When veterans become cops, some bring war home

Capt Christopher Mueller very slanted piece, I came from Army MP & Air Force Security Forces units. Many many transitioned into civilian Law Enforcement. No excessive force by any. Most had 3plus tours in Iraq/Afgan or both. Another hit piece on cops. Just my opinion.

I call BS on the tone of this article. It creates the idea that the problem is much bigger than it really is. When I started my police career 32 years ago, we had many members of the department who had been veterans (including myself). Many of those veterans were Vietnam veterans. There was no incidence of higher violence by veterans verse non-veterans. In fact, thinking back on the many violent situations I have been involved in, the veterans used more restraint. Currently, we have several OIF/OEF combat veterans in our department. Again, they tend to be more grounded than the non-veterans.

During my 30+ year law enforcement career at my agency, my department had a handful of guys get in trouble for excessive use of force. Not a single person was a military veteran. We also had a handful of guys and gals leave the department on a Psych retirement. Again, no veterans there.

I would argue that any incidence of military veteran police officers having a higher incidence of PTSD and excessive force has more to do with hiring practices then a general indictment of veterans as cops. Part of any police department hiring practice should include extensive psychological testing.
PTSD and violence issues by an applicant should be identified in the hiring process. Those departments that have a higher incidence of issues with military members need to look within themselves and determine if they are missing things during the application process.

PTSD is an overused and overblown topic in the media over the last few years. Most veterans do not have it. Although if you look at media reports, it makes it seems that all military members have PTSD. There was even a push a few years ago by an anti-gun group to not allow veterans who served in OIF/OEF to own guns because we all had PTSD.

PTSD is a real issue and many non-military folks are just as apt to get it (police officers and firefighters) as military members. However, I think the tie between PTSD and the military has been way overblown. The vast majority of military folks (including combat veterans) leave the military with no PTSD effects. I believe that its overuse and over-diagnosis may actually hurt those who really have it because sooner or later people will start dismissing it as hyperbole.

Kim Bolen RN CCM ACM Thanks for sharing this great article Kim with RP Members.