Police Officer and Chimp PTSD?

[Tink415]

Shame on the CT House for letting that bill die. I believe I read police officers are eligible for Workman's Comp when suffering PTSD resulting from using deadly force on a human, but not a mammal. A crazed chimp is not the usual type mammal police officers have to deal with.

 

[Luvchefmic]

What the man was saying on Dr Oz today, was pretty bad.

When he came up on the scene, he saw what he thought was a Gorilla. The Chimp was so pumped up, and appeared huge to him. Snarling - showing his fangs.

He saw the woman, whom he assumed was dead - until she started moaning and flailing her handless arms. But he could not get out of the car, as the chimp was raging towards him.

He shut his door, and did not think to lock it - as he didnt think this thing could get into his car. It did.

It opened the door, and came at him, with again, it's fangs snarling.

Hi CathrynRose....I didn't see the show but I'll bet this PO will have nightmares the rest of his life and if that's not PTSD I don't know what is

Ruthie

 

[CathrynRose]

Hi CathrynRose....I didn't see the show but I'll bet this PO will have nightmares the rest of his life and if that's not PTSD I don't know what is

Ruthie

And that's what he was saying.

He said it didn't really happen for a few months, but he started having terrible nightmares. His wife was in the audience, she was crying. It was pretty bad.

I didn't get to see him talk to the end (darn puppy! ) but the parts I saw, it was - well, I got a feeling of pure terror from him. He was genuinely traumatized from it.

 

[EMom]

I think the injuries she suffered and he witnessed would be enough to justify that claim. That was such a horrific case. I don't think any mammal would be justified, like hamsters...no. But even dogs could be awful. What if it was a pack of dogs that seriously disfigured a child? I gotta say if I had to deal with a scenario like that I'm not sure I wouldn't have serious issues. They really need to take these on a case by case basis and not set up arbitrary rules because there will be a bizarre exception. I really doubt anyone ever forsaw a 200 pound chimp who was well known in the community, high on perscription drugs and drunk, ripping a woman's hands and face off then coming after a cop when they decided what would and wouldn't be allowed the last time. I'm sure there will be other bizzare cases in the future none of us could dream of.

I can buy PTSD. Yes, a cop may come across horrible crime scenes....Maybe even crimes in progress. But to come across a freakishly strong animal ripping body parts off a human being (to the point she was assumed to be dead) and then having that freakishly strong animal come within a few seconds of doing the same thing to YOU? It's beyond what just about anyone could wrap their brain around. This made a vicious dog attack look like being licked by newborn puppies.

I think the idiot, delusional chimp owner ought to be locked away in a padded cell for life. She's a hazard to the rest of the world.

 

[Evi]

I don't know, you know is it something you see everyday. That a wild animal charges at you trying to kill you and then rips the face and mangles another human being in-front of you and then you shoot it.

Seems legit to me I don't think officers encounter this kind of thing everyday nor do I think anyone else does. But maybe some people have a stronger threshold for visual violence. I think I'd be traumatized if it happened to me.


Quote:
Originally Posted by Aisling View Post
As horrible as it was for him, he's a police officer that should expect to see gruesome things during his career. They see children squashed flat or in pieces from auto accidents, people burned black and charred, people with half of a body with their insides seeping out after jumping in front of a subway train...

I don't know, but where I'm from, half the police force (and fire force) should be on disability from PTSD because of their experiences.
They also should get paid much more check the suicide rate for police officers and since your in nyc check how much your officers get paid its really truly sad for what they have to endure.
Evi is online now Report Post Edit/Delete Message

 

[Evi]

double posted sorry

 

[disneymarie]

Most of you will remember the vicious attack on Charla Nash by Travis the Chimp. This officer was in his vehicle when the chimp approached. I ripped of his mirror and attempted to open the door and get into the car. The officer shot the chimp. Since then he claimed PTSD and attempted to collect worker's compensation. Is this a justifiable claim? Should someone be able to collect worker's comp if they shoot a vicious dog? A rabid raccoon?

As a police officer retired I can see if the result of the entire attack took a toll. It is an extremly emotional job, and no one can immagine what we see. The totality of what call may be the one that gives you that wall of emotion you can't get though.

I know any discharge of our weapons is tough. Some guys are hunters and killing a deet hit by a car is nothing, but to see the results of this devestating injury, and a pet that was like a human form devesting, I would definatly have trouble.

Even pit bull. Did you see the toddler that left her yard and the chained dog reached her as she came in his turf? Her face was in a death grip and nearly ripped off, 99 stiches.
Killing that dog, if I had to and that darling child so injured, would be a long time until I could face duty.

Cops are not made with emotions of steel, there is a threashold each persn has.
I am glad that he faced his emotions, I can tell you often offcers hold it in afraid of being declared unfit for duty,
Prays for the woman, and all involved to have healing peace.

 

[Cornhusk]

PTSD is a very serious condition and what one consideres not to be traumatic enough could be very traumatic for one person. Just because a person's profession is dangerous doesn't mean that person isn't going to go through PTSD. That is like telling a soldier that they knew what they were getting into and therefore should not be affected by what they say or did. I don't think anyone here is qualified to guess if the officer has PTSD, these are assumptions.

 

[haley123]

I ripped of his mirror and attempted to open the door and get into the car.

According to this you're the chimp that was attacking the police officer.

 

[Boxley]

According to this you're the chimp that was attacking the police officer.

Ohhhhh...that explains it.

Dawn, tsk tsk

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

Ah but Aisling PO / EMTs /Paramedics / Medical Examiners / Firefighters etc EXPECT to have to deal with these things (and Thank God some people CAN handle these things) and have ways to destress and talk things out among their peers...THIS circumstance how the heck could anyone prepare their mind to wrap around the scenario that this PO came upon ? no way is this covered in any classroom or training that anyone I know has ever had

For that matter--military are expected to be open to the possibility of going to a war zone and experiencing injury. Yet, their PTSD is recognized and treated and those who have it severe enough do get disability.

Just b/c something is "expected" in a line of work does not make it an adequate litmus.


The problem with PTSD or even in any situation--if we place our own litmus of how "we" would have perceived the situation--we are creating a grave injustice to the person who actually experienced the situation.

I have PTSD and it isn't something I like to admit the source of it b/c it seemed so minor and silly compared to other people who have "real" PTSD. Pretty sad--but that is the nature of our society. Folks without psychiatry degrees trying to put their own spin on the "worthiness" of an event to have "legitimately" caused PTSD.

Heck--my own mother disputes my PTSD at times--b/c whatever caused her PTSD was much much worse.

 

[DawnCt1]

As horrible as it was for him, he's a police officer that should expect to see gruesome things during his career. They see children squashed flat or in pieces from auto accidents, people burned black and charred, people with half of a body with their insides seeping out after jumping in front of a subway train...

I don't know, but where I'm from, half the police force (and fire force) should be on disability from PTSD because of their experiences.

You made a good point. All of your examples are equally horrific. If an officer in those circumstances had PTSD, would their claim be honored?

 

[DawnCt1]

Its an ape. That alone is enough to freak someone out. A vicious ape that cannot be spoken to, communicated with, or reasoned with. It will kill you as soon as look at you. The average human isn't like that. I don't think many of us could see what that man saw, and be attacked the way he was attacked and be A-OK the next day.

Some people are more prone to anxiety disorders than others, but its incredibly gouache to question the sanity of others, with no background in the field.

Also, I'd rather him be on disability than be MY response officer and have a flashback and be unable to preform. How dangerous could that be!

There are actually people that fit that description....just sayin.

 

[DawnCt1]

For that matter--military are expected to be open to the possibility of going to a war zone and experiencing injury. Yet, their PTSD is recognized and treated and those who have it severe enough do get disability.

Just b/c something is "expected" in a line of work does not make it an adequate litmus.


The problem with PTSD or even in any situation--if we place our own litmus of how "we" would have perceived the situation--we are creating a grave injustice to the person who actually experienced the situation.

I have PTSD and it isn't something I like to admit the source of it b/c it seemed so minor and silly compared to other people who have "real" PTSD. Pretty sad--but that is the nature of our society. Folks without psychiatry degrees trying to put their own spin on the "worthiness" of an event to have "legitimately" caused PTSD.

Heck--my own mother disputes my PTSD at times--b/c whatever caused her PTSD was much much worse.

Just to be clear, I am not disputing his PTSD or his right to a claim. I am open to opinions on both sides of this argument. The likelihood of this incident ever being repeated in Ct. is so remote, that this will not be a budget buster, even for fiscally conservative me. Would I be horrified beyond belief if I were exposed to what he was exposed to? Absolutely, but then I am not prepared for encounters even remotely similar to this situation. PTSD is real. It is debilitating and requires and deserves treatment. I am not disputing that either. It might be useful to reword the bill from "mammal" to "primate", so claims are not taken to the extreme in the future.

 

[DVC~OKW~96]

You made a good point. All of your examples are equally horrific. If an officer in those circumstances had PTSD, would their claim be honored?

Why wouldn't it be? Some people get ulcers, some people have cardiac issues, some people have PTSD.

The judging of others in this thread is pretty disconcerting. Inability to experience empathy is a symptom for certain diagnoses as well.

Because one individual would brush off this chimpanzee attack as nothing more significant than a mosquito bite, while another is debilitated by it, does not render the second person's response invalid.

One of the premier, mitigating factors of psychological diagnoses is that there are rarely defineable causes for the illness. That we don't understand how things come to "be" tends to make some people not accept that those very things exist.

As with cancer, there are many forms of which the "cause" is unknown. Doesn't change the fact that the person has cancer. We don't say, hint or imply that the person with cancer of unknown origin is somehow malingering, or faking, or too weak, because that person developed the disease.

The stigma attached to mental illnesses seems to unfortunately be alive and well with some here.

Just because something is not fully understood does not make it invalid.

 

[PaulaSue]

He was on Oprah or something this week (sorry just had suregery and watched a ton of tv this week). He talked about being with the lady and everything that happend. Not just the shooting.

 

[xoprincessmomxo]

As horrible as it was for him, he's a police officer that should expect to see gruesome things during his career. They see children squashed flat or in pieces from auto accidents, people burned black and charred, people with half of a body with their insides seeping out after jumping in front of a subway train...

I don't know, but where I'm from, half the police force (and fire force) should be on disability from PTSD because of their experiences.

I haven't read all the responses, but that is as ridiculous as saying that our service men should not be able to claim PTSD because they should expect that.

This is a touchy subject for me as my father has PTSD stemming from Vietnam. It is a completely debilitating, awful condition. You obviously do not understand what PTSD is.

 

[DawnCt1]

As a police officer retired I can see if the result of the entire attack took a toll. It is an extremly emotional job, and no one can immagine what we see. The totality of what call may be the one that gives you that wall of emotion you can't get though.

I know any discharge of our weapons is tough. Some guys are hunters and killing a deet hit by a car is nothing, but to see the results of this devestating injury, and a pet that was like a human form devesting, I would definatly have trouble.

Even pit bull. Did you see the toddler that left her yard and the chained dog reached her as she came in his turf? Her face was in a death grip and nearly ripped off, 99 stiches.
Killing that dog, if I had to and that darling child so injured, would be a long time until I could face duty.

Cops are not made with emotions of steel, there is a threashold each persn has.
I am glad that he faced his emotions, I can tell you often offcers hold it in afraid of being declared unfit for duty,
Prays for the woman, and all involved to have healing peace.

A claim of PTSD is certainly understandable for police officers and fire fighters. What I have a real problem with is the hypertension/heart disease claims. I see those conditions as life style and genetics. Hypertension and heart disease affect people across all walks of life. Lots of people have stressful jobs and I don't think that those conditions should be considered work related.

 

[GeorgeG]

I don't think it's fair to judge all PTSD the same. Each case is different depending on both the situation and the people/animals involved. Sometimes it's an emotional issue and sometimes it involves work ethic.

 

[CapeMayMommy]

Is it any different than coming upon a horrible murder scene, and confronting and shooting the killer? I don't know if that is covered, but perhaps it would be. I don't have an opinion one way or the other. This situation is so bizarre that I doubt the state of Ct. will be paying out similar claims, unless someone in the future argues for PTSD for the shooting of any mammal. Perhaps the word 'primate' might limit the number of future claims.

If the officer had perceived that his life, or the life of others was in danger, it could trigger ptsd.

it doesn't even need to have a human/animal involved. a tornado could cause someone to have ptsd.