The NJ Police Chief Magazine Volume 24, Number 8 | Page 4

The New Jersey Police Chief Magazine | November 2018
FROM THE DESK OF THE PRESIDENT
CHIEF RICHARD J. BUZBY, JR.
LITTLE EGG HARBOR PD
I think that most of you will recall that one of my biggest priorities is resiliency and, in
particular, recovery among officers that have had the unfortunate experience of having
been a party to a police involved shooting or other particularly traumatic event involving
their respective duties. Although our basis is only anecdotal (word of mouth) evidence, it
has seemed to most of us that the rate of recovery and full resumption of their duties has
been very poor amongst that group.
One could fairly say that this is personal to me as I have had the unfortunate experience
of being that chief in more than one of these incidents. My staff and I have had to deal
with the shock and horror of the aftermath of these situations and, while we did receive many well wishes and offers
to help, it was ours to do and we quickly learned that there is no play book or safe harbors here. It fact, some of the
well intentioned direction we received actually ran counter to what we found to work best for us.
An example of this is certainly communication with our community. Here, we have a robust tradition of active
communication with different quarters of our community. Especially in times of trial and travail these had come to
expect regular, timely and truthful messages. On the other hand, the conventional wisdom for police leaders is these
situations seems to be to keep your mouth shut and let the investigation play out. In the face of the community
relationships that we have worked hard to establish and maintain, that simply did not work for us and we were much
more communicative than these conventions would dictate.
In considering this complex issue I have consulted extensively with academics and medical professionals. I had
wondered, for example, what has changed in the law enforcement landscape which was producing the record
number of hostile encounters with emotionally disturbed persons (EDPs). Through interaction with such esteemed
academians as Dr. Jim Drylie of Kean University, I was able to quickly confirm that not only had there been releases
of record numbers of EDPs in this state, but that this phenomenon has also occurred across the nation for at least
the last ten years. As with NJ, these national releases have not come with any warning to law enforcement and were
only heralded by record numbers of sudden, and otherwise inexplicable, encounters with many people who could not
always understand a reasonable request to desist by law enforcement professionals.
It was within this maelstrom that previous questionable policies have come home to roost. NJ, for example,
historically has some of the most restrictive policies with regard to the use of less lethal weapons platforms. This has
not only placed us at a disadvantage when apprehending and dealing with dangerous criminal defendants, but also
certainly plays a greater factor with these poor unfortunates who do not have a traditional ability to comprehend.
Many of you will recall that for years this and other professional law enforcement groups have called for adjustments
in the rules of engagement to allow for greater use of these technologies with but little success. I will say that we
have developed a good relationship with our new Attorney General and will call present communications promising in
those regards.
I also wanted to know what we, as law enforcement executives, could do directly to better help these officers dealing
with what is undoubtedly one of the most disturbing experiences of their lives. For this, I looked to the US military
where most of the members seem to “soldier on” through deployments where they have encountered even extensive
contact with the enemy. After a fatal encounter with an enemy combatant there is usually a debriefing of the
shooter and his/her teammates by superior officers. If the rules of engagement appear to have been followed, the
shooters remain with their squads and are expected to continue perform their duties, even if that means additional
periods of combat. It is only when that action fades and these individuals have time to consider all of this that
problems usually arise.
Contrast this with what usually happens to police shooters here. By protocol, all of an officer’s weapons are taken
and they are usually placed on administrative leave, away from the brothers and sisters they know and trust.
Although they are home with their families and the families are supportive they cannot possibly understand what this
experience entailed or the stress and terror that the officer just went through. These officers are usually initially
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