By Joelyn Hansen
Idaho Falls Post Register
IDAHO FALLS, Idaho — In the moments following a fatal crash, homicide or suicide, a police officer has work to do.
His or her resources - and those of fellow officers - are needed to figure out how the crash happened and who may be at fault. Because of this, officers are often pulled away from consoling survivors and loved ones.
That’s where a police chaplain steps in.
“While the policemen are doing an investigation, (chaplains) are able to fill the emotional need of the survivor or the family,” Chaplain Corps liaison and police Capt. Darren Cook said.
The Chaplain Corps is a group of Idaho Falls clergymen who volunteer their time to perform the service to the department.
The Idaho Falls Police Department recognized the need to start a chaplain program a decade ago, Chaplain Terry Petty said.
Petty had served as a chaplain in Nebraska and knew how big an asset the program could be to police officers. Petty has been with the IFPD chaplain program since it began.
Chaplains assist survivors, family members and even police officers in dealing with accidental deaths, suicides and homicides, he said. A chaplain will notify family members after fatal accidents and help them through the initial moments of grief.
“If we can help that family within the first hour, it helps with the grief process,” Petty said. ""Even if they’ve had another death, they’re facing something at that moment they’ve never faced before.
Idaho Falls’ volunteer chaplains - Petty, Mike Glaser, Dale Handy and Gale Mattson - are on call 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
On average, chaplains respond to anywhere between 50 and 75 calls a year for the department. That’s more than one call per week.
There are also occasional situations in which the chaplains are able to assist officers, Petty said.
He recalled an incident in which an officer responded to a teenage suicide. The officer found it difficult to deal with emotionally because he had teenage children, Petty said. As a chaplain, Petty was able to help the officer through that situation.
Not everyone is cut out to be a chaplain. Glaser said it takes a special person, adding that the job can be emotionally and physically demanding as chaplains respond to all sorts of emergencies at all hours of the day.
The local program has been fortunate to have several chaplains through the years who have been those special people and who’ve worked well together, Petty said.
Prior to the establishment of the Chaplain Corps, officers were the ones trying to work with the families and helping them find resources to help them with their grief, Sgt. Phil Grimes said.
“It was tough; you don’t get a lot of training at the academy to deliver death notices,” he said. "(Chaplains) are so much better trained to deal with that situation.”
The police department is thankful for the community volunteer programs, like the Chaplain Corps, Cook said.
“They’re people that donate to the community and in reality get so little back,” he said.
Copyright 2009 Idaho Falls Post Register