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and investigative personnel to keep survivors apprised of the ranger’s condition and the
investigation’s status;
• The department will assist survivors in gaining access to the injured or deceased member;
• The department will provide hospital personnel with all necessary information regarding
billing for medical services, ensuring that all medical bills are directed to the department and
not to the member’s family or survivors; and
• The department will utilize the EAP to assist survivors as deemed appropriate.

Other Duties
The operations supervisor or designee will, in coordination with the investigating agency, assign
department member(s) as liaisons to assist the deceased or critically injured ranger’s survivors.
Liaison duties will include:
• Relaying information to survivors concerning the circumstances of the ranger’s death or
critical injury and giving them appropriate information regarding the investigation;
• Coordinating with the media and assisting with issuing statements survivors wish to make
and assisting them with general media inquiries;
• Filing workers’ compensation claims and all related paperwork;
• Presenting survivor benefits information;
• Coordinating donations directed toward survivors following the incident;
• Assisting with coordinating funeral arrangements at the surviving family’s request and
according to their wishes. This may include a large-scale law enforcement funeral, in which
case a proper venue will need to be located;
• Coordinating arrangements to include law enforcement notifications, honor guard,
pallbearers, traffic control, and so on if survivors decide on a formal law enforcement
funeral. (It is advisable to coordinate with the BPD or the investigating agency because of
their experience and resources);
• Assisting survivors by being available to them prior to, during, and after the funeral and
working with the funeral director on arrangements;
• Continuing contact with survivors and family members regarding updates on any
investigation and/or criminal proceedings and accompanying them to any proceedings they
wish to attend; and
• Providing routine contact with survivors and family for support and assistance, and to refer
the family for any further assistance required.

Critical Stress Incidents (CSI)

The World Health Organization (WHO) defines a critical stress incident as “an event out of the
range of normal experience.” Such events are often so disturbing they overwhelm or threaten to
overwhelm a person’s coping capacity. Research has shown that exposure to death, injuries, or
emotional duress can cause post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and, if not addressed properly,
can create disruptions in a person’s work environment.

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