INDIANAPOLIS — There's help for IMPD officers coping with all the negative things they deal with on the job day after day - everything from drug overdoses to deadly shootings.
The organizers of the program called "P.O.S.T." believe the help it offers to police officers is needed now more than ever before. Especially when part of your job is going from crime scene to crime scene, day after day, it can be taxing.
IMPD Lt. Ron Brezik serves as the P.O.S.T. commander. The program actually started in the 1980s when the department experienced an uptick in officer suicides. The department learned that many of the problems connected to officer problems stemmed from major crime scene investigators over the years.
"We go to scenes. We deal with officers directly right after an incident and deal with them one-on-one," Brezik said.
The program is a team of officers who volunteer and are trained in peer support. There is a wide range of volunteers that consist of veteran officers, retired officers, and, in some cases, senior officers from IMPD's law enforcement partners from surrounding agencies.
They respond to high-stress scenes like the recent mass shooting at the FedEx Ground facility on the west side of Indianapolis. More than 125 Metro officers responded to the scene near the Indianapolis International Airport to find at least eight people shot dead and five others injured by gunfire.
The P.O.S.T. volunteers were able to check on the first responders at FedEx. Their main goal was to talk and let them know some of the post-traumatic stress they could experience in the days or even weeks to come.
"Tell them you may not sleep, lean towards using alcohol to get rid of those feelings," said Brezik.
The peer support was critical again this Memorial Day weekend. Two different officer-involved shootings during the holiday weekend could leave some of the first responders emotionally shaken.
"We talk about that with officers and they don't want to admit it, 'I am having some problems,'" Brezik said.
Even prior cases, like the fatal shooting of IMPD Ofc. Breann Leath and the passing of former IMPD Commander Jim Waters could have an ongoing impact on officers. Peer support even helps the families of officers, who may see the first signs of post-traumatic stress.
"You can store some of the stress and some of the anxiety and things that you deal with, but eventually it's going to bring you down," Brezik said.
The P.O.S.T. program has been so successful at IMPD, other departments have started similar programs.