National Institute for Justice reports Mental Anguish in Officers after killings

This is a long article so I'm going to grab some pieces of it, click the link at the bottom for full disclosure:

"Prior research has found that many officers involved in shootings suffer from “postshooting trauma”—a form of posttraumatic stress disorder that may include guilt, depression, and even suicidal thoughts."

Table 1. Officers’ perceptual distortions during shooting incidents (n = 113)

Distortion

At any time

Prior to firing

Upon firing

Tunnel vision

51%

31%

27%

Heightened visual detail

56%

37%

35%

Both visual distortions

15%

10%

11%

Auditory blunting

82%

42%

70%

Auditory acuity

20%

10%

5%

Both aural distortions

9%

0%

9%

Slow motion

56%

43%

40%

Fast motion

23%

12%

17%

Both time distortions

2%

0%

2%

Other

13%

6%

9%

Total

95%

88%

94%

Table 2. Officers’ responses following a shooting

Physical response

At any time
(n = 113)

First 24 hours
(n = 112)

First week
(n = 113)

Within 3 months
(n = 111)

After 3 months
(n = 105)

Trouble
sleeping

48%

46%

36%

16%

11%

Fatigue

46%

39%

26%

7%

5%

Crying

24%

17%

7%

2%

2%

Appetite loss

17%

16%

8%

2%

1%

Headache

7%

6%

4%

1%

1%

Nausea

4%

4%

4%

0%

0%

Other physical response

19%

18%

11%

12%

6%

Thoughts and feelings

Recurrent thoughts

83%

82%

74%

52%

37%

Anxiety

40%

37%

28%

13%

10%

Fear of legal or administrative problems

34%

31%

25%

19%

11%

Elation

29%

26%

19%

11%

5%

Sadness

26%

18%

17%

5%

5%

Numbness

20%

18%

7%

4%

3%

Nightmares

18%

13%

13%

10%

6%

Fear for safety

18%

9%

10%

9%

8%

Guilt

12%

10%

5%

6%

2%

Other thoughts
or feelings

42%

33%

23%

20%

14%

"Several officers indicated in interviews that they thought something might be wrong with them because they did not experience the symptoms that training taught them to expect; others felt that, through the power of suggestion, their reactions were more severe than they would have been otherwise."
"Most officers who held this opinion said they believed their department required counseling to shield itself from legal liability, not to help the officers themselves. They stated that they did not talk frankly to the counselors because they did not trust them to keep the sessions confidential; in some cases, they thought the counselors were incompetent."

full article here

 

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