The Echoes of Violence in the Police Family
Page 4

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HUMAN PHYSIOLOGY
We are growing in our understanding of the physical and emotional impact of traumatic exposure. Reactions to the trauma, memory distortions, and increased vulnerability are a whole "mind/body" phenomenon.

The human body is a fine-tuned and complex system of pathways. Each of its 100 billion nerve cells has 200,000 synapses. The brain interacts with the endocrine system (pituitary, thyroid, adrenal) activating them to secrete hormones which are in turn carried by the bloodstream throughout the body. When hormones reach a certain level, they turn off the brain's activating brain cells. This is called a negative feedback loop. In order to understand the psychobiology of trauma, one must learn about the body's metabolism. Psychobiology is the study of chemical/structural changes in the brain that relate to changes in behavior and emotions.

Bessel van der Kolk, M.D. a noted researcher, trauma psychiatrist, and theorist describes the impact of trauma on the mind and body with the phrase "the body keeps the score" (1996). Studies have consistently shown a positive correlation between the severity of a stressor and the level of cortisol in the bloodstream. A severe stressor increases cortisol levels. Traumatic exposure that is chronic and cumulative produces chemical and biological changes that may be permanent.

While we do not understand fully the complexities of trauma-related changes, it is clear that a major mind and body pathway for reactions to stress becomes disordered. The result is a lowered tolerance to stress. Elevated levels of epinephrine and norepinephrine (stress hormones) in the bloodstream may cause anxiety, panic, and agitation in the aftermath of traumatic exposure. Also prevalent in individuals post-trauma is a form of adrenal hyperactivity that appears to be associated with hyperarousal, hypervigilance, anxiety, panic, irritability, and rage.

Stress-induced analgesia (numbing) can occur when there is an increased release of endorphins in response to stimuli resembling previous traumas. In persons suffering posttraumatic reactions, studies have also shown increased thyroid activity. Some researchers believe that sensitization of areas in the brain by traumatic stress can eventually lead to "kindling" or autonomous electrical activity in these areas which then causes intrusive thoughts and flashbacks. MRI studies have also revealed structural changes in the hippocampus which may be permanent. The hippocampus is involved in learning and memory, particularly explicit memory for events. (There are two types of memory: explicit memory and implicit memory. Explicit memory refers to recollections of facts and events. Implicit memory refers to memories of skills, habits, reflex actions and emotional responses. Knowledge expressed in performance like riding a bike is an example of implicit memory).

Difficulties in learning and memory are also prominent features in individuals suffering from traumatic exposure. Researchers have also discovered proof of changes in cerebral blood flow and brain activity due to trauma. Neuro-imaging techniques such as PET scans (positron emission tomography) show increased activity which provokes traumatic stress reactions by "telling the story." Conversely, Broca's area, which is involved in speech, is deactivated. This may explain the difficulty some officers have in verbal expressions of the trauma in addition to distortions of memory.

Individuals suffering from traumatic exposure also experience medical problems to include: migraine headaches, irritable bowel, early adult-onset diabetes, immune system problems, arthritis, and coronary artery disease. It is not surprising that traumatic exposure can have an impact on the body's immune system. In fact, police officers suffer many stress-related illnesses that are often left untreated. Police officers are very good at taking care of others. They aren't so good at taking care of themselves. Education is the key for understanding the mind/body connection in traumatic exposure among law enforcement officers. What an officer doesn't know can hurt.

ROLE CONFLICT & THE POLICE FAMILY

"In street police work, where you're exposed to a certain amount of violence and inhumanity on a daily basis, you come to realize that there are two different worlds. One world is the world where you work and the other world where you have your family and friends. But the worlds are a couple of light-years apart and you find yourself, especially in homicide, unable to tell family and friends about the other world because they can't comprehend it. I worked a lot of hours and had trouble differentiating between the two worlds."
-Homicide Detective Joe Quantrille Washington Post, December 5, 1988

The "image armor" that police officers develop is a defense mechanism that works well for the officer's survival. Unfortunately, it does not come without a price to be paid in terms of failed marriages, poor relationships with children, and family violence. The traits that make for an effective police officer do not necessarily make for a good spouse or parent.

Let us consider the role of the average police officer "on the street." Police officers have tremendous power. They have the authority to take away one's freedom. They are viewed, by the public, as protector and problem-solver. They must be "in control" at all times. An officer can never show that he is afraid or uncertain. He must control his own emotions when the normal person might falter. Sometimes, especially in cases involving children, an officer's "image armor" can shatter.

The following is an illustration of such an event:

Detective B was a member of the Department's elite homicide squad. He was highly respected by his peers because of his skills and his excellent closure rate, and he was respected by his peers as a hard-driving, hard-working, hard-drinking cop who was "tough as they come."

He was ready to call it quits at 7:00 a.m. after working 16 hours straight. It was one of those steamy mornings where the previous night's heat had given no reprieve from the scorching day that had preceded it.

The Captain walked in with an ashen look on his face and announced that there had been a mass murder in the upper northwest in a large rowhouse. Detective B was never known to say "no" to the Captain no matter how fatigued he was.

When he arrived on the scene the reporters and news cameras blocked the entrance. They clamored for his attention but he made his way through without speaking.

The gruesome scene inside assaulted every cell of his already worn body. Blood and brain matter dripped from the walls. Bodies of men, women and children riddled with bullets lay in unnatural poses around the house. Already numbed out he went to work.

Several hours later, the last of the bodies was being removed and Detective B opened the cellar door to escape to the cool dampness that struck his face.

As he walked down the steps he felt the tenseness leave his body escaping the silent clamor of activity. The basement was barely lit from one small window and his eyes had not yet adjusted to the dark when he spotted a deep basin sink before him. He would wash his hands and face.

As he turned on the water and felt its coolness, he reached for a string that dangled from a dirty light bulb and pulled it down. (It was already 2:00 p.m. and his wife, Pam, would be leaving for work at the hospital. He hadn't seen her in two days. He pictured her teasing him about her cycle and that the time was right for them to "make a little jimmy." After five years, still no children; but Pam wouldn't give up).

As he looked down into his hands reaching for some soap he froze. Lying in the deep tub was the blood-spattered body of a baby no more than three months old. A wave of nausea came over him and he began heaving the contents of his stomach until all he could get up was bile and acid, burning his throat as they passed through his mouth.

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