COLORADO- Tuesday marks one year since El Paso County Deputy Micah Flick died in the line of duty.
This week, Colorado lawmakers heard a bipartisan bill that would implement a plan for law enforcement agencies when it comes to behavioral health for officers and their families.
‘We never know how we’re traumatized when situations like this come up,’ said Senator Rhonda Fields (D-Aurora), who’s sponsoring the legislation.
Sen. John Cooke (R-Greeley) is co-sponsoring the legislation.
‘I think we just need to make sure that the officer’s behavioral and mental health is good,’ said Fields.
The bill passed a senate committee on Monday, it now moves to the full-senate for additional voting.
If the bill passes, it would require law enforcement agencies to come up with a plan to address possible post-traumatic experiences that could happen before the shooting, and resources afterwards.
Law enforcement agencies wouldn’t be required to have all of the suggestions outlined in the bill- instead they could determine which suggestions work best for their agencies.
Among the suggestions outlined in the bill include getting peer support for officers, and even taking the officer to a gun range, maybe even returning to the scene of where the use of force happened.
Additionally, the bill would offer grants for smaller agencies throughout the state.
‘Say they didn’t have any funds to purchase or to hire a police psychologist, then they can use those funds to hire in a police psychologist to help them debrief,’ said Sen. Fields.
For the full bill click here: Support for Officers in Use of Force
