Police work can be hours of tedium punctuated by harrowing minutes of blood pressure raising drama.
In those moments, law enforcement officers deal with traumatic situations the rest of us only experience remotely by watching a television newscast or reading our local newspaper.
While those heart-pounding situations may last only a few moments, they can have long-lasting effects that take a heavy toll both mentally and emotionally on first responders.
For the Chickasaw Lighthorse Police Department, the days are long gone in which officers were expected to “John Wayne” it, acting as if they were immune to the negative psychological impact of such experiences.
Chickasaw Lighthorse Police Lt. Michael Huff is a member of the department’s peer support team whose mission is to ensure officers get the help they need when grappling with the aftermath of a trauma-producing episode.
“As a peer support team, what we’re doing is being proactive and not reactive when it comes to mental health of our first responders,” Huff said.
He said the average lifespan of an officer upon retirement is five to seven years, many succumbing to the accumulated buildup of stress-related medical issues. Worse, he said the law enforcement community leads the nation in suicides every year.
“We’re trying to change the mindset of our officers when they’re getting into this profession and let them know it’s OK not to be OK. It’s OK to reach out for help. If we change that mindset when they’re new, it’s going to affect them, their family and their career.
“The old style was if you see a counselor or clinician, either you were weak or that clinician was going to take your badge and your gun,” Huff said.
Chickasaw Nation therapists Amanda Rhynes and Molly Henry are key parts of the well-being process.
“If it’s a really bad critical incident an officer is struggling with, we typically refer them to Amanda or Molly, because that’s their area of expertise,” Huff said.
“The first thing I do is assure them I’m not here to take away their gun or their badge. I don’t do that,” Rhynes said.
“I truly feel they are there for us in our darkest hours, and I really want to be there in their darkest hour,” she said.
Rhynes said her relationship with Lighthorse police officers has benefited greatly due to the support of their leaders, some of whom have also sought help.
“I have been very fortunate, because Lighthorse’s leadership has been able to say, ‘Hey, I went and talked with her, and you can trust her.’ Leadership has been very supportive.”
She said Lighthorse leaders have greatly lessened the stigma regarding visiting with a therapist.
“It came from the top down,” Rhynes said. “I’ve had officers say they know it’s OK because members of their top brass have visited with us. I’ve had officers say they wished they had done it 20 years ago, but it was frowned upon.
“I’m very blessed. When I first started doing this, no one knew me very well. Now I visit the precinct to check on people and talk with them. It might just be catching up or a conversation about the weather, and someone may say, ‘Hey, this happened with my kid. What do you think?’ Every person is different, and their experiences are different.
“Not long ago, we got approval to treat spouses too, because it inadvertently trickles down to the whole family. We’re trying to support spouses and significant others as well,” she said.
Chickasaw Lighthorse Police Department has 12 peer support team members, four for each of its three precincts.
The department’s wellness program’s success has drawn attention from other agencies.
“A lot of other departments don’t have a peer support team, so they reach out to our department if they have a critical incident, and we go in and help them,” Huff said.
Physical well-being also plays a key role in maintaining a healthy police force.
Lighthorse police officer Hunter Nickell, another peer support team member, is a personal trainer and the department’s certified fitness specialist. Nickell is responsible for overseeing this key ingredient to overall fitness.
“Recruits must pass a physical fitness test when trying to become a Lighthorse police officer,” Nickell said.
“We put the candidates through that to see if they pass or fail. Because of the physical demands of our job, it gives us a good idea if they can physically handle the stressors of this work,” he said.
“It requires a lot mentally and physically. We’re just trying to do our part to make sure our officers can handle the stress. We also have to take an annual physical test. We want to make sure our officers maintain that fitness. It’s not just a one-time thing. The public is relying on us to be able to do our duties and to do them well,” he said.
“It will help extend not only the lives of our officers, but their careers. This career has a lot of stressors and can take a toll on the body. But if we maintain our physical fitness, it will help us be better police officers and have a better quality of life.”
Emphasis on being and staying in shape begins when prospects apply for the job and continues throughout their tenure with the department.
Recruits and those already on the force must demonstrate their ability to pass the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center’s annual Physical Efficiency Battery. It consists of a mile-and-a-half run, a one-rep bench press, flexibility in reach and an agility run test.
Nickell said standards are based on age and gender.
“Our most common applicant is a male between his 20s and 30s,” Nickell said. “They have 14 and a half minutes to run a mile and a half. Our strength test is a one-rep bench press in which one must be able to bench press 70% of his or her body weight.
“The agility run involves five cones spaced about 10 feet apart. You start out prone in pushup position at the bottom of the pushup. On ‘Go,’ you sprint down to the end of the cones and then back serpentine (weaving in and out) through them, serpentine back and then sprint back to the starting point,” he said.
Nickell said the time limit depends on age and gender, but the average applicant and seasoned officer has 20 seconds to perform the task.
The flexibility test involves what amounts to being able to touch one’s toes in a sitting position. Again, age and gender are taken into consideration in determining whether the standard is met.
“Flexibility is one of the most overlooked components of fitness,” he said.
The yearly test is the same as the initial test given to applicants. The department also allows officers time during their shift to workout.
Nickell said the fact the Chickasaw Nation provides time and places for Lighthorse officers to workout has a dual effect.
“We maintain our fitness, and it’s good for community policing. It has the added benefit of giving us a chance to meet those we are sworn to protect and develop personal relationships,” he said.