Gatti, R-Bossier City, believes that is too harsh.
Senate Bill 84, which was approved without objection in the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee on Wednesday and sent to the full Senate for consideration, would change the law so that instead of being fired for the first offense police officers and firefighters would receive a 30-day suspension, pending an investigation.
Other members of the civil service already receive some form of due process and are not terminated on first violation, said Gatti.
Any member of the civil service is prohibited from public political action, such as giving campaign contributions, attending political rallies, or putting a bumper sticker on their cars. Gatti says that with the proliferation of social media, the opportunities for accidental or thoughtless violations are greater.
“We have these guys that had no fear about chasing criminals, the have no fear running into a burning building with 200-pounds of equipment on to save you,” Gatti said. “Their biggest fear is that they can get fired over a little Facebook post.