John Reynolds clearly remembers the days when the answer to on-the-job stress and trauma was “suck it up; you’re a cop; that’s your job.”
He is glad times have changed.
Reynolds is a detective at the Great Bend Police Department (GBPD) where he began his law-enforcement career in 1993 at age 22. He has been there ever since, except for a four-year U.S. Army stint in Afghanistan and Iraq, which he volunteered for after Sept. 11, 2001. He then returned to GBPD.
“The police and Army experiences over the years messed with my head,” Reynolds acknowledged. “I was here to help everybody else but I didn’t believe I needed any help.
“I didn’t want to show emotions and didn’t want to be judged. But we have learned this attitude can break you.”
Today, one sign of the changing times is the enhanced Central Kansas Debriefing and Peer Support Team. In past decades, the team was put to little use. Then came Police Chief Steve Haulmark who made debriefings mandatory for GBPD officers.
“The debriefings are requested by individuals or agencies in the wake of critical incidents,” Reynolds said. “They could involve any first responder, not just police officers, who have been at the scene of a homicide, suicide, or traffic or fire fatality, for example.
“If it wasn’t mandated here, the stigma of asking for help would just fester. We must get past that. People who participate in these traumatic events tend to cram down the memories. But eventually they will overflow in a negative way. It could take days, weeks, months or even years.”
This can lead to burnout, disciplinary issues, substance use and trouble at home.
Reynolds mentioned an instance in which a first responder performed CPR but it was not successful. During the debriefing, the person learned that four minutes elapsed before the call to 911 and then several more minutes before EMTs arrived.
“This information helps you realize that you did everything you could,” Reynolds said. “A debriefing can fill in the missing pieces. Talking about it relieves self-imposed guilt, remorse and the decline in self-confidence.”
The local team consists of Reynolds, GBPD School Resource Officer Paul Millard, Therapist Kelley Johnson, other first responders, nurses, mental-health professionals and chaplains.
“In past decades, there was little or no support,” Reynolds noted. “I had been here 30 years and was in one debriefing; it was about an officer-involved shooting.”
During the last year or two, the team has branched out; it has been called to areas such as Greensburg, Pratt, Hays and Stafford County. Any first-responder may contact team members, who don’t get involved unless they are asked.
Reynolds noted that those who were negative about it “didn’t want to appear weak and vulnerable. They also feared they would lose their jobs or be labeled as ‘crazy.’ None of this is true.”
Reynolds also noted the team is available for peer support, which entails one-on-one talks about personal issues not necessarily related to the job. Issues could involve finances, divorce or suicidal thoughts.
In the past two years, the detective has attended eight training sessions that focused on crisis intervention, trauma and peer support, as well as multiple classes related to officer suicide.
Sgt. Ryan DeYoung
Sgt. Ryan DeYoung, like Reynolds, acknowledged that at first he didn’t want to be debriefed about anything. “I told myself I didn’t need it and would be fine. We are cops. We are supposed to be tough. Then I went to the first one and it really helped to know I was not alone.
“There were other officers who grumbled about it too,” he added. “But now, even if debriefings become optional, most of us will still attend. We understand that our preconceptions were wrong; they were washed away.”
DeYoung, who is grateful to Chief Haulmark for mandating this program, has been at GBPD for 12 years.
He noted that younger officers are more open to debriefings because “for them, there is not as much of a stigma associated with asking for help. For older officers, it is sometimes hard to get rid of the stigma mindset. They need to know it is not like we sit around and sing kumbaya,” he laughed.
The confidential debriefings last about an hour in a quiet place with no police radios.
“When you leave a critical-incident scene, there is no time to process it because police calls don’t stop,” DeYoung summarized. “There is no time to talk about it and hear other perspectives.
“But during a debriefing, we review our actions, learn from them, and often realize we did all we could even though the outcome was bad. The weight can be lifted from our shoulders.”
