Meetings today with Rep. Fleming and Senator Reed
I returned to Frankfort today to advocate for Luke's Law and met with Rep. Fleming and Senator Reed. Typically, you get about 15 minutes to meet with your legislator and talk about your issue. That's not much time to share all my grievances from the systemic failures we have experienced in our journey.
Rep. Fleming was instrumental in passing HB777 which changed how formal EMS complaints are handled by the KY Board of EMS and how I learned that citizens could file formal complaints. I met with Rep. Fleming on two prior occasions before today to share my grievance about how my complaints have been handled. Today, I returned to share the findings from the Kentucky State Police investigation.
Rep. Fleming suggested that I reach out to Rep. Hart who is currently drafting a bill pertaining to EMS. It was Rep. Hart who informed me over a year ago that citizens have a right to appeal the KBEMS decision and referred me to the KRS statute. But by this time, the statute of limitations had expired for me to file an appeal. KBEMS never provided me with a written notice of the findings, nor did they provide me with information about my right to file an appeal.
After meeting with Rep. Fleming, I then met with Senator Reed who spent nearly 30 minutes with me before he had to rush off to a committee hearing. It was difficult to squeeze in all the facts from the very beginning of our incident, but I left him plenty of documents for his review and he agreed to look into my grievance. I also shared with him the findings from the KSP investigation and shared my frustration that all this evidence was never presented to a grand jury. The systems currently in place have continued to protect and silence the facts surrounding our incident and I'm sure there are others across the state that have similar grievances. I left the meeting appreciative that he took the time to listen, take notes, and honestly seemed interested in doing more research.
I have two meetings scheduled on Thursday with Rep. Decker and Rep. Hart to advocate for the recording of PIB hearings, improve the notification and appeal process for victims, and discuss the importance of body worn cameras. The Courier Journal is in communication with me regarding my advocacy and would like to hear from others who may have also had their rights violated by the KY Board of EMS regarding formal complaints. If you would like to share your story, please reach out to Lucas Aulbach - laulbach@courierjournal.com or Josh Wood - jwood@courier-journal.com
Lastly, thank you for your signature and support and let's keep spreading this petition and find others who want to bring transparency and accountability to KBEMS. I'll provide another update after my Thursday meetings. - Kim