Officers have mental health options after officer-involved shooting
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
The officer-involved shooting Thursday in Columbia resulted in one person dead and three Columbia police officers on paid administrative leave.
During a news conference on Friday, Police Chief Geoff Jones said officer-involved shootings put stress on officers as well as the victims' families.
"When incidents like this occur, it affects not only the families of those killed or injured but the families of the officers involved," Jones said.
In the CPD Policy and Procedure Manual, there are various investigations that may take place after an officer-involved shooting, which Jones said puts a lot of stress on officers.
"A lot of officers will say you know it's my job, if I have to use a firearm of something I do results in a fatality it doesn't bother me and a lot of officers are stereotyped to have that macho personality, but we know that's not true," said Dale Roberts, executive director of the Columbia Police Officers' Association.
To help with the stressful nature of the job, the Columbia Police Department has programs in place where officers can talk about the incident and get help if things seem a bit off.
"Anytime someone is stressed, you know dealing with some kind of problems, that's just a distraction from doing your other work well," Roberts said.
Officers have the option to speak with someone from the Employee Assistance Program (EAP), peer support and or Chaplain personnel, which is a religious leader associated with the department.
"Anytime something like this happens I think it just really drives home to the family the risk that their loved one faces," Roberts said.
