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Help available for officers experiencing post-traumatic stress

33 views · Published 19 July 2018 · 1:45 · Indexed 26 September 2026

Channel: LOCAL 12 · 2018 · News & Politics

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CINCINNATI (WKRC) - Regardless of where an officer serves, there are things they witness that most people will never see.

Cincinnati F.O.P. President Dan Hils described some of the many upsetting things he's seen in his 30-year career.

"Baby deaths, child deaths. I've seen very many homicides. I've seen some very bloody scenes," he said.

Then there are also the dangers of the job that also make it stressful.

For instance, last December a suspect shot a University of Cincinnati Health security guard and then shot at a Cincinnati officer.

All of it can cause post-traumatic stress. Hils says the department has peer support and a psychologist, as well as a chaplain who can help officers work through some of the stress of the job.

Sgt. Hils has not fired at a suspect, but through decades on the department, he knows officers who have.

Watching the bodycam footage of Logan Williamson stabbing Michelle Henry and then a Fairfield officer shooting Williamson is hard for even a 30-year veteran.

"They seen and experienced and got in the middle of the most horrific scene and violence that one could imagine," Hils said.

Hils says CPD has protocols and procedures to help their officers like all jurisdictions and that the mental and emotional well-being of those serving should not be taken lightly.

"I know lots of officers who've fired shots on duty. I know lots of officers that have had to take a life and I can tell you, I've never seen one of them find any joy in the experience at all; it was very, very traumatic," Hils said.

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