Frank_N_Stein
Grandmaster
Not to nitpick, but Bisard was at Hovey St, not Hamilton St. But I feel the same way, the lack of follow up by IMPD had a significant impact on the path he took and where he ended up.We harp on our guys/gals regarding speeds. My shift is almost all rookies and they can be a bit heavy footed. However, as much as we beat it into their heads, THEY control the throttle. We find that things tend to slow down the longer they are on the job for. I cannot MAKE them slow down. I can only try to pass along my wisdom.
Mental health is only recently getting attention (nationwide as well as for LE) and many departments are slow to respond.
However, I will say, our Wellness Unit does a fantastic job connecting officers AND their families to mental health, financial, relationship, marriage, or addiction, services. If you come in on your own, it's confidential and not held against you at all. For so many years, officers were told to "suck it up" and carry on, only to find the damage began to manifest itself in various unhealthy/dangerous ways. I've lost too many friends to suicide here at work or they lost their jobs, their freedom, for unaddressed mental issues the job CAUSED. Dave Bisard was a coworker of mine I liked working with. NEVER showed signs of alcohol abuse. Was stunned at his BAC after his crash. He was one of the first responders at the Hamilton St murders (7 killed including several young children). Then not long after that, he responded to a Bank robbery and got into a shootout in the woods with the suspect armed with an AK. The department never cared if those things affected officers, they were expected to go right back to work. He became an alcoholic after these. He is still responsible for his actions but the department created that monster. Only recently, do we look after officers after these types of incidents. They are currently working on yearly phycologist check-ups, paid for by the department, just like our physical checkups are. I'm all for that.
Applicants get a mental screening currently, the MMPI and a session with a phycologist. It is HARD to really know what is going on in someone's head without many, many sessions.