ANY POLICE REFORM MUST INCLUDE EMOTIONAL WELLNESS REFORM TOO

The past several months have been quite rough on police. Media, politicians, and activists have driven a narrative that ALL police are racist and brutal. The anti-police movement is gearing up nationwide demanding either defunding or disbanding police departments. The very ones who denounce stereotyping others are in one accord stereotyping police. They demand defunding or outright dismantling of entire departments.

George Floyd’s death was brutal and wrong. Arrests have been made, and now new evidence emerges Floyd died from a Fentanyl overdose. But the 4 officers who were arrested do NOT represent 800,000+ law enforcement professionals across America. Those 99.9% officers who do it right, are noble and honorable all denounce any instances of police wrongdoing and those who did it.

Then a shooting in Atlanta. This is quite different. Rayshard Brooks was committing a crime. Driving drunk. Throughout the process officers and Brooks were cordial. Until officers tried to handcuff Brooks. He beat on the officers while they pleaded with him to comply. He stole a Taser which indeed can be deadly in the wrong hands. Taser only sells to police, and officers are trained in the use. During pursuit, Brooks turned and fired the Taser at the officer and was shot as he turned to continue running. He was a fleeing felon who assaulted officers and was driving drunk. He possessed a deadly weapon and used it. Yet the Atlanta Mayor instantly fired the officer who fired the shot and judged him a murderer, denying any due process. The following day, the Mayor and DA both declared it a murder surprising the Georgia Bureau of Investigation who was still - investigating.

Yet media and politicians stereotype all incidents like the Floyd murder. Each incident must be investigated by impartial agents to determine truth. We must always demand real justice, not revenge like the vigilantes burning and destroying our cities. Most important, reaction must await the conclusion of the investigation.

Media misrepresents facts. Brutality among police is not systemic. Last year, 9 unarmed black men were killed by police – 19 white men (Washington Post, WSJ). Even those figures can be misleading. Only a percentage of those numbers involved police wrongdoing. A percentage were those who were attacking police trying to disarm them. And most important, not all the officers who did the shooting were white. 

Now, officers in Minneapolis, New York, and many other jurisdictions are retiring or resigning. I don’t blame them. Politically minded politicians and police administrators bow to demands of activists. When black officers are murdered, and they are, Black Lives Matter says they are not black, they are blue. Saying all lives matter is offensive, and blue lives matter is debounced. Each life matters. We must get to a point beyond hate and rage.

Calls for police reform are the mantra today. Some like the Minneapolis City Council want to eliminate police. When reforming law enforcement, the effort must benefit public and police. Education and training in negotiating hostile situations, conflict management, and use of force training will certainly be considered and likely implemented. However, this cannot be about putting police in a strait jacket, putting them in a place where they cannot defend themselves or the public they serve. Reasonable reform is good. Angry reform is not.

Police reform must also address officer safety and wellness. For example, in Dallas where 5 officers were killed in ambush at a Black Lives Matter protest were not allowed to wear their tactical gear because administration thought it would be too aggressive looking. Perhaps those officers would have lived if those politically motivated cared about the lives of the officers rather than the PC look. In the mist of the gunfire, a Dallas officer laid prone on top of a black woman to shield her from the gunfire. 

Not long ago, Nashville City Hall was torched. Why did police not respond? City Administration chose to prohibit tactical gear to avoid looking too aggressive. Bricks, frozen water bottles and other projectiles were hurled at officers. Sending officers to protect City Hall would have caused likely serious harm. 

The call to use or not use tactical gear in these situations should be left up to Commanders on the ground, a call to keep their men and women safe. Politicizing that call is a deadly mistake. Officers die.

Today, officers must stand by while anarchists took control of Seattle’s 3rd precinct building, City Hall, and established a 7-block perimeter no go zone they protect with armed domestic terrorists. Feckless leadership led to this point. It happened in Portland, DC, and other places.

Another threat is doxing. Department of Homeland Security is warning that the personal information of police officers and other law enforcement personnel across the country is being posted on social media — and warning that it could lead to the threat of violence from opportunists and extremists. Some officers have been followed home and assaulted.

Reform must also make criminal the practice of doxing law enforcement as well as targeting their home and family. This must apply to media too. Radicals are using the freedom of information act to obtain police department rosters. Such information must require a court order.

Equally important as the officer’s physical wellness is there emotional wellness. The job of officers place them in traumatic incidents that have a cumulative impact. For some, the healing process is natural and relatively quick. Some require professional assistance making it through the trauma. Some find relief talking to a peer, while others are best served through the help of a trauma informed therapist. Locating one who has experience with police is key. They understand the challenges and demands of the job. More officers die by suicide than in the line of duty. Fact.

Too often officers are afraid to ask for professional help because of the fear of looking weak – of the stigma in asking. The stigma can also be felt with peer support. In reforming the professional aspects of law enforcement, addressing the personal wellness officers is critical. Removing stigma, encouraging emotional wellness through making regular emotional checkups available are a place to start.

We are trained in the military and law enforcement by shame and intimidation. It is necessary to dive home the point that mistakes cost lives. Any failure brings shaming in front of peers. That fear of shaming is not forgotten when on the job. Fearing shame, far too many do not ask for help. They fear the stigma.

Because of stigma in asking, one or more of the symptoms might be impacting an officer on duty. This is compounded by extended hours, not to mention the impact the job can have on the family. Concern for the whole officer makes the entire department better for their staff and the community.

Another aspect of emotional wellness is the family of officers. When the officer leaves for work, spouse and children worry from the time the door closes till they hear the Velcro when the gear comes off at home. That uncertainty is traumatic. Too often spouses are alone without resources.

Reforming the model of critical incident stress debriefings is also important. Too often those are merely a check in a box for administrators. Too often there is little or no follow-up with the officers after the initial debriefing. Follow-up is important because the debriefing may have been held immediately rather that 2-3 days after the incident, and it may take several days for the impact of the trauma to settle and the officer’s memory clarified. 

Lack of adequate emotional support can create a compounded effect of trauma. Unresolved trauma can result in sleeplessness, nightmares, recurring thoughts, hypervigilance, anger or rage, self-medication, and isolation. Like a physical wound left untreated, emotional wounds untreated can be deadly – suicide or death because of the physical impact of self-medication. I know because since 2011, Serve & Protect has talked to thousands seeking help. We and our partner Safe Call Now are like an emotional M.A.S.H. unit for these heroes. Of the 6,000 who we have served, we have lost none. It breaks my heart when I read of a suicide. What if they had called for help?

As the voices demanding reform grow louder, wanting reform on how police do their job, we in the law enforcement community must raise as loud a voice regarding officer safety and emotional wellness. Reform with out emotional wellness is woefully inadequate and only a band-aid.

Robert Michaels is the founder and CEO of Serve and Protect (www.serveprotect.org). He is a former detective with Norfolk Police and was an MP with the229th Military Police Battalion of the Virginia Army National Guard. Since 2011 Serve and Protect has placed more than 6000 first responders and medical personnel in treatment for trauma related issues. Michaels is a 2017 recipient of the FBI Director's Community Leadership Award for the Memphis Division. He is a member of the American Academy of Experts in Traumatic Stress and serves as chaplain for two federal agencies and for the Brentwood TN Fire Department. Rob received his Masters degree from Wheaton College and his undergraduate from Columbia International University. He leads Serve & Protect from Brentwood TN.