Anyone else tired of the “officer wellness” rhetoric? Gee, somehow veteran cops survived their difficult shifts without all the attention and sympathy that the next generation apparently needs in this line of work. Policing is becoming a soft profession. I guess it is the same for all First Responders. Doing the job in today’s world apparently makes you a victim.
Yeah, showing emotions could mean showing weakness for past generations, but surviving also meant having the trust of your peers. Your partners back then were baby boomers who had a much less doting upbringing than you. Opinions were as black and white as the cars. If it’s bleeding, rub some dirt in it and move on.
I’ll admit the old timers perspective was harsh. These were guys steeped in the cauldrons of the Korean and Vietnam conflicts and the American-Irish view of policing. A wood baton and leather sap had a legitimate place in attitude adjustment. Men were rough. Fights were more hand-to-hand combat than defensive tactics. Gun battles were revolver serious. And then law enforcement changed.
Tamping down and personally dealing with your feelings became passé. The old school way was to go home, drink some bourbon, and sulk with your anger to get over it. Or maybe to pour yourself into your family. Not so these days. There are whole weeklong classes on managing your mental health and job-related “trauma.”
There are peer officers “trained” in critical incident stress management (CISM). I had taken that course. Its premise is that cops-in-need only want to talk to other cops who have walked in their boots. But I declined to practice it on other troops because my common sense and psychology degree told me that acting as an effective counselor is not for the marginally trained.
Case in point, our well-meaning CISM crew inserted themselves into a situation involving an officer with drinking and personal problems. CISM convinced the commanders that they could help him by sending him to alcohol rehab and employing their personal oversight. He went to rehab not once, but twice. And then he relapsed again, showing up very drunk in a Yellow Cab to meet with our assistant chief for a check-in.
At a closed meeting, I voiced my opinion that the problem officer should be terminated for his own good, the good of the agency, and that of the city. It was documented and justified. But my advice was tabled. I was seen as being too harsh. Now I had partnered with this officer back when we were both detectives. I genuinely liked the guy. He was a great cop, but his situation had become dire.
Eventually, the assigned CISM monitor discovered the officer dead in his apartment from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. I was pissed and felt that the entire affair had been mishandled by the department’s mental health enablers who convinced the bosses that they were going to save him. They killed him instead.
My opinion is that the internal culture of “The Agency is Here to Save You” sows fragile officers and reaps the retention of people who should not wear the badge. Tough things are required of our men and women in blue. No doubt about it. Yet, we should not be guilty of boo-hoo-ing at them about being victims. It just weakens the profession. Better to help the strong stay that way and cut the vulnerable ones loose.
Randall
