Councilman Explains Why he Voted Against Funds for First Responders

Chattanooga, TN (WDEF) – Thanks to City Council, 28 Chattanooga Police Officers and other city employees will receive payments, after suffering psychological trauma during the July 16th terror attacks.

Tuesday council members voted 9-1 to exempt the first responders from a city code regulation, which states employees can’t accept compensation for services performed in the normal course of their job.

Councilman Larry Grohn voted against the exemption, arguing the July shooting wasn’t out of their normal course of work, "By signing up for SWAT you’re automatically signing up for, and training for, these duties which could be horrendous."

Councilman Grohn went on to suggest the city find other ways to compensate psychological trauma, instead of paying first responders for extreme situations and not others, "Kudos to the National Center for Victims of Crime and the National Compassion Fund, but I think the city still has a long way to go in a lot of areas, and this is one of them."

Most of the money raised by the National Compassion Fund will go to the families of the five men who died in the attack. Three people who were physically injured will receive a portion, and the last of it will go to the 26 service members who survived.