MEMPHIS, TN (abc24.com) - Sometimes it’s impossible to let it all go if you’re a cop on the job: the violence, being shot at, having to shoot somebody. For a police officer, the most important thing is to go home safe at the end of your shift. The demons that exist in Post Traumatic Stress Disorder however make that impossible. “I’m afraid some officer is going to go postal,” says Memphis Police Association President Mike Williams. “I’m telling you now, these officers need help.”
PTSD is normally associated with members of the military who saw a lot of action and just weren’t able to forget what they saw. It’s the same thing for police, Williams says. The streets of Memphis are sometimes nothing but mini war zones. Some Memphis cops have already been diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, he says. The police don’t offer any special counseling for them. “The officers we have had that had to deal with that,” Williams says, “…had to go outside the department and outside the city and actually had to pay for that on their own.”
The department does offer traditional therapy for officers. Williams says Memphis Police brass don’t believe that PTSD is a major problem in the department. Williams wants something done now, so it doesn’t become a major problem. “There needs to be a program set up to evaluate these guys,” he says. “If in fact you find they are victims of post traumatic stress disorder, then we need a mechanism in place all ready to deal with that.”
