National Institute for Justice reports Mental Anguish in Officers after killings
"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 |
First 24 hours |
First week |
Within 3 months |
After 3 months |
|
Trouble |
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 |
42% |
33% |
23% |
20% |
14% |
"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."
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