RCMP officer’s ex-wife speaks out about scrapped PTSD program (OSISS)

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RCMP officer’s ex-wife speaks out about scrapped PTSD program
(Global News) – The ex-wife of a RCMP officer is speaking out after hearing the RCMP abandoned plans to create a program to help officers suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

The former wife, who cannot be named due to a court order, says she still struggles when recalling what happened at her parents’ house in May 2011. That is when she says her former husband beat her with his fists and pulled out a loaded RCMP handgun in front of the couple’s two children.

The woman says that she and the children escaped, but it’s evident the terrifying incident has left all of them emotionally scarred.

“It was incredibly traumatic,” she said. “But what was more traumatic was the year-and-a-half that led up to it and watching one of the people that I love most in the world completely unravel before my eyes.”

She adds, “(My daughter) said to me, ‘Mom, I’ll never forget the sound you made when he pointed the gun at your head…and then he pointed it at his head.’”

The woman believes her ex-husband was too stressed out working as a serious crimes investigator with the RCMP. She believes the job pushed him over the edge.

“As soon as he got in front of me, he started pounding me with his fists… Even before that traumatic day, I had been looking for help.”

“I could see and everyone around him who loved him could see that he was falling apart and he was very distraught. His behaviour had changed. His whole demeanour had changed,” she said.

The woman contacted Global News after hearing the RCMP will no longer create a program to help officers suffering from PTSD.

“(A program like that) would have greatly helped my family. It would have made us understand what was going on. It would have probably enlightened him to be around people, to see that his behavior was so erratic and what was causing it. I don’t think he was quite aware of what was wrong with himself and to this day, I don’t think he is aware of it,” she said.

The Mounties began initiating plans in 2010 for a pilot project to treat post-traumatic stress. But as Global National’s Shirlee Engel first reported Wednesday, those plans have been abandoned.

RCMP brass said, “The organization has in place policies and programs that promote a healthy and safe work environment.”

Chief Supt. Gilles Moreau, the force’s chief human resource officer, says, “The RCMP has to look at the way we have our resources set up, and we have to maximize to get the most bang for our buck.”

But some say it’s not just a funding issue – it’s a cultural one.

Police psychologist Mike Webster has been especially critical of RCMP brass. He has taken matters into his own hands, running a peer support group for officers, without any help from the RCMP.

“The RCMP corporate culture is archaic and needs to be dragged into the 21st century.”

Webster adds, “There’s still a stigma within the RCMP among members, and it comes down from the top that you’re a weakling.”

The RCMP’s response to PTSD has the officer’s ex-wife fuming.

“They don’t care about the mental health of their employees and they have nothing in place to take care of them. They really need something. I think it is necessary for them to put in place the same occupational stress clinic that is provided for the military. There is nothing for families within the RCMP. Families are the last priority of the RCMP,” she said.

“They take advantage of the best workers and they’ll work them until they break. And if they do for some reason go off the rails there’s no safety net… And when you do speak up they make your life hell.”

http://www.globalnational.com/exclusive+rcmp+officers+ex-wife+speaks+out+about+scrapped+ptsd+program/6442602038/story.html