By Jim Mauro
THUNDER BAY – OPINION – It is with a deep sadness and hesitation that I use the death of a former colleague to write an article, but I am quite fed up. If you want the police out in the streets to keep you safe and believe that police do a good job, then stop sitting on the sidelines giving platitudes about supporting police. Demand that politicians and those who lead these police agencies, do something to improve the situation.
Officer Dave was a very good cop. He cared about people and his smile was infectious. He cared about those he served, and those he worked with. That was the Dave that got hired way back when until one fateful day nineteen years ago.
A man had a firearm while threatening the life of a woman. Dave made a split-second decision that few police officers are faced with. Despite shooting the suspect, Dave performed CPR on the man to try and save him, but to no avail.
I was two days away from no longer being President of the Police Association and was with my family when my phone rang. Those who took over were in a panic in terms of what to do to assist Dave. I went to the hospital, but I was not prepared for what I encountered.
Dave was in shock. This gregarious kind individual was stunned over the events of the last hour as he sat covered in the man’s blood. I spoke directly to the treating physician who placed Dave on medical leave. Dave could make the odd statement as to what took place, but it was clear Dave was in no shape to function normally.
Dave and I returned to the station and instead of support they demanded that Dave sit down and write up his notes and report as to what transpired. Dave still covered in blood was in no shape to properly prepare a report on what had taken place. These individuals who had never faced this situation appeared to be only concerned about the public and political impact.
Dave was then required to strip down out of his uniform so that his clothes could be held as evidence. Dave was now to be investigated for this shooting by the SIU who had not won many friends in Thunder Bay over their treatment of some officers in previous cases.
Dave was exonerated from any wrongdoing and in fact, demonstrated all the characteristics that exemplify an outstanding officer, but he was never the same after this day.
Dave barely acknowledged the fact that I could have ignored the request to assist him. This is not something I blame him for because the Dave from the day before would have done so without hesitation. Unfortunately for him and his family, and to those who worked and cared for him, that Dave no longer existed.
Over the years you could see the visible change in his demeanor. I did not socialize with Dave but over the years he had many conversations with a family member over the conditions at the police service and sometimes, how he had been treated.
Dave to my memory is the only officer in our service to have taken a life. We have seen the public statements by police and political leaders about the importance of mental health of officers and first responders, but the harsh reality is that for the most part, it is lip service. The Police Services Board will privately tell members of the service they support those who work there but will not dare to publicly stand up to the non-stop criticism heaped their way. That is not leadership, it is cowardice.
There are also far too many individuals past and present on the police union, that only care about issues when it happens to them. The lack of support to those suffering is deeply disturbing.
Without going into much detail, there are many in the public who may recall the public coverage of the allegations against me. I had a hearing in 2012. The Hearing officer at the time made great hay out of my non-appearance. He accused me of having a “chip on my shoulder”, an interesting comment from a man I have never met, nor ever had a conversation with. I would however love to meet him one day to ask him about the errors he made when he judged me.
What was known to only a very few, is that I had PTSD. Most of my family was unaware and it was a condition not spoken about as it is now. Since that time the government has made it a presumptive injury under WSIB, but not back in 2012 when those suffering were ignored.
My treating specialist, in no uncertain terms told me not to attend but it was the top story in our local media. I tell this story to emphasize the fact that I have some experience with PTSD, a condition that has impacted emergency services across the country. What is not commonly known is the ridicule often heaped on individuals by co-workers who have never suffered from this injury.
I have seen text messages from local Police union leaders complaining about those that are off. I have also watched as the local police union has negotiated away some of the benefits for these workers.
The issue of PTSD has become rampant in policing circles, but some view each case with skepticism suggesting officers are taking advantage of the system. Could it happen sure, but for it to happen, the following must take place.
- The family physician must sign off on the diagnosis.
- Some type of treating specialist, psychologist or psychiatrist must approve of the leave and medical condition.
- WSIB or the Long-term medical adjudicator must also sign off.
- The police pension plan OMERS, also conducts a medical review.
- For those who have credit card or loans with critical illness coverage from the bank; the bank would also have to sign off.
Not many banks are going around gifting money to people. There are checks and balances on this issue.
There continues to be a failure in police management to support these individuals. I have heard from enough police sources and have seen a few examples where individuals assigned to assist these officers are either fighting them or being prevented from helping.
I have seen firsthand, threats to withhold pay from officers that are off work with WSIB. Some of these individuals have reached out to me for assistance. They all feel like there is no one else that will assist them, a situation that borders on the absurd.
When people speak to the numbers of local police officers and staff currently off work, you rarely hear the question, why? Normally it is centred around how we can get these officers back and not at the underlining reason many of them are off.
For many emergency responders but specifically police, they have lost their reason for joining this occupation. The majority were caring individuals who simply wanted to make their community better. Many of them were excellent officers, far superior to me in many policing skills. That they are off and demoralized should cause people to pause and ask why.
If you have read any of my previous articles, you know that I view the police profession as one that has been under attack for over two decades. We have political organizations whose only goal appears to be the dismantling of this police service without any consideration of the people who work there.
The mental health of these men and women is not great. Only a few short years ago, this police service lost one of their own because of it and while it is still premature to conclude anything, we just lost another who only two days earlier had suffered a serious set back. Is anyone listening to the cries for help from these individuals?
I am not saying that on some levels, help was never provided but, in my view, the assistance needs to be holistic, not just medical. These individuals need to feel like their contributions matter, that they are wanted back to work. Not that they are a drain on the taxpayer or the police service, a constant refrain that does nothing to improve the health of these people or get them back to work.
Recently an OPP officer in the middle of the workday took his own life here in the city. The officer was from out of town, and it shocked the police community. We have seen other cases across Ontario in various emergency services. There exists a serious lack of mental health services across this country, and it needs to change. Lip service is no longer the solution.
Dave is going to be missed, but the reality is that in two weeks or a month, very few will be mentioning his name, but the impact of his death will be felt by those who were around him for years. They may not even recognize how it has changed them negatively. With a massively understaffed service and demands that properly belong to a regionally funded police service, not a city funded one makes this problem only worse. The lack of any real public support for the men and women who work there, does not bode well for the future.
Several years ago, under the former Chief who is now facing criminal charges, an incident took place where a young girl was slapped while on an ambulance stretcher. It made national news; the officer was publicly vilified and a cabinet member in the Liberal Government publicly expressed her outrage. Less than 24 hours into the incident, and already the armchair quarterbacks formed an opinion on 10 percent of the relevant information.
This was the first real opportunity for a relatively new Police Chief to put her stamp on standing up for her officers with a simple statement such as: “if my officer did something wrong, I will publicly inform everyone what steps I will be taking to deal with the situation BUT, if I find my officer did nothing wrong, I will be back publicly stating that to you”. Instead, as most of these leaders do when faced with this type of backlash, the officer was thrown under the bus.
The fact that the officer went out of her way to assist that young girl and likely saved her from being sexually assaulted did not matter. Neither did the statement from the young girl the next day that she did not need people publicly screaming on her behalf.
And that Liberal Cabinet Minister who decided immediately that the officer was wrong, crickets, the same nothing from our local Liberal Cabinet Minister who should have publicly supported this officer. That officer suffered greatly in details I will not reveal, and she is still off work. Another notch in the belt of those who want this police service to collapse.
I do not claim to have all the answers, I simply know that leadership on supporting these officers is severely lacking. Those who should speak out publicly almost never do, and frankly I am sick of hearing about officers suffering and no one doing anything about it.
Dave and I did not socialize but when we chatted, he often was highly critical of the organization and the union. I had always hoped that Dave would have stood up at a union meeting and expressed his frustration over the many topics he would share with me. People would have listened to Dave. He was respected and liked but, in my opinion, he simply did not have it in him.
In 2005, Dave passed away and was replaced by a damaged version of himself who never truly healed. He spent far too many years dealing with something few will ever experience. The police service is worse because Dave is gone, and the public is also.
Around 1992 when I was called in to a management meeting as a seven-year officer. I watched as senior officers complained about the lack of “tickets” and reports being generated by officers suggesting that most of the officers were just lazy. After 20 minutes of this I said, “there are only two options: the first is that we had 150 officers who were lazy and didn’t care, and you folks hired them all, or there is something more serious at play that needs to be addressed”. They all agreed it was 150 lazy officers. The lack of any real self reflection in police leadership continues to be one of the great challenges facing far too many police agencies.
So, I will repeat; if you want an effective police service, officers that will be there when you need them, and if you care about the well being of your sisters/brothers, sons/daughters/neighbours/coaches/friends, then stop sitting on the sidelines and make your voices heard. Demand these constant attacks against our officers be called out by police leaders. Demand more resources so that officers are not burned out all the time. Demand the necessary support for their mental health and recognize that they are just trying to do their best in very demanding situations.
Because if you do not, the next Dave, may be someone you know and care about. PTSD is not a fun thing to experience. I was dealing with a trivial matter compared to what Dave and others dealt with. They need your help and your support but more importantly, they deserve it. And to honour the job that officer Dave did that day in 2005; deserves it to. Just a thought.
NOTE; I would like to do a Christmas article about a wish list for Thunder Bay. So I am asking anyone who is interested to send me 1-3 items that they would like to see Santa bring the city of Thunder Bay to improve whatever you feel needs to be improved and I will do an article on it before Christmas. Please send to maurojustathought@gmail.com. Thank you
