Ohio Senator Thomas Patton (R-Strongsville) is working on a bill in the General Assembly in the State of Ohio to ban broadcasters (including radio, television and Internet) from airing 9-1-1 calls.
The bill would allow for the transcriptions of 9-1-1 calls to be read by broadcasters, but the audio portion would not be allowed to be aired under Patton's proposal.
Broadcasters would be fined $10,000 for a violation.
According to the Columbus Dispatch, Patton argues people may not call 9-1-1 to report a crime if they fear their identities could be revealed or identified by their voice.
Patton doesn't feel 9-1-1 calls should be confidential, just not aired.
Of course, Ohio broadcasters fiercely opposed a previous attempt at the legislation and will again, says Christine Merritt, executive vice president of the Ohio Association of Broadcasters tells the Dispatch.
Coming up Monday at 7 pm on Channel 3 News, Senator Patton will join us live in the studio for our "Focus" segment to debate with Channel 3 Anchor Eric Mansfield.
We'll have reaction and post the interview on Monday following its airing here on the Director's Cut Blog.
