Sheriff and Daughter Share Heartbreak to Help Others With PTSD

Boone County Sheriff shares important personal message about PTSD
WTHR 13 News
October 19, 2016

"Taylor wanted us to share her story to save other lives," Mike Nielsen wrote. "Taylor feels very strongly that this is the beginning of a path that God has laid for her to help others with PTSD. This will be the beginning of our advocacy with her."

BOONE COUNTY, Ind. (WTHR) - The Boone County Sheriff is expressing an important message about Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and its effect on law enforcement.

Sheriff Mike Nielsen wrote in a post on Facebook Tuesday night that his daughter, Lebanon Police Officer Taylor Nielsen, almost lost her life to PTSD, caused by the February murder of a Zionsville mother and her young son.

"I always thought giving my life would be the ultimate sacrifice on my job," Mike Nieslen wrote. "I never imagined my decision that day to send my daughter into the autopsy of a young child to document the evidence would have triggered what was almost truly the ultimate sacrifice of my career – my daughter.

"I am a broken man.

"We will heal from this with God's grace, prayer and the right treatment."

He wrote that PTSD is not talked about in law enforcement.

"We have lost many lives to a disorder that is treatable and more common than we want to believe," Mike Nielsen said. "Police officers don’t want to admit that a call has affected them emotionally. Police officers feel that showing emotion is a sign of weakness."

He said that loved ones "need to do a better job at identifying the signs that our loved ones are displaying from the disorder."

He said Taylor's employer did not provide her with the proper treatment after the incident.
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