Fact: Until disorders such as PTSD, stress, anxiety and depression are recognized as very real problems by law enforcement administrators, police officers will continue to suffer and a number will die by their own hand as a result of their untreated symptoms.

Fact: Every 24 hours a police officer commits suicide

Fact: According to the web site Tears of a Cop, a full 33% of police officers on active duty suffer from PTSD

Fact: The year I retired, three officers from the patrol division retired early due to mental health issues brought on by the job. There are twenty five patrol deputies within that division. Figures indicate that the department lost 12% of it's patrol deputies to mental disability in only one year. This suggests a very big problem that is not being addressed.

Fact: The mission statement for that department includes nothing about it's employees health, safety and welfare which should be given a very high priority as these people are who make the department run as it is expected to. Instead, the last paragraph (as of 04-13-2000) states that employees must be accountable but nothing regarding the administration being accountable for (again) the health, safety and welfare of it's employees. Click HERE to view their Mission Statement.

Fact: If there is a mechanism in place to detect or help an employee that is suffering, everyone I have talked to from that agency is not aware of it.

By no means is this agency alone. I have received letters from numerous police officers stating that their department has no detection or treatment plan in effect that they are aware of. At some time, the eyes MUST be opened to this problem.

Please take a good look at the below photograph. It is a photo of a funnel cloud that has been turned on it's side. What do you see? Departments around the country should take a look at their employees and stress management plans from a different angle and they just might see too….