Walter W. Lippert, Ph.D.

ABSTRACT

The empirical work on the cognitive and emotional response of police officers to critical incidents has only now begun to catch up to the practical development of crisis intervention and management. Drawing from strategies used in several departments where officer homicides or suicides have occurred, approaches and techniques for observation, comparison, and intervention have been developed. Both constitute critical incidents and produce department-wide cognitive and emotional responses. The reactions of officers in the departments are compared with those in other departments where fatal shootings of suspects have occurred. Similar to Greenburg and Safran (1989) the emotional response is reviewed under three major headings: (a) the role of emotional expression in catharsis, (b) the role of emotional arousal in anxiety reduction, and ©) the role of emotion in experiencing. Intervention is based on cognitive behavioral theory where the meaning of an event determines the emotional response to it. Officers tend to have a high need for control and will usually try to suppress any emotional response to a critical incident. The critical intervention in the first 48 hours after the event may well determine the likelihood of a posttraumatic stress disorder developing.

INTRODUCTION

          Police departments throughout the country have been developing various measures to respond to critical incidents. A critical incident is an occurrence where a sense of helplessness and trauma has occurred. The development of a critical incident response into a posttraumatic stress disorder is dependent upon the way the response is addressed. Critical incidents usually produce anxiety of a high level, depression, and frustration, with a sense of anger. The response may be solely that of an individual police officer or may involve a district, a peer group, or the entire police division. The critical incident response goes through fairly typical stages of denial, collection of facts as known, physical anxiety, peer group support wanted, moral self-questioning, and acceptance (Lippert & Ferrara, 1981).

CRITICAL INCIDENTS STUDIED

          The critical incidents examined involved two incidents where a police officer was killed either by a suspect or by his fellow police officer, three incidents of a police officer or a fireman committing suicide, and some thirty-six incidents of police officers shooting (either wounding or killing) a suspect. It is usually perceived in police shooting episodes that the response to the shooting is limited to the individual officer, his partner, and the immediate families of these officers. This is in sharp contrast to a homicide or suicide of a police officer, wherein division-wide and sometimes multi-department responses to the critical incident occur.

          There was one incident where a K-9 dog was killed by a suspect subsequent to which the suspect was killed. The result initially was a profound reaction on the part of the K-9 handler and his family to the loss of their friend of some seven years (the K-9 dog). They felt guilt in relation to the loss of their dog. Also a fellow officer had been killed in this incident, to which they felt obligation but not as intensely as they did to their own K-9 animal. Treatment was initially helping but was not continued.

CRITICAL INCIDENTS AND OFFICER RESPONSE

          The critical incident appears in many different kinds of situations. The shooting of a suspect by a police officer, for example, is a critical incident that tends to be an individual response rather than a group or divisional response (Appendix A). A natural or man-made disaster involving many injured people may result in the entire team developing depression and anxiety. The suicide of a police officer more frequently brings about a divisional response, where police officers throughout the agency are wanting an explanation as to the reason for the occurrence (Appendixes Bl & B2). The homicide of a police officer not only involves the immediate police department but also many surrounding department officers who experience frustration, sorrow, depression, anxiety, and anger (Appendix C). A very critical incident occurred in Newport, Kentucky, where a rookie police officer shot and killed his field training officer during a Saturday night look for "man with a gun" incident. This brought tremendous anguish to several police agencies in the tri-state area and a mixed response of anger, frustration, and sorrow.

          The degree of response, from individual to interagency, determines who are the police survivors. The death of a police officer in homicide or suicide produces a guilt reaction wherein a person or persons who are alive feel that they should not have survived. There are incidents of police response to occurrences such as hostage taking wherein at the conclusion of the hostage taking event, a hostage taker commits suicide. In this case there is no question that the negotiator must be psychologically debriefed for his own sense of helplessness, anger, frustration, and depression.

CHAPLAIN'S ROLE

          The chaplain is a vital part of the response. In the death of a police officer, the surviving spouse is best handled by a combination of the chief or district commander with a chaplain. The chaplain then participates in briefing with the captain of the district and the psychologist. The approach developed by our division involves the captain explaining to all officers on each relief the exact details surrounding the death of the police officer. The chaplain then notifies the same relief about benefits to the survivors, the paid education for the children, the burial arrangements, the funds due the spouse, etc. This is followed by the psychologist giving an explanation as to their own feelings, the possible anger and frustration, the need to express it (but not on the street), and cautions to avoid the unnecessary use of force. All techniques are aimed at eliminating the sense of helplessness and giving a sense of control. The chaplains are also very valuable in SWAT operations where, while the hostage taking demands the focus of the police officers, the chaplains can deal with the released hostages and with the hostage taker's family.

INDIVIDUAL RESPONSE

         The immediate response by the police officer is one of denial and suppression of feelings. There is obvious anxiety, depression, and anger. As the police officer collects facts to present to the internal affairs, homicide division, or any other investigative agencies, he is quite detail-oriented, dealing with facts and not emotions. The emotional response is being suppressed. It is believed that the posttraumatic stress occurrence is primarily the result of lack of proper treatment following the critical incident. Where an individual officer is involved in a shooting, the officer is generally brought in alone; the spouse and children, if necessary, as well as immediate partner are integrated in the response to discuss feelings and responses. If emotional responses develop within the interview between the officer and the partner, they are encouraged to share these emotional responses--tears shared, physical hugging of one another to express open concern, and relief, and survival. In the shooting of a police officer, it is important that the paramedic who brought in the body and the injured to the emergency room also be given support. The death of a police officer in homicide produces division-wide multi-agency response. The psychologist may well have to go to various departments and divisions and hold group exercises.

          These group exercises are meant to bring out the emotional response, to have a cathartic effect, and to experience the sense of loss, frustration, anxiety, depression, and anger. There is a need on the part of the police officer to control and suppress emotions, which has a detrimental effect on long-term recovery from the critical incident. A group ventilation process is aimed at the officer giving up responsibility, control, and anger in relation to the critical incident. As he/she feels a sense of helplessness, expresses emotional depression and anger, and experiences fellow police officers doing the same, anxiety reduction usually occurs. Funerals also provide a place to display openly one's emotions and provide the activation of a cognitive-affective network of relating intellectual-emotional responses.

THE MODEL OF TREATMENT

          The moving away from the initial choice of emotional repression (maladaptive method of psychological survival) to ensuing emotions as allies can lead to information processing, which leads to the appearance of new, more adaptive responses. To allow affective responses that were previously disallowed makes certain reactions and moods more understandable and paves the way for action and need satisfaction as stated by Greenburg and Safran (1989): "Without acknowledgment of feelings and desires, people feel empty, confused, and often fragmented, and they lack the impetus from action tendencies to motivate actions" (P. 21).

          The therapeutic approach must take into account the stages of response. The denial stage is quickly followed by the "gathering of facts stage," which is a point where psychologists should avoid intervention. Let the police officer determine the facts. After their interrogation is complete, only then may we begin the activation of emotions. Their physical agitation reflects the level of emotional anxiety. The need for peer group support is the acknowledgment of feelings, the need to fill the emptiness and deal with the confusion. It is the lead into the moral self-questions wherein repression is weakened and emotions can be developed into therapeutic ally and information processing. The "acceptance" of the death of an officer is the end result of catharsis, anxiety reduction, and allowing the experiencing of emotions.

PHARMACEUTICAL APPROACH

          It was found in some critical incidents of a particular personal nature that medications can be successfully used. The use of medication is to block the beginning of obsessive characteristics that quickly lead to intense self-criticism and inability to detach from the incident. An example involved a police officer striking and killing a six-year-old child while on routine patrol. Response of this police officer to this incident was a severe sense of helplessness, depression, and obsessiveness with his responsibility. He was immediately placed on Prozac, a Fluoxetine Hydrochloride, and antidepressant, which was quite successful in preventing a rapid development of obsessive characteristics very common to traumatic disorders. Medications found also to be useful are Nardil, and if this is not successful, Marplan. These are medications commonly used for "neurotic" symptoms of obsessive type characteristics. Medications are generally used briefly --approximately three to four weeks. One incident where an officer was involved in an off-duty accident wherein the passenger in the other car was killed where the officer was exonerated caused inability to sleep. Short-term use of Dalmane was helpful in bringing the anxiety level down to where sleep was possible for several days. Medication was then terminated.

CONCLUSION

          The affective concept is one of encouraging the police officer to portray emotional response. Intervention is aimed at activating an intellectual-emotional network to the critical incident to relieve sense of responsibility, need for control, and potential for anger. If the crisis intervention is successful in the first 48 hours, there is a high likelihood that posttraumatic stress disorders may be avoided. Empirical research into the averting of posttraumatic stress disorders through activating emotional response is being pursued by the author and follows Zeiig's (1986) plea. Sometime usage of chemotherapy is a parallel study also being pursued.

REFERENCES

Greenburg, L.S., & Safran, J.D. (1989), Emotion in psychotherapy. American Psychologist, 44, 19-29.

Lippert, W.W., & Ferrara, E.R. (1981, December). Emotional responses to surviving the deadly battle. FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin, pp. 6-10.

Zeiig, M.C. (1986). Research needs in the study of postshooting trauma. In J.T. Reese and H.A. Goldstein (Eds.), Psychological services for law enforcement (pp. 409-410). Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office.

APPENDIX A

        The following is an actual description by a police officer of fear, anger, and frustration following a shooting. This is a vivid illustration of human distress, humiliation, and outrage.

          A. Part of the incident is nonrecallable

          B. Nightmares

          C. Lack of sleep and weight loss

D. Citizens' reactions, threats, crank calls, hate mail, suspicion felt from friends and family

E. Need to explain, so you don't think, and they don't think you are a murderer

F. Loneliness, need for friendships, concern and support needed from other officers and supervisors

G. Psychological problems developed by wife and children in fear of someone trying to kill their husband or father

          H. A need for support more than ever before

          I. Inability to concentrate; obsession with incident every waking moment

J. Swings of mood from anger to sorrow, to hate, loss of confidence in self and system

          K. How you learn to live your life one day at a time

          L. How your life is changed permanently

M. The anxiety and anger over the length of the investigation, and facing the Grand Jury

          N. How you feel the first day back to work

APPENDIX B-1

<name>

          It's a difficult thing to realize that I no longer have your love and respect. I've become totally disgusted with life. Our relationship, my job, the cruelties of the world. On top of that I have the feeling about my physical health that all is not well. Besides the continuing and increasing pain from the arthritic spine and shrapnel, I still have this persistent bleeding from the bowels with much internal distress, and constant fatigue, even after a good night's sleep. I could probably contend with the physical problems if I still had your love and support. The added emotional distress makes the struggle for life seem not worth the effort. I find myself totally drained and tired of fighting. I guess Vietnam has warped my perspective on the value of life. Even my own. Since you said you'd be better off if I were to die, which I even have to agree with, I've decided to give you your wish. It's not a hasty decision. It has been decided over a long period of time, since July 1st. I've planned for it and even timed it for an advantageous period. That's why I had all three cars fixed up. I have just received my V.A. check on the 1st and my paycheck on the 2nd with uniform allowance. I've paid the mortgage. You have no current bills. I also put another $900.00 I had been holding back, with $680.00 household money. I don't want a funeral. Have me cremated and do it as cheaply as possible. I'm sorry you couldn't continue living with me as my wife. You know how I feel about divorce. That's why I've decided to make you a widow instead. Financially you'll be better off and should be able to take care of, <name> well until he is 18.

          Also I will have prices on all of my guns so you'll know about how much you can get out of them if you decide to sell. If you don't need the money, I'd like <name> to be able to have some or all of them. Also most of the accessories can be sold if you choose to do so.

          Who knows? You may come out of this well enough off you may not even have to work, but I still work for Ace, for now. I have all of <name> P.D.'s issued property together, except for the model 66 .357 I'll be using, but it will be tagged. The police will know it's <name> P.D.'s gun. See that the equipment is turned over to A.P.D. Call <name>, he can probably take it.

          Since I don't have a will, I will this last testament. Even though it's not notarized, it should help in Probate Court.

          In making my last will and testament, I leave all my worldly goods, cash, and real estate property, including all monies, the savings account, residence, to my wife. I also make her beneficiary to all insurance policies and survivor's pension benefits. With which, I pray she will continue to provide for the material welfare of our minor son. I also leave with her my undying love. I also pray I will be forgiven for any pain, suffering, and inconvenience I may cause anyone. May God have mercy on me.