Have your perspective departments helped you all? And are people hesitant to speak out? Of course.
Of course, they are?
Of course they are hesitant to talk about it, um, for multiple reasons. People want their privacy, people don't want to appear vulnerable. I think that's one of the biggest things. You don't want to appear vulnerable to somebody, to anybody, especially as a police officer, we're supposed to be all right all the time. You know, we're the problem solvers, we can't have problems.
The department has put in place resources for people that want them. You have to actively seek them out. Counselors, wellness, peer support. So yeah, there are things but the individual has to make a conscious effort to seek it out, though. I think that's where the problem lies. Because four officers, for the most part, have spoken out against what we went through. Four.
There were hundreds of officers there. You ask any officer who is there, you'll get a different story about what they went through. But you'll get a different story from every single person that day. And for whatever reason, and I respect them, they don't want to talk. Many people don't. And I respect that.
I don't mind being vulnerable, my feelings. I'm 6'7, 350 lb. and I'll kick your ass if you say something bad about me, like so what? I'm joking. But, um, but no, I mean, you know, vulnerability is a big problem. And I think...
Is it a problem for men in particular? Absolutely. Absolutely. And the stigma about mental health is that we're always -- everybody's -- supposed to be okay, but the message is, "It's okay to not be okay." And um, we just need more people saying that, to stomp it out that stigma. We had officers commit suicide after January 6. You know, who knows if somebody couldn't just said something to them, to let them know that it's okay, or it will be okay.
