SUICIDE REVEALS GAPS IN SUPPORT
‘Suck it up and move on’ culture criticized
In recent weeks, RCMP Cpl. Trevor O’Keefe, a media relations officer in St. John’s, N.L., re-tweeted several pictures his fiancée had taken on their vacation in California and Mexico.
In one, the smiling couple, bathed in sunshine, mugged for the camera while holding colourful drinks. “Best vacation to date!” the post read.
But behind that facade, O’Keefe, a 17-year veteran of the force, had been wrestling with work-related post-traumatic stress disorder, according to family and colleagues.
On Monday, the 47-yearold father (he had a son and stepdaughter) took his own life at home, the CBC reported. An online obituary later revealed his death followed a “courageous battle with PTSD.”
Observers said the case highlights the urgent need for first responders in the country to address gaps in mental health services for their employees.
“It’s difficult to change a culture when the culture within policing ranks is one of ‘suck it up and move on,’” said Vince Savoia, executive director of Tema Conter Memorial Trust, a charity dedicated to providing mental health training and education to public safety agencies.
“It’s still the prevailing attitude.”
Since 2014, according to the charity, there have been 226 suicides among public safety and military personnel, 56 from within policing ranks.
A recent national survey involving nearly 6,000 first responders across Canada found 45 per cent of respondents reported symptoms consistent with at least one mental disorder — much higher than in the general population.
The survey results, published last month in the Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, also found RCMP officers, correctional workers and paramedics were more likely to experience mental disorders compared to municipal and provincial police and firefighters.
The research team, led by University of Regina psychology professor Nick Carleton, suggested that frequent relocation among RCMP members and the large number of members who work alone could be contributing factors.
Savoia, a former paramedic, said constant exposure to trauma can build up over time, affecting first responders’ personal lives.
“They inadvertently absorb the trauma they see and that impacts their ability to cope with future traumas,” he said.
They can also suffer from what Savoia called “moral injuries” — feelings of guilt and helplessness when they witness, for instance, a fatal car crash.
Savoia said better training is needed to help first responders recognize stressors they face on the job and to help them spot behavioural changes in their colleagues.
Even though there’s greater awareness of mental health issues these days, first responders still hesitate to seek help because of fear of blowback from managers, he said.
In a statement, RCMP spokesman Sgt. Harold Pfleiderer said the force takes mental illness very seriously, which is why it developed an “aftercare guide” for managing stress after critical incidents in 2016 and is working to ensure critical incident debriefs are mandatory in every detachment.
The force is also carrying out a 10-year research study of its cadets to identify how trauma and stress-related disorders manifest and ways to provide better support.
Pfleiderer said the force has documented 39 suicides among its active and retired members since 2006.
Earlier this year, Canada’s auditor general slammed the RCMP in a report that found members “did not have access to mental health support that met their needs.”
Programs to support early detection and intervention were only “partially implemented,” the report found. In more than one-quarter of cases examined, the RCMP “did not have records that would allow us to assess whether members received the help they needed when they needed it.” And one in five members who sought mental health support did not return to work or were discharged.
Meanwhile, the policing community in Newfoundland and Labrador is remembering O’Keefe as a kind-hearted, “one of a kind” officer who loved the force and its traditions.
“Trevor was a moralebuilder. He was a spirit-lifter. He made people feel better about their jobs and their tasks,” said Staff Sgt. Boyd Merrill, O’Keefe’s supervisor.
“He had an incredible way to make you smile and laugh ... He didn’t die of a broken heart. It was a heart that was too big.”
Const. Geoff Higdon, a spokesman for the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary, described O’Keefe as “always positive and high energy.”
“He and I often worked together on projects ... and I always enjoyed our talks. Work talk aside, we always chatted about travel over a coffee when we got together and he spoke highly of his fiancée, Roberta.”
Colleagues suggested that years of dealing with tragic cases, coupled with fatigue and long hours, may have taken a toll.
O’Keefe, The Telegram reported, was the lead investigator in a house fire that killed three children in 2008. He was also one of the first officers to respond to a fatal police shooting in 2015 that led to a public inquiry, in which O’Keefe was questioned extensively.
One anonymous officer told the CBC that O’Keefe “bunkered away” a lot over the years.
“The public needs to be aware that when we go home and tear away that uniform, there’s not a Superman suit underneath.”
O’Keefe’s fiancée, Roberta White, seemed acutely aware of this reality. A couple weeks ago, she replied to an RCMP tweet about a fatal crash that claimed the life of a child.
“Thinking of how hard it is on you as first responders,” she wrote. “I know I’ll hold my RCMP husband/kids tight tonight.”