Police and PTSD: Trained to shoot but not to cope

Clairmont: Trained to fire, but not to cope
The Spec.com
By Susan Clairmont
March 20, 2014

They are not even wearing a badge yet and already they are being warned of the mental toll the job may take.

They are told of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Of the stigma around it. Of the shame that is sometimes associated with it in the culture of policing — a world where strength and stoicism are often held up as ideals.

This blunt lecture from a retired cop with PTSD to a roomful of Mohawk College students on Wednesday — many of whom are considering a career in policing — is not intended to scare them away from the badge.

But it is a reality check.

"Do you really understand what you're getting yourself into?" asks Syd Gravel.

Gravel was an Ottawa police constable in 1987 when he was called to an armed robbery. Confronted by a suspect, Gravel repeatedly ordered him to show his hands. The man didn't reply and began turning toward him. Gravel believed the man had a gun. He fired a fatal shot.

Gravel went to the man's body. There was no gun.

"It absolutely devastated me that I made a decision to take a life and he wasn't armed."

The critical incident dropped Gravel into the pit of PTSD.
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