QUOTES
03:29 "The most important thing, number one thing, is stop asking the law enforcement officer, 'what's the worst thing you've ever seen? What's the most traumatic thing you've ever seen?'"
08:18 "There's an extreme deficit right now in the truth, in the truth in the media, in the truth in politicans, the truth in anything that's being put out to the general public is not fair and it's not accurate."
13:51 "We have to not only tell them what they're going to go through and prepare them for it, but we need to educate them on how to get the help. And that there is no stigma and it is okay to not be okay."
14:54 "Admitting that you do have weaknesses becomes your strength because you're able to say, I've got to work on myself so that way, I can be a better person and I can be a healthy person physically and mentally."
19:41 "When a critical incident happens, it happens not only to the officer, it happens to the whole family. And that's why we champion that the whole family needs to get help."
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SUMMARY
In this episode of the National Police Association Podcast, Sgt. Betsy Smith interviews Cathy and Javier Bustos aka That Peer Support Couple. The calls to defund the police are wreaking havoc on police mental health and causing long term damage to recruitment and retention. Cathy and Javier talk about how police can get help and make it clear that there is no stigma to asking for help. They also highlight the need for family counseling since critical incidents affect more than just the police officers themselves.
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HIGHLIGHTS
00:41 Starting 'That Peer Support Couple'
02:00 Defund the police: Effects on mental health and ways to support
05:58 Recruitment and retention problems
14:09 The difficult task of getting help
16:18 Being law enforcement parents and its trauma on children
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RESOURCES