Traumatized cops ostracized, ombud says

Sweeping probe of OPP finds it responds poorly to psychological injuries

Ontario Ombudsman Andre Marin has found it “surprising” to hear so many accounts of police officers’ lives falling apart after being exposed to violence. His office began an investigation into how the Ontario Provincial Police handle operational stress injuries in March 2011, after receiving 50 complaints on that theme. Marin calls what he discovered “the elephant in the room” — a reluctance by police superiors to deal with psychological injuries with the same level of concern as physical injuries, and a tendency to stigmatize those who suffer negative effects from their jobs. It became the largest investigation he has conducted since being named ombudsman in 2005, resulting in a150-page report that was submitted to the government Tuesday. A final report with recommendations is expected by October. Police are trained to present a disciplined and tough demeanour, Marin said. “You almost think these people should be super-human, but they’re not.” Marin believes the findings of his report will “shake up” the police community, but he hopes it is widely accepted. “We’re calling it out and saying, ‘Let’s fix it, and let’s give our first responders all the support they can get.’ It’s not fair to hang these offi- cers out to dry and ostracize them and stigmatize them.”

The report examines best practices among other law-enforcement agencies and measures the OPP — the force over which Marin has jurisdiction — against those benchmarks.

The investigation began after his office received 34 complaints and submissions from active and retired members of the OPP, and 16 from municipal police forces.

Once news of the investigation became public, a further 44 OPP-related complaints were received, along with 13 from active and former members of municipal police services.

Many told stories of suffering from anxiety, addiction, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder.

Bruce Kruger, a retired detective inspector with the OPP, was the original complainant, and encouraged 29 other OPP officers to join him. Now 63, and retired since1999, Kruger said he suffered after several serious traumatic incidents going back to 1977 that led to drinking, anger issues and nightmares.

He disclosed to the ombudsman’s office — an account he shared with the Star — that in 1977 he shot and killed an escapee from Kingston Penitentiary who was about to shoot a young rookie trapped in the front seat of his cruiser.

In 1978, he found a dead colleague frozen in the snow with three bullet holes between his eyes.

“I protected the scene for several hours and then assisted with the removal of his body,” he said.

Those and other incidents “continue to haunt me.”