Santa Barbara Police Department Mourn the Loss of Gina Battaglia

Black mold or Radon poisoning.. City has been fighting with SBPD's desire to move into a new Police Station. $$$$$$$$$$

https://www.kcbx.org/health/2015-08-05/city-investigating-employee-health-concerns-at-santa-barbara-police-station

https://www.santabarbaraca.gov/gov/depts/pw/engineering/publicimprovements/sbpdstation/default.asp

Radon takes years if not decades to form into lung cancer. It is highly prevalent in SB. Most people have never heard of radon, let alone test or fix their homes for this deadly, odorless, colorless gas that is the second cause of lung cancer in the US. Test your home folks, radon is a major problem in SB and one that neither the State of CA or the local real estate cabal discusses or requires the disclosure of...

Stachybotrys (black mold) is also a problem in SB. Very common in older homes near the water. The Mesa is one giant fungus. Most of those houses were built in the 60's and have very poor ventilation and terrible HVAC systems and many are infested with Stachybotrys. It causes all sorts of respiratory illnesses and can cause severe health issues that can last a lifetime. Test your home people! Your indoor air quality is likely unhealthy.

However, neither of these are sudden killers. Makes me wonder what exactly killed this officer while on duty? Shouldnt this info be public? Regardless, I am glad they're finally building a new station. Way overdue.

Coast, Sadly that is almost certainly the reason that the PD has classified her death as work-related. The family's death benefit is quite different if work-related.

COAST and 8:41am - are you saying they fudged the report to give the family more benefits?

"It is with a heavy heart we mourn the loss of one of Santa Barbara Police’s finest, Police Officer and Dispatch Supervisor Gina Battaglia, who passed away suddenly from a work-related illness in August 2021."...

The last sentence is why people are interested. She died suddenly form a work-related illness and as such, has been granted extraordinary benefits only given to those who die in the line of duty. Was she killed by another person? Was it a freak accident? Did she take her own life? Was it Covid that was acquired on duty?

Its not a stretch for the people who pay for these services, for whom these employees serve, to know what was the cause of this "sudden work related death". I am positive that the City of SB, the State of CA , OSHA and the slew of lawyers who will pound the city with wrongful death suits in addition to the people who live and work in and around the department want to know. And we as the public deserve the truth and the facts.

You'd think that a person who calls themselves Catlady, would understand curiosity... But then again...

Completely agree with Observer. Catlady, it is not a private matter if two city employees have died, more were sickened, and they all suffered from an illness acquired on duty. This isn't a private matter.

no it is a private matter. their job is their job, but their death isn't nor is it your business why they passed away. some of these comments are outrageous and callous. unless you personally knew her or the other officer, it's frankly none of your damned business. at all. These men and women are out there protecting us, catching bad guys, putting themselves at risk every day for you and your safety and the safety and peace of our community, but you think you have some weird right to get personal with them because they worked for the city? that's about as dumb as a bag of rocks. Many have caught COVID and are off duty. Many have got sick or injured or other reasons. They are already very short staffed and are working overtime. I know this as a fact. I have friends employed there. Go find a better hobby, because what you assume you have a right to know is nothing more than that, an assumption. Be respectful and back off. Our Police force deserves the same respect from us as we expect from them.

@ CATLADY- The unfortunate "line of duty death" of the Officer/Dispatcher is not a "private matter" if the death is related to her job. The taxpayers, City, other City employees and CAL-OSHA should be apprised of the cause of death if it is job / occupation related.

EOW - RIP.

SBTOWNIE - "two city employees have died, more were sickened, and they all suffered from an illness acquired on duty" - where does it say that any where?

@ SACJON- A "Teacher" is a different category of "Public Employee" I know you are a self professed know-everything, but Police, Fire and Harbor Patrol are PUBLIC SAFETY EMPLOYEES.... When a PUBLIC SAFETY EMPLOYEE dies and it is considered a "Line of Duty Death", it changes EVERYTHING. In fact, the State should be investigating and a public record of the cause of death in the LINE OF DUTY actually IS a public record... Why? because it changes the entire CALPERS retirement situation as well as finding out how to PREVENT further injuries or deaths to other Public SAFETY employees.

The capitals are unfortunate but I do agree with COAST here. Nothing wrong with making sure public employees are keeping to the book. It is nothing personal.

SBTOWNIE- your comment leaves me very conflicted but in a good way. This is a really well thought out comment. The patient deserves HIPAA privacy. But when it reaches a level that public sector employees are dying, the cause seems to be necessary. Was the family made a deal to keep it under the rug? Or were they made to feel comfortable so they wouldn’t release the info? If there was an exposure to something on the job, we’re all employees notified of their own possible exposure? There are a few fine lines to cross but I truly think there is a better and more transparent way to do this.

SBTOWNIE - "These people are civil servants" They're also parents, spouses, children, siblings, friends. You seem to forget that.

Sac, I don't follow your logic whatsoever. Ms. Battaglia was someone's friend, therefore the public has no right to know what she died of while working as an officer in the SBPD? Really scratching my chin on this one.

SBTOWNIE - no, you clearly missed the point. These aren't just "your employees," they're human beings. Ever stop to think the family doesn't want to divulge private information? You act like something is owed to you. It's not.

As for the whole public "deserving" an explanation so they can "demand change," how does that work without a full and public investigation? What good does it do us to know they died of X? Just knowing the cause of death was X, doesn't mean it was due to negligence or something we, as the public, could decry. You act like we're entitled to know the details of every public employee's death, but we're not, nor should we be. What if a teacher died in class? Would you demand to know the cause of death so you could start your "rally?"

Someone lost a loved one. Give them some peace for once.

Seems to me that if we don’t get to know *what* the work-related illness was, they shouldn’t have mentioned it. Why do we need to know anything about her cause of death, if we aren’t going to be monitoring the info for oversight purposes?

If a teacher died in class, no I would not demand to know how the teacher died. Unless the teacher died from a "work acquired illness" and other teachers were dying and being sickened. Then yes, I would absolutely demand a right to know and would want to know who was being informed. Were students informed, were parents, were new hired, etc.? Has the sickening agent or situation been removed, remediated, or ignored? These are all things I would want to know. If I were any other member of the SBPD I would want to know what the work-acquired-illness was (and perhaps that has been disclosed to staff, but we don't know); if I were a recruit considering a job at the SBPD same thing, I would want to know. You're really telling me if a teacher in your kid's class dropped dead of a "work acquired illness" you would not feel some right to know and therefore determine whether it were safe/appropriate for your child to continue attending school every day in the facilities where the illness was possibly acquired?

Another thought, Sac... I don't know where you get the idea that someone's cause of death is private and it's akin to their medical records under HIPAA during their lifetime. It's literally on death certificates, which are available to the public. So this idea you've invented that no one has a right to know or can know is odd. I've just pulled up my grandfather's death certificate for example. Anyone can obtain this document by request. It is not private. The causes of death are listed as respiratory failure, advanced congestive heart failure, and coronary artery disease and to each is attached the length of time he suffered from these conditions. The immediate cause is noted on the certificate and then beneath that are any illnesses or pathologies that contributed to the final cause. I'll go down to the county recorder and request the certificate on this. If it was COVID, for example, it will be listed.

SBTOWNIE - you keep saying multiple cops are dying from "work related illnesses." Where do you get that?

Yeah, if teachers were dropping dead in the classrooms, I'd want to know. But one cop dying from a work related illness doesn't mean it's time to rally some "cause."

Give her and her family the respect and dignity they deserve.

SBTOWNIE - "I'll go down to the county recorder and request the certificate on this." That's truly ghoulish. Your obsession with this "entitlement" to be informed of the cause of death of "civil servants" is bizarre and sad. It's not so much about privacy, but respect. The family members and dear friends of this woman might be reading this. Do you even consider their pain and sadness as you demand "answers" because she was "a civil servant" and that you as a taxpayer deserve to know?

Sac, we're in agreement here, not our business.

I sincerely hope that people who knew or loved this woman won’t read the Edhat comments if they are the least bit sensitive about such things. But this is social media. Chatting about stuff that’s none of our business is what it’s about. And questioning facts from a press release is not inherently disrespectful.