Conservation officer wants the same benefits as police officers

A Scott County conservation officer is blaming his employer, after he was stabbed with a hypodermic needle.Officer Terry Holst was patrolling West Lake Park Sunday night, and says when he approached a truck, a woman who was a passenger in the vehicle stabbed him with a needle. The people in the truck escaped. Holst says the county should provide conservation officers with law-enforcement training, and says then they could carry guns to protect themselves. Holst says he’s filed a report with the Labor Department and may sue the county. Scott County officials aren’t commenting. Scott County Conservation Officer Terry Holst says he should have been trained in law-enforcement techniques before he was allegedly stabbed by a park user with a hypodermic needle this week.He says they should comply with federal standards on employees, and says he hasn’t had training in blood-borne pathogens or hazardous materials. Holst says he thinks conservation officers should get the same training peace officers receive.Holst says there’s another difference between a conservation officer and law-enforcement personnel on the job.The Bureau of Justice Assistance has a public-safety officers’ benefit that gives your family 150-thousand dollars if you’re killed in the line of duty, but nothing for a conservation officer.