“Little stuff” can make a huge difference

February 02, 2009 10:14 AM •

In one of the many incidents detailed in Chuck Remsberg’s book, Blood Lessons, an officer involved in a major traumatic incident shared what he felt was the most supportive thing a fellow officer did for him after his incident and the least supportive.

The least supportive: “One of the supervisors who responded to the scene immediately walked up to me and asked, ‘Did you have your hat on?’ Those were the first words out of his mouth to me. Not, ‘Are you OK?’ Just a question about my hat. That really bothered me.”

The most supportive: “One of the backup troopers quietly put his hand on my shoulder in a half hug. That small move comforted me tremendously. It reassured me I was going to be all right and that I had the support of my fellow officers.”

Remember, after a major incident, “little stuff” can make a huge difference!

For more tips on how to help a traumatized officer, read the special series, 20 tips for helping a traumatized officer.

Fitness & Health

Scott Buhrmaster

Scott Buhrmaster is Vice President of Training and Editorial for Police1.com, which was awarded the “Quill & Badge Award” for Excellence in Journalism by the International Association of Police Unions. He is also the Publisher of Police Marksman magazine and has served as Contributing Editor for Law Officer magazine. He has been a member of the law enforcement training community since 1989, when he began work as Director of Research with Calibre Press, Inc., producers of The Street Survival Seminar.

Throughout his tenure at Calibre, Buhrmaster was involved with virtually every aspect of the company’s officer survival training efforts, from the planning, creation and marketing of the organization’s award-winning textbooks and videos to developing and securing training content for the Seminar. In 1995, he was named Director of the Calibre Press Street Survival Newsline®, an Internet-based officer survival training service he helped found. In less than five years, Newsline readership grew from 25 officers to more than 250,000 in 26 countries, making it one of the most popular training vehicles in law enforcement history. His efforts now focus on providing training and information to the nearly 400,000 officers worldwide who visit Police1.com every month.

Prior to joining Police1, Buhrmaster, who also serves on the National Advisory Board of the Force Science Research Center and stands as an active member of the American Society for Law Enforcement Training and the International Law Enforcement Educators and Trainers Association, was President of The Buhrmaster Consulting Group, an international consulting practice for the law enforcement training sector and the publishing industry. Scott may be reached at buhrmastergroup@comcast.net.