Every chance I get, I talk about the negative effects that came from the ”defund the police” campaign that took place five years ago. And for good reason.
The campaign was based upon absolute rage toward our men and women in blue following the death of George Floyd. It wasn’t enough that they asked for an investigation. They wanted police departments ravaged of their funds to “teach them a lesson.”
And, surprise, many departments listened, with cities draining these budgets and leaving officers without precious resources. Among them? Mental health.
“So what’s the big deal? They’re cops, they can shrug it off,” some of you may be saying. But it’s not that simple.
There’s a great deal of effort that goes into being a police officer. And it takes a toll on us. It really does. That mental health support is everything sometimes, especially after devastating situations that mean life or death.
In fact, one in every seven police officers suffers from some form of post-traumatic stress disorder. If that’s not startling enough, one in every ten deals with some form of mental illness.
But Bloomington gets it. The Minnesota-based city actually introduced a new program that’s looking to take care of its police officers — and it should be a shining example of how to take care of our officers.
Amos Olivarez serves as the wellness director of the Bloomington Police Department. “What I see is this beautiful picture of what wellness could eventually be for us,” he noted.
Now, he doesn’t have a badge himself, but he works closely with the Bloomington police, ensuring that they are in good hands.
“I didn’t realize how often they are dealing with really hard things. They are dealing with people on their absolute worst day for the most part,” Olivarez said, speaking with CBS News. “Police work in general is high-pressure, but police work in the Twin Cities is really high-pressure, because you can’t make a mistake. They’ve got to try to do it by the book every single time, they’ve got to show up with compassion every single time, and every situation is very different.”
He nails it. These are high-pressure situations. People with guns, knives, and whatever else walking about, carrying who knows what kind of attitude. These require a significant amount of patience and care — not only for their sake, but for the innocent civilians surrounding them. The last thing you want to do is create chaos.
Many, unfortunately, don’t see this. That includes a number of Democrats who insist that everything is fine when it comes to cutting precious police resources for the sake of other departments. As a result, these cities have actually seen a huge increase in crime. As a result, they’re starting to backpedal and find a solution. Bloomington’s certainly makes a lot of sense.
“I wanted someone to come in from the community to help hold us accountable to our core values,” police chief Booker T. Hodges said. “We need to make sure that our officers are healthy. We also need to make sure that our departments are in alignment with our community. Because when they’re not in alignment, you are gonna have problems.”
Exactly. Not having things in alignment can mean miscommunication. And I assure you, that is the last thing you want in your city. Miscommunication can be crucial in life-or-death situations, not to mention the finger-pointing that follows. It’s just unnecessary.
Olivarez made it absolutely clear which direction he wants this program to go — and I cheer him on for it.
A healthy cop, a cop that is holistically well, that means that they are out doing really good police work from a place of wholeness and wellness. Before it was just dust yourself up and you’ll be fine, and now it’s, there’s more debriefs, there’s more making sure that mentally and physically you are making it through this job.
That about sums it up. Police officers are human beings, too, just like you and me, trying to get through this turbulent world. They deserve just as much care as everyone else.
All I can hope is that other leaders learn from this example. It’s time to stop “defunding” the police and start “reassuring” the police.
Michael Letts is the founder, president, and CEO of InVest USA, a national grassroots non-profit organization that is helping hundreds of communities provide thousands of bulletproof vests for their police forces through educational, public relations, sponsorship, and fundraising programs. He also has over 30 years of law enforcement experience under his belt, hence his pro-police stance for his brothers and sisters in blue. Those interested in learning more about Letts can visit his official website.
Image via Pixabay.