California Police Chief- Fall 2013 CPCA_2019_Spring Magazine- FINAL | Page 34

OFFICER
WELLNESS
IN THE
New Era of Policing
By John Carli, Chief of Police, Vacaville, California
As a police chief, I am troubled by the pressures our officers are experiencing.
How can we ensure the safety of each of our employees, both physically and mentally? As leaders, we
focus on training so they are prepared to confront the threats faced. Yet, there is another risk lingering
each day, the uncertainty that police officers are psychologically prepared to endure each crisis, able
to emotionally survive.
For many years we have heard the national rhetoric
that the police are the problem. Our profession was in
shock as we watched the attack unfold against the Dallas
police officers in 2016. I vividly recall what I was doing in
the moment as many of you probably did as well. Having
been at the White House with other law enforcement
leaders discussing the President’s Task Force Report
on 21st Century Policing, I was traveling home and
watching the in-flight television, absorbed with feelings
and gripped with emotion. I was experiencing these same
emotions again recently, the night Officer Natalie Corona
was ambushed and murdered in Davis, California, on
January 10, 2019.
Our society is facing a crisis, one that depends on
logical solutions versus emotional reactions. The death of
Natalie Corona drew significant attention, but the impact it
may have on our profession in the future is far from over.
Several of my officers heeded the mutual-aid call that night
in January. An exhaustive search for many hours led an
army of officers through the streets of Davis, an unsettling
war-like atmosphere that is hard to describe to those who
have never served in our profession. The suspect, in an act
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of cowardice, placed a gun to his own head in the presence
of officers, and then went inside a house. A single gunshot,
which was a self-inflicted suicidal death sentence, and
another traumatic scar, would soon rain down on those
seeking to end the clash.
A few nights later officers in my department descended
on a violent scene where a man tried to kill his own
family, stabbing two of them, setting the house on fire and
trapping the children inside. The manhunt lasted for hours
and included several allied agencies. I could feel the stress,
just like the night of Officer Corona’s death. “Shots fired”
was broadcast over the radio. I knew how much danger
our officers were in as they searched for this predator.
The use of deadly force against this attacker ended the
stressful search and triggered the officer-involved fatal-
incident investigation protocol. Our city awoke never truly
knowing the danger befallen on a seemingly peaceful town.
However, some of our officers and dispatchers experienced
a breaking point.
I drove to the crime scene and talked with officers,
checking to see if they were okay. Some were reeling with
emotions. One officer had also been involved in the recent