The Phoenix Police Department made national news in 2018 when it set a new department record for officer-involved shootings in a year with 44. Although 2018 was an anomaly, the Department has had over 20 shootings in four of the last five years (Annual officer involved shootings reports, 2020). When an officer is involved in a shooting, the Department sends its wellness team to assist the shooting officer and any other employee involved in the incident. EAU sends at least two detectives to the shooting scene, an employee from CPR, and a chaplain to support employees at the scene. EAU will also contact dispatch and talk with the involved dispatcher and respond to their location as well if needed. EAU will follow-up with involved employees many times over the next few weeks or sometimes even months and years. Chief Williams or Executive Assistant Chief Kurtenbach respond to each officer-involved shooting and immediately contact the involved officers to express concern for their welfare. The Phoenix Police Department initially partnered with Centerpoint on a 90-day pilot program that turned into a 12-month agreement to provide Centerpoint’s Tragedy Response Vehicle (TRV) at officer-involved shootings and other critical incidents (Access Agreement 148967—0, 2018 & Access Agreement 150735—0, 2019). The TRV is a large recreational vehicle, used by the Department as a wellness tool to allow employees to stay at the scene and available for investigators, but in a less stressful environment. Officers can decompress while at the TRV, as Centerpoint has two large couches, a restroom, a meeting area with table and chairs in the back, multiple televisions with satellite T.V., and a phone charging bank.
With a focus on employee wellness, the Department changed the protocols when an officer is involved in a shooting. Previously, officers were given three days off after a shooting, whether they were workdays or their regularly scheduled days out. In 2015, the Department made changes to its officer-involved shooting protocols, changing the paid time off (administrative leave) to the rest of the workweek and the next week, which can be 8 to 14 days (PPD Operations Orders, 2020). During this administrative leave, the officer will have their initial post-shoot appointment with the Department’s contracted psychologist, shoot at the academy for a firearms familiarization, and they can choose to attend a CISM debrief of the incident. After the administrative leave, officers may be temporarily transferred to a non-enforcement work assignment for three weeks (PPD Operations Orders, 2020). The Department encourages officers to take the three-week temporary transfer assignment before returning to their regular work assignment. This allows for an approximately 30-day break before returning to their typical work assignment. The department mandates that all officers complete two visits with the Department’s contracted psychologist and the firearms familiarization before returning to their regular work assignment (PPD Operations Orders, 2020).
To improve transparency with the community, the Phoenix Police Department began releasing Critical Incident Briefing (CIB) videos two weeks after officer-involved shootings or other high-profile critical incidents. The videos include the incident’s facts as known to the Department at that time, 911 calls, and body-worn camera video. The Department allows employees involved in the incident an opportunity to view the video before it is released to the public. This viewing is entirely voluntary. To provide a better wellness environment for employees watching these videos and reliving the trauma, the Department also invites the EAU detectives who responded to the scene. The employee is allowed to bring a plus one, such as their spouse or significant other, to watch the video. For incidents where an officer was critically injured or an incident that the employee involved shows signs and symptoms of mental health issues from the incident, the CPR employee who responded to the scene will attend as the employee watches the video. The Department recognized that officers try to protect their families from many details of the job. However, as the CIB videos are released to the public, the Department’s position was that a spouse or significant other should not be put in the position to watch the video or learn the facts of the incident their loved one was involved in for the first time while sitting at work, home, or anywhere else without proper support.
Critical incidents affect each employee differently based on their background and experiences. EAU detectives respond to any critical incident they are notified of or are requested to respond to. EAU talks with all employees involved with the incident and connects those affected by the incident with appropriate resources. EAU follows-up with involved employees to ensure they are handling the effects of the incident and not showing signs and symptoms of mental health issues from the incident. Follow-up is especially critical for the detectives and crime scene specialists investigating the incident. Detectives and crime scene specialists are not able to get emotionally involved in an investigation while they are investigating and processing the crime scene, so reminding them of the resources available and following-up after the scene can play an essential role in the detective and crime scene specialist’s mental health. If an employee is having difficulty after being involved in a critical or traumatic incident, the employee’s commander can authorize giving the employee leave time. The leave time is used to get the employee to their next schedule days off and allow them time off work for their wellness. The leave time is reported as P.B. time, city business, and can be one to four workdays off. When an employee is given P.B. time, they must meet with CPR during their office hours at EAU before returning to work. The Phoenix Police Department recognizes the effects critical and traumatic incidents can have on its employees and wants to ensure they are given every available resource possible to get ahead of any issues that are related to these types of incidents. EAU and CPR will also lead to critical incident debrief for incidents, particularly traumatic incidents and officer-involved shootings, inviting all employees who had a role in the incident.
Another EAU daily responsibility is to check the duty report each morning which lists incidents of importance or involving violent crime. Although EAU constantly reminds department employees of the wellness services provided, employees, especially supervisors, often still forget to notify EAU when their employees respond to non-high profile critical and traumatic incidents. This can be any incident involving a child, horrific vehicle collisions, or an incident in which an officer performed life-saving measures on someone. EAU will research the incident and contact the employees involved to ensure they do not experience any adverse effects from the incident.