LANSING, Mich. — Michigan law enforcement is putting an emphasis on mental well-being after their work at Monday night's mass shooting on the MSU campus.
"It's not just important to be physically fit, we want our officers to be mentally healthy as well, and we provide resources to make sure that happens. Police officers are not automatons, they're human beings with emotions. I guarantee you every officer that was involved in that situation felt the gambit of emotions," said Michigan Sheriffs' Association Deputy Director Daniel Pfannes.
Pfannes believes that police officers should not be afraid to ask for help and wants to encourage officers to seek out professional resources.
"We worry about our officers mental well-being afterwards. We offer them counseling services, employee assistance program," said Pfannes.
Dispatchers are also included in the provided services.
"The dispatchers, they're the unsung heroes in this event. I listened to the events that night on the scanner. The dispatchers were doing a great job getting information out to responding units," said Pfannes.
He continued to applaud the dispatchers who responded to Monday night's calls.
"Dispatchers needed to figure out what was important, what wasn't important, prioritize it and get it out to the troops as quickly as possible," said Pfannes.
He went on the thank all of the first responders to were involved in the response.
"As a person that has been involved in law enforcement for over 40 years, I can tell you that I am extremely proud of the professionalism displayed by the men and women of law enforcement and their collective response to the active violence that was occurring at MSU," Pfannes said. "I firmly believe their rapid response and saturation of the campus caused the shooter to flee the area sooner than planned, thereby, preventing him from victimizing more students. All involved members, of the police and emergency medical services, deserve our thanks and praise."
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