Firefighters Do It Better...

By Metropolitan Alliance of Police Board Member John Holiday

That’s right I said it. In fact the small town volunteer fire departments do it best. What do they do? They take care of each other and themselves. They debrief after each critical incident they handle. They talk about what went when well, what went bad, and what images they would like to erase from their mind.

What do we do? We get back in our squad, by ourselves, and go to the same domestic battery call we go to every week. You know the one. The one where the couple wants you to fix 10 years of abuse in 5 minutes.

Sean Riley, the founder of Safe Call Now, recently spoke at our annual seminar.  He talked about how we are trained to do the job the vast majority of the population are unwilling or unable to do.

Think about it. There are 325 million people in the United States of which only 765,000 are sworn law enforcement officers. That’s 0.2%. We take 0.2% of the general population and train them to not think like the rest of the population.  We train your brain to do the exact opposite of what other people’s brains tell them to do. We train you to run toward the gunfire, run toward the danger, and go down into the dark basement where someone is screaming for help. We train you to have a “Warrior Mindset.” Then at the end of a 12 hour shift, we expect you to turn it all off, forget everything that happened, and go back and function with the other 99.8% of the population. We are very good at training you how to do the job, but we have zero training on how to go home at night. 

Police Suicide... A Life Saved

Safe Call Now

This is an email (with permission to use) that our partners at Code 3 Spices received after they put up a post on Facebook about Safe Call Now.  I like these kind of emails!!!

"My name is -------------. I am a 19 year police veteran from the state of _______. I wanted to thank you guys for doing what you do. You see, I have been through a lot of ups and downs and have seen a lot of horrible shit over the years of being a cop. Within the last year I got divorced, lost my house, Lost my mother and father, became depressed and I felt like everything was spinning out of control from there. 

Work was non-stop stress. I was involved in a situation that involved a horrible incident where 2 children were brutally murdered. I was the first one on scene. I went home that night, started drinking and thinking about all the horrible incidents I have been involved in and sat down at the kitchen table with my lap top, a pen and paper and my service weapon. 

A Cop, PTSD, Suicide & Treatment...

By Kevin Hagen

You could say my story with my mental illness began several years ago (maybe 15?), but I chose to ignore the signs and figured it was just me. I was bullied in high school and that had an impact on my self-esteem as I was growing up and even in my adult years. I was married for 20 years and for most of those years I was told what a bad person I was and that I was not a very good man. After hearing such things for that long, I started to believe them! I have had tragedies in my life like most people, and some that affected me for many years, like the death of my mother. I believed that I was not worthy of being happy and that I was meant to just be that way so I should live with it. I managed to struggle through life like that for most of my adult life.

My job as a police officer added to the issues I already had. I have seen some very terrible things in my career, and some of them stick with me no matter how hard I tried to forget them. Because I chose to ignore my problems, they just got bigger and bigger: the 800 pound gorilla in the room, if you will. I managed to stuff my feelings and tell myself, “Hey, this is what I deserve, so I just gotta suck it up.” I ended up getting divorced, and I figured that was the answer to all of my problems. Obviously it was not. I went from bad relationship to bad relationship, always finding women that needed help; that way I could be the hero and fix things for them. It never worked that way. I just ended up taking on more and more problems, more and more debt, and finally I could not find happiness in anything, but I figured that is what I deserved.

I felt I had successfully stuffed my problems, but then all of the sudden, I was not ever happy. I lost interest in most things I enjoy; I ignored my children who I only see every other weekend; I pushed my friends away and just isolated myself in my home. 
One night everything came to a head. The hopelessness overwhelmed me. The nightmares came every night, so I was scared to go to sleep some nights. All I could see in front of me was a black wall, and in my mind it was all hopeless and I was lost.

The Dark Days of Law Enforcement...

By Dave Smith for Police Magazine

I hear you all complaining about this and that today. The public, the media, the courts, the bad guys...and the litany of tough times goes on and on. But when I was a young patrol officer things were really bad. The anarchists were planning a revolution on July 4th, 1976, and all we had were little old .38s with six in the cylinder and 12 in our "dump pouches," no .40s with 16 in the mag and one in the chamber.

Man, things were hard. We didn't have people offering psychological support to whine to, and when we got divorced we just sucked it up. No PTSD counseling or peer support or anyone who understood. Nope, I was just sitting there alone during my divorce; my kids were gone, I had no real hope for the future, and I woke up at midnight and lay in bed listening to my heart pound, wondering if I would just die. But what do you know? You've never suffered like me. You don't know what I do about…

But wait…you say you do understand? Maybe if I'd had someone to talk to like you I wouldn't have been so alone in those dark days.

Unfortunately, one of the brain's nasty little tricks is making us focus on ourselves when we are sad or depressed; we feel we are alone, isolated, experiencing things no one else could feel or understand. But this is just a false perception. I am not saying you weren't sad or depressed; we all feel that way sometimes, and I am compelled to confess what I have felt and how I have learned the hard way that shutting down and finding yourself on an emotional island is NOT the way to cope. I learned that from Dr. Kevin Gilmartin. He isn't my friend because he wrote the book "Emotional Survival," or was a deputy, but because he was my salvation.

Click here to read full article

Partnering Up to Save a Life!!!

By Safe Call Now®

This is an email (with permission to use) that our partners at Code 3 Spices received after they put up a post on Facebook about Safe Call Now.  I like these kind of emails!!!

"My name is -------------. I am a 19 year police veteran from the state of _______. I wanted to thank you guys for doing what you do. You see, I have been through a lot of ups and downs and have seen a lot of horrible shit over the years of being a cop. Within the last year I got divorced, lost my house, Lost my mother and father, became depressed and I felt like everything was spinning out of control from there. 

Work was non-stop stress. I was involved in a situation that involved a horrible incident where 2 children were brutally murdered. I was the first one on scene. I went home that night, started drinking and thinking about all the horrible incidents I have been involved in and sat down at the kitchen table with my lap top, a pen and paper and my service weapon. 

As I was writing my last letter to my loved ones a co-worker sent me a message of one of the posts you had put up on Facebook about Safe Call Now® and their call service. I am a spiritual type of man. I took it immediately as a sign to call this number. I broke down crying, emptied my service weapon and put it in my lock box and called my ex-wife to come over. She obviously knew something was wrong. 

I made a call to Safe Call Now® and they were able to place me into treatment within 36 hours. I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for being a company that supports organizations like Safe Call Now®. The timing of your Facebook post saved my life, my career and my future. I am 100% healthy now and I owe it to the people of Safe Call Now®. 

Thank you again for everything your company does in supporting first responders and military. I will be a supporter of Code 3 Spices for life. 

Sincerely, 

_________________ "

A Call to Action for #1stresponders...

By Safe Call Now® Vice President - Ron Jones

Calling all first responders. We hear it all the time; take care of yourself, be safe, stay alert. Generally speaking we are reactive in our professions. Responding to calls for service, disasters, critical incidents, active shooter, the list is endless. But who takes care of us; the ones on the front lines, those who are retired, the ones who have life altering disabilities, and even worse, the forgotten? We should look after each other, don’t wait on the department, or the municipal, county, state, or federal government. You will certainly be disappointed if you do. So you may ask, what then?   

Safe Call Now® always has room for motivated volunteers who have a background in the public safety arena and a passion for helping. In all of our professions we are expected to serve and we should but who better to look after a brother or sister than someone who has been there, who gets it, who has the same shared life experience. At Safe Call Now® that is exactly what you will find. We exist to help you and your family, BUT, we can’t do it alone. 

What does it cost to be a part of this life saving organization, what are we asking you to donate; yourself, your time, your ability to calm others and offer assistance when needed as only another peer can do. We provide the training, we expect nothing monetarily in return, we need you! 

As one of our peer advocates recently said, “I realized I wanted to give back to the men and women that are still out there: cops, firemen, corrections officers, and our dispatchers… I know that going forward I may get a call from anywhere in the country, any agency, and at any time of the day or night. The call may be from a first responder that just wants to talk a bit, or maybe from someone that is having a hard time with substance abuse…There is always the chance that you will get the call from a first responder that feels this is his or her last call, the call that if you can’t convince them that their life is worth living well then that may very well be their last call…” From Eddie, a retired first responder.

The Godfather of Undercover Work...

Gayland, Sean and the famous Charlie Fuller

Over the last seven years I've had the honor to have an open invitation to speak at The International Associationof Undercover Officers conferences nationwide.  Charlie Fuller (my "Bo") has been a mentor to me and adviser on how to help the undercover officers when life goes bad for them and they require treatment.  Imagine a job where you get paid to drink, lie, drive cool cars and basically do whatever you want?  Not a bad gig... until you come home to the real world and deal with life.

One thing I've learned while training undercover officers and placing them into treatment… that to do well in the profession, you sometimes become the "lie".  Think about it?  In order to achieve the objective in whatever undercover role you adopt, you become an actor.  To stay alive you become adept at becoming a great role player.  If you get caught in a lie when undercover there is the potential that you may lose your life so you become an even better liar than those out there lying to you.  Getting confusing yet, it can be.  The healthy boundaries of life can start getting blurred and obliterated for the undercover officer.

Imagine if you will, being undercover in a role for a long period of time and all the things you despise about those that commit crimes and you start living in that world.  In order to be the best, you become them.  It happens far more often than you think.  Now do this for 10 or 15 years.  Once you become the role you play, your family doesn't recognize you anymore.  You are no longer the person you were.  Admiration and adulation from your bosses and even the bad guys becomes intoxicating and your negative behavior receives valued praise.  The "switch" begins.

 

Safe Call Now® Saves Lives... Just ask this Chief

Mike Cantaloupe-Chief of Police

I wanted to share with you what others think about Safe Call Now® that have relied upon us for help.  Treatment works, lives are changed and families are put back together.  We are honored at Safe Call Now® to serve others.

I am a firm believer in the Safe Call Now® program. When I was first appointed as Chief of Police, I encountered what I believe to be a Chief’s or administrator’s worst nightmare. I received a call from another local Chief who stated that one of my officers was threatening to kill himself. There were several text messages from the officer. We were able to isolate my officer but then the real nightmare began. He was able to basically convince my entire command staff that he was fine and that we really needed to let him go home.  I had to literally order one of my Majors to “Baker Act” the officer who by the way is a very close friend of mine. Yes, that made the situation even worse. He became very aggressive towards me and basically told me he hated my guts and I was ruining his career, not in those exact words.  My friend and my officer was going to die!!! 

 There were also several other factors that were playing into the entire situation. Needless to say we “Baker Acted” him. I was able to keep him in the hospital for the full 48 hour psychological evaluation and then get him into a program thanks to Safe Call Now®.  I spoke with Chief Muldoon and he gave me your information. Without your help and the program knowledge Safe Call Now® has, we would have been attending a funeral for this officer. He actually told me how and what he was going to do if we had let him go home that night.

The program you recommended and placed my officer into for the initial professional evaluation was amazing and it allowed my officer/friend to really recognize he had a problem. At the completion of the initial evaluation, your assistance with getting him into the one of the finest treatment programs in America was again a godsend. 

The fact that he was back and close enough to home, allowed us to visit with him and on several occasions we did so and he did not feel isolated. The staff at the treatment center really made a difference and as of today my officer and my good friend is doing great. Sean thanks again and keep doing what you and your staff are doing because you really are making a difference.

Thanks, Mike Cantaloupe

Chief of Police

City of Cocoa, FL