Gordon:
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Dave Luecking of the St. Louis Review wrote a
great article on your service with the Dallas Police
Department and your current position as an instructor in criminal
justice.
When were you appointed as a deacon at
St Joseph Catholic
Church
and what are your primary responsibilities as deacon?
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Deacon Mark:
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Gordon, yes I agree. I was assigned in May (2016) to St.
Joseph parish in Farmington. Prior to that, I served the last six
years and my formation years at St. Joseph parish in Bonne
Terre, about 15 miles north from where I am assigned now. Right
now my primary duties centered around the Mass and this fall
teaching. I enjoy preaching and find the process of developing
my homilies both spiritual and educational for myself and I hope
the end result the same can be said by those who hear it. As is
the case for permanent deacons are responsibility is only
partially the parish, we are in the work place as well.
Currently my ministry is Peace and Justice with my work focusing
on working with those in the Criminal Justice profession and
those who would encounter the profession on a daily basis. For
the last two years my focus has been on peace and nonviolence
work with area police agencies developing a retreat for first
responders as well as working with various organizations to
educate them on the role of agencies in their communities. |
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Gordon: |
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How have the recent police murders affected the police whom you
know and their families? |
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Deacon Mark:
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Gordon for the most part the families seem to be at a heighten
sense of concern for what many would say is obvious. This
concern has affected the officers since often the stress which
may result is PTSD is demonstrated at home with the family. As
is the case when situations like this occur the officers work to
be the center of control and strength for their love ones while
inside the struggle between making sense of it all rages. For
the last few years since the events of Ferguson and Baltimore
many officers were feeling very unappreciated while those of us
who no longer walk the beat but work to support our brothers and
sisters saw the danger that was building by the increase of
media coverage and commentaries that attack all police for
allegations not yet proven of the actions of a few.
Our
officers desire to serve, they desire to bring peace to their
communities. Law enforcement is but a part of their job and
unfortunately it gets lost in all the negativity that the
officers face day in and day out. I think whether or not
officers will admit we go through survivor’s remorse every time
a fellow officer is killed. It doesn’t even have to be with your
department, but you question what could I have done. |
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Gordon: |
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Could you comment on
post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) that affect many of our
police, its symptoms, and treatment options? |
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Deacon Mark:
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First of all, I am not an expert and for sure it is not my field
of study. My approach as you would imagine is spiritual. But the
symptoms generally are insomnia, fatigue, loss of appetite,
nightmares or thought of nightmares when deciding to try and
sleep, anxiety, depression, what some call numbness or a lack of
concern or emotion, and for sure a fear of personal safety
beyond the normal level.
There are various treatment options that range from medication
to counseling. Although, some techniques such as retreats as
well as breathing exercises in the form of meditation has shown
to reduce the stress levels and help deal with preventing PTSD
although anyone suffering from PTSD should consult with a
professional not simply a spiritual director of physical
trainer.
One
has to always remember that the image of officers male and
female like soldiers are people who a tough and can handle
anything, so to be at that level of asking for help or
confronting PTSD one as to overcome the stigma association with
PTSD.
Treatments such as associated with psychotherapy with group or
individual, recreation therapy, and as mentioned before
meditation in the form of trauma sensitive yoga and various
forms have helped. Taking the foundation of the Ignatius
Spiritual Exercises and the use of silence for extend retreats
over a three day period as in the case of the St Michaels
Retreat have shown to help attendees reach that level of
recognition where stress is in their lives. |
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Gordon: |
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How can police chaplains help address
PTSD among our police? |
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Deacon Mark:
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For the most part they are there to listen. Not to talk or
provide words of wisdom as much as being there to provide a
source of venting and support and then if the moment provides
for it, that period of grace working in the officers lives to
see what is there for them. Faith is key in recovery. To take
that void or hole that lies in the center of ourselves and
remove all the junk that people try to fill it with, especially
as officers are known to do, “boys and their toys” and see the
importance that their faith plays in keeping hope alive in their
lives, in their family, and their community. Once an officer
confronts his or her part in the situation, takes responsibility
faith becomes key to the road to recovery. |
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Gordon: |
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As a specialist in criminal justice, could you share with us
your suggestions on what public policies our political
leaders consider to improve our criminal justice system? |
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Deacon Mark:
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I am not sure if there is enough space or time to answer this
question. Over the last few years as has been the case since the
development of police agencies in this country the police
departments have been looked at by many as the single
responsible agency to handle any and all domestic problems that
come about on a daily basis. An officer is looked at by the
average person as the representative of the government. All that
a person has been promised by the government falls on the
shoulders of the officer or fireman or EMT when they arrive at
the scene. They are to be counselor, mediator, public works
repairer and even trash collector as well as private security.
On the reverse end, the government has seen fit to simply place
the label of law enforcer on their shoulders. And then there is
the media who simply want them to be both superman and saint,
not to mention to do all this with perfection.
To
put all this back in place, officers must have a solid
foundation in morality and who they are and their role. To be
public servants is asking a lot of each individual far more than
being an enforcer of the law. For this they need a support
system that allows time to process and deal with the ever
growing violent society as well as establish the tools in each
of them to work through all that they encounter on a daily
basis. They as well as those who work with them and especially
the citizens must be reminded they are only human and not
machines nor are they miracle workers.
Proper recruitment of personnel, beginning with education and
followed by training is the start. All policies as well as
political leaders must hold themselves first accountable
regarding policies and laws before placing those on the
frontline accountable for enforcing and upholding such policies
and laws. They as well are to be the examples which they expect
others to be, before they call upon perfection from those who
wear the uniform. It is not an “us vs them” mentality, we are
all citizens of the world and most importantly we are all God’s
children. No matter our color, our gender, our religious
affiliation or where we come from and live, we are all brothers
and sisters. If we approach the situation with a clear
understanding that we are all connected and sharing this world
together then we can begin to solve issues because there is no
issue that we can truly separate ourselves from. In the end
every one of us are responsible. Each life lost to violence,
each act that ends with violence is a failure not on the police
but on society and God weeps for all who die each day at the
hands of another. Every life is a creation of God and is
precious.
We
need to do away with those policies that wish to divide and cast
blame on those only because of the uniform they wear, the
position they hold, the color of their skin, or the community
they live in. Policies and laws need to address the injustice
that is taking place for all. We cannot claim to address a
policy or law that labels all who wear a uniform guilty before
the facts and then cry out for justice when others claim the
same discrimination because of the color and gender of a person.
We must open our eyes and see what is truly wrong in our
thinking when it comes to the criminal justice process, the
public policies and the actions of political leaders. No policy,
no law will ever end racism and violence, only man can do so in
his heart and then his mind and there he will find God was
waiting for him all along. |
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Gordon:
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Thank you for a great
interview, your service and leadership, and especially your
insights into the challenges that we all share to better love
and care for each other and reduce the violence that scars so
many of our communities. |
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