Leaning on fellow officers

Regarding the Feb. 10 front-page article “Officers haunted by fatal shootings in the line of duty”:

For many years during my career as a police officer, I had the honor of being a peer available for talking with officers immediately after shootings and over the long term. Normally, so much effort is expended by the media and special-interest groups to fault officers in this position that no one sees what it costs the shooter to use deadly force.

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The thrust of my training was to address as soon as possible the trauma these men and women suffered. Hearing from a departmental psychologist, as helpful as that can be, is different than hearing from a fellow officer who has been through the same thing. A conversation with someone who knows what it is to police the streets and has had the same type of experience adds immeasurable credibility to the message.

Believe me, the trauma of such incidents is extensive. I know many of the officers who were never the same after and, in some cases, had to retire or spiraled into a dark place. No one in these shootings comes away the same. All are changed, for good or ill, and life becomes divided into two distinct parts: before and after the shooting.

Joseph Wing, Annapolis