Son of slain DART officer Brent Thompson commits suicide

[Hambo]

I think much of the reluctance to seek help is based on a fear that if we go talk to a mental health professional, we'll be seen as less than manly/capable/bad ass/etc. That's total bullshit, because there is no way that as decent human beings, we will remain unaffected by what we see and deal with day in and day out. Couple that with the political challenges on the job, inside and outside, and it's a near certainty our cup will overflow at some point.

No one is immune. If anyone thinks they are, they're headed for hard times or disaster.

Fortunately the guy who runs the program "did it right," and has policy in place that protects both the agent seeking help and the agent giving help.

We had an independent multi-agency CISD/Peer Support team. While the members came from various LE, fire, EMS agencies, the agencies themselves had zero control of the team and confidentiality was absolute. Debriefings and support were always done by members of the team that were not from your agency, so I never debriefed anyone from my agency. Also, you only talked to someone from your profession: cop to cop, FF to FF, medic to medic.

Wayne Dobbs is absolutely right. If you need it, get help. Get outside your agency if you have to, but get it.

[Dagga Boy]

Understood. But something that everybody in the blue world should know is that they can seek this help without involving their agency under VOCA, especially if they're in this area.

And that is the word that needs to get out, and needs to be encouraged. The last thing I would ever do is hand my agency or government agency I work for the ammunition to screw me with. The Commander who asked Mrs. Dobbs for info should have been terminated.....until that happens, I would highly recommend going wholly outside the workplace.

[Wayne Dobbs]

The Commander who asked Mrs. Dobbs for info should have been terminated...

He was...and guess who helped?

[Dagga Boy]

He was...and guess who helped?

Perfect......and another year Det. Dobbs doesn't get a Christmas card from the brass.

[voodoo_man]

We have an unofficial peer support group which is bullshit, has a shitty weak name too which I won't post because its so fucking stupid.

In my opinion the best support is the support of your squad mates and supervisors. After a deadly force situation (either on you or you on someone else, even being present should count), a sit down with a supervisor you trust and one or two of your squad mates who you've been in some shit with is the best possible way to get through it. No alcohol, unless that's the tradition, just sitting down and having an open conversation, Q&A about what is going on in your head. These are people you trust who have and will make the best possible decision for you, if one of them feels your in some shit mentally they should be trusted to do the right thing, not some shrink in an office who is mandated to talk to you, fuck that especially. You have their numbers, worst case you cannot sleep because of some shit, you call one of them and they help you out. That's how its supposed to be, but then again, what do I know right? I just hump a car for a living.

[Wayne Dobbs]

The name doesn't matter, it's what you guys do for each other that's important.