RIDGECREST, N.C. (BP)–While it is important that police officers learn to protect themselves physically, the lack of spiritual protection leads to the most stress, an Alabama sheriff said.
“At the police academies, the emphasis is always on the physical,” Tim Hawsey, Escambia County sheriff, said at the Law Enforcement Summit Oct. 1-3 at LifeWay Ridgecrest Conference Center in North Carolina. “There is a little bit of time spent on the emotional, but almost none spent on the spiritual side of protecting yourself.”
Hawsey noted, “Research indicates that the most physically hazardous job is not police work, but farming. Police work is, of course, in the top 10 as far as being physically hazardous, but it is the most dangerous job emotionally.”
National Police Suicide Foundation statistics cited by Hawsey report that 320 police officers committed suicide in 1997; 350 in 1998; and 386 in 1999. In 2000, 418 officers committed suicide, while 150 died in the line of duty, the study showed.
“A lot of these suicides were committed with the officer’s own police-issued gun,” Hawsey said.
“Fear is a constant companion in law enforcement,” he noted. “I believe fear is a God-given way of keeping us alert. It’s a way of being ready to listen to what God is saying to us.”
Quoting Zechariah 9:11, 16-17, Hawsey said, “God’s love is what allows us to look at the ‘scuzzbuckets’ we deal with every day and see them as God sees them. I tell you, guys, we can’t do that on our own.”
While officers are trained to use weapons to defend themselves and society, “your body is the greatest tool you’ve got,” Hawsey said. “You need to keep it healthy. Our spiritual strength and health are important because if they are healthy, the physical and emotional sides will be healthy too.”
Hawsey concluded by telling the officers, “God uses you out there on the battle line.”
The 2003 Law Enforcement Summit at Ridgecrest is set for Sept. 30-Oct. 2. For more information, call 1-800-588-7222.
–30–
(BP) photo posted in the BP Photo Library at http://www.bpnews.net. Photo title: SHERIFF’S COUNSEL.
