Trooper sees issue with compartmentalizing

I joined the State Highway Patrol while I was in my mid-twenties. Real fast, I picked up special code words and nicknames the guys had for various situations we encounter.

•  Crispy Critters = victims of MVAs [motor vehicle accidents] involving fire and fatalities— or significant injuries.
•  Acne = the word we used for someone who hit the pavement— like a motorcyclist or ejection— and had road rash across their face.

You get the idea…

One day, it hit me— right after I used one of these names for a casualty. These were humans.

Like me, they had families— spouses and parents and kids. Not only was I dishonoring the person, I was dishonoring the people who loved them the most.

Yes. It was a coping mechanism. I didn’t see that at first, but it was— and is— for many.

I know you have to do what you have to do to get by while you’re out in the field. You just cope while you’re in the field, on duty. If you don’t, you could get yourself— or others— seriously injured or killed.

But…

… you’ve got to deal with this stuff at some point.

We receive great training on the physical and intellectual requirements of the job. Sometimes, though, I don’t think they account for the emotional toll of it all. No one really trains us for that.