Page 5 - TPA Journal Sept Oct 2021

“4 – 4 – 4 / Pumpernickel”

Police Stress Management:

Tactical Breathing and Love

By Mike Davis, 1st VP Texas Police Association

f you spend a few years in this vocation, you will find that as you are continuously
exposed to the miseries of humanity, it can and will impress, and impact you. Over
Ithe years I find myself off-duty driving through areas that I once worked patrol and

the mere sight of certain homes, businesses, or highways, triggers a clear memory of
incidents I handled as an officer. Maybe it was a crash scene, a death investigation, a
chase I was in, a combative suspect, or even an unpleasant citizen interaction. Not all
of the memories are negative but those seem to be the most vivid memories in which
trigger my senses and I can smell the smoke or the decomp of a human body. I can recall
fine details of incidents that are years old. I take the time to reflect on those incidents in
a positive way and I often use them as teachable moments as a police instructor. I enjoy
using my personal experiences along with those of other instructors in building winnable
reality-based training scenarios for students. You often hear officers telling, “war stories”

about the same cases over and over again and I know that I am not alone in my feelings.
I have been a police officer for twenty years and have served in various roles at different
agencies but the most rewarding role I have today is as a police instructor.

One of my favorite classes to teach at the academy was “Wellness and Stress
Management.” Stress is an important and much needed part of a cop’s life. Cops
generally love eustress. It is considered the “good” stress that builds excitement and

healthy challenge. We feel it when we engage in competition, when we have a good day
at the range, when our favorite team wins at the last second of the game, when we get
promoted, and even when we meet someone new. The impact of daily stress in this
profession can be acute or chronic and mental and physical wellness is key to proper
management of the impact is has on our life. The tragic reality of our profession is that
too often the stress develops into PTSD. We know that sending young troops into combat
for a year causes life altering PTSD but the stigma that exists in our own communities is
the slow response to address PTSD in officers that has tragic results. These community
guardians experience segments of trauma through repeated critical incident stress over

5, 10, 20 or more years. The Law Enforcement Suicide Data Collection Act charges the
U.S. attorney general, acting through the director of the FBI, to establish a data collection

Sept./Oct. 2021 www.texaspoliceassociation.com • (512) 458-3140 1