Acknowledging that a fellow officer could or does suffer from a severe mental illness, especially when that officer is a member of your own department and someone you likely know and care about beyond the mere bonds of the badge, can be difficult. Mental illness still carries significant stigma and shame in many circles, including law enforcement. It’s true we’ve made great strides, both societally and within the profession, toward understanding and lessening this stigma, being more responsive to those in crisis, and offering the interventions to help in an increasingly judgment-free environment, but we still have a long way to go.
Officers today have greater understanding and empathy when it comes to mental illness than ever, appreciate how common it really is, and are increasingly embracing their role and responsibility as first responders to not just crime but emotional crises. This is not uniform across the profession, however, and for all the understanding in the world of “civilians” encountered during calls for service, it doesn’t always translate to understanding when it is one of our own in crisis.
As we wrote in our last article (“Police Officers and Severe Mental Illness”):
“All of us probably know or have known someone with even severe depression or anxiety who nonetheless functions well at work, fights through their illness but is a survivor, or has taken the steps necessary to get help and control it through therapy and/or medication. We can all name a colleague or friend who struggles with addiction, usually alcohol in law enforcement although prescription addictions are a growing and dangerous threat to everyone, with cops being no exception…
…Officers themselves are more than ever likely to offer support and empathy to their peers impacted by mental illness, armed with greater knowledge and the understanding no one is immune. But what about when the mental illness is more severe or debilitating, or begins to manifest in highly destructive ways, showing up as criminality, psychosis, or otherwise shattering one’s very ability to function not only on the job but personally?”
Despite all the psychological screening one goes through to become a cop, the stable and solid backgrounds most hired officers can boast, and the strong social support available to them (all of which do seem to lessen the risk of later onset severe mental illness), there are no guarantees; whether triggered by an external event or events, or resulting from an internal biological trigger, a brain injury, or environmental factors, severe, debilitating mental illness can strike police officers just like anyone else. When it does we need to be ready.
Recognizing Signs of Trouble
The first step in helping a fellow officer is being able to recognize current or surfacing signs of trouble. Most police officers become adept at recognizing signs and symptoms when someone they encounter on the street or during a call displays them, but may overlook or turn a blind eye to the same indicators in a fellow cop. Awareness is key, and to help where you can is the goal.
They simply tell you
Whether directly or indirectly, sometimes people let others know they are feeling unwell, don’t trust they are properly grounded, or are aware something is really wrong. A direct approach – simply owning their fears and knowledge that something is wrong in how they feel, think, or relate to others and their environment – is obviously best; they identify what is going on, that it frightens them, and are hopefully open to receiving help. This also requires a great deal of insight and courage, both of which can be quickly compromised in the midst of a mental health crisis.
More likely are the indirect statements or questions of someone providing clues or hints that something may be awry, whether reality-testing (“Do you ever feel….” type questions or comments that are made to try to normalize distressing feelings, beliefs, and perceptions), or expressing or referencing beliefs that are clearly outside reality in a way you believe they are “trying to tell you something.” Simple, straightforward follow up questions are helpful to solicit more information from them, without judgment or alarm, and, if you become concerned, offering warmth, support, and help increases the likelihood they will trust you to help in what is a genuinely terrifying time.
Recently uncharacteristic or bizarre behavior
A normally extroverted, gregarious colleague becomes increasingly withdrawn and cold, to the point of shunning even his closest friends; The chipper, upbeat officer who turns sullen and suspicious, paranoid of everything and everyone around her, even other cops; An introverted detective, known as a careful and deliberate investigator, suddenly becomes peculiarly outgoing, lackadaisical in his work, and erratic; A normally down-to-earth patrol officer becomes obsessed with conspiracy theories, spouting alternate “fringe” points-of-view and talks of preparing for the coming civil war.
Police departments are often full of colorful, outside-the-box characters, some of whom might even baseline as we’ve described above. We get pretty good at accepting and vetting the oddballs among us, and they usually have their own, unique charm. But when behavior changes, whether over time or suddenly, and without clear reason, our antennae should go up. Without jumping to conclusions or assuming too much, too fast, it might be a good idea to reach out to these officers and see if concern is justified.
Increase in citizen complaints, objectively inappropriate behavior, and questionable judgment
One of the best indicators of a troubled officer is a spike in citizen complaints, actions on or away from the job that alarm or concern supervisors and fellow officers, and questionable judgment calls when handling calls or caseloads. Now, to be fair, all cops will receive their share of citizen complaints and, if we’re being honest, some may even be well-deserved. Anyone can have a bad day, or act in ways that embarrass themselves or the department. And, over time, we’ll all be able to recount at least a few bad judgments we were lucky to get away with, or at the worst catch only minor punishment for. But that’s not what we’re talking about here.
Repeated patterns or clusters of “acting out” behavior are blaring alarms! Supervisors may be the first to notice them, but other officers are usually well aware when someone is skidding out of control and heading for a fall. They know who they don’t trust. Don’t stick your head in the sand, or just hope it all goes away and everything gets back to normal, say something. If you were headed for a crash and everyone knew it, wouldn’t you want someone to call you on it, even if it was temporarily embarrassing?
Signs of increased drinking (or other substance us)
Self-medicating can be a sign of depression or anxiety, addiction, or even more severe disturbances. Regularly showing up late to roll call – or not at all, frequently calling off shift without other signs of lingering illness on return, or flagrantly drinking to excess on a regular basis might be a way of dealing with any number of problems.
Third party reports
Occasionally, a family member, spouse, or friend will notify a departments administrators of an officer’s alarming off-duty behavior, or mention it to one of the officer’s trusted colleagues. DON’T IGNORE THIS as “well, until s/he does something on-duty, or that we directly witness, we can’t really do anything.” The reporting party is really saying, “This person I care deeply about, and who the state entrusts with great power and authority – and a lot of weapons – is in trouble. They need your help.”
This is not to say every such report is accurate or appropriate, but at least give them their due; be willing to follow-up, reach out, and see if there is truth to it and, if so, help.
Law enforcement officers stand ready and willing to confront the public when necessary, but are too often reticent to do the same when the one in need of confrontation wears the same badge.
Response to Officers Needing Assistance
Law enforcement has come a long way in understanding that officers sometimes need support and assistance for alcohol and substance abuse, depression, PTSD, anxiety disorders, interpersonal issues, and other concerns, and has become more proactive addressing them. Peer support, openness to EAPs and counseling, in-house assistance programs are all good and necessary, but what about when a cop is in greater crisis, or her behavior is leading to disaster for herself and the department?
Too often, when an officer’s name a face are splashed across the media for something egregious, or the whole of policing is taking yet another public beating for the actions of one, a long history of complaints and discipline are uncovered. When an officer is being investigated for a questionable shooting and it is learned he has a long history of force complaints or been involved in multiple officer-involved shootings, red flags are raised. While it’s true the complaints may be completely unfounded, it may be that underlying issues have been ignored and, should the latest incident prove indefensible or part of a greater pattern of excessive force, does any department want to be explaining after the fact why closer scrutiny wasn’t given to the past? The go-to answer has traditionally been, “Well. He’s an aggressive cop, working in the worst beats (or ‘part of an elite unit targeting the most violent criminals and drug dealers’).” Fine, but when other aggressive cops working the worst beats and in the most hard-nosed special units manage to NOT dump a lot of people or gather citizen beefs right and left, maybe that excuse starts to fall flat? What about when officers find themselves on the other side of the law, not for something isolated and minor but because they’ve committed a major felony, become the target of a SWAT callout, or are acting far outside the scope of rational behavior? These happen, and frequently enough we can all mentally list a few off the tops of our heads. They are not all “bad hires” or simply “cops gone bad”; at least some – maybe most – are the result of a once well-meaning, hardworking cop succumbing to uncontrollable emotional demons. Usually, though, the signs were there long before the headlines.
Early detection of problems can lead to prevention of greater issues, and possibly even save careers. Even many severe mental illnesses can be largely mitigated or treated successfully. That is the ideal and something that can be worked toward, especially if an officer is willing to admit the need for help and accept it when offered. And, unfortunately, some cops might need help transitioning out of a profession for which they’re no longer suited, or fit into a better niche. Either way, early intervention policies should be enacted as a matter of course, multiple avenues to intervene with seriously troubled officers developed, and awareness training made available to all officers. Lives depend on it.
