18
S moke S ignals
MARCH 15, 2017
Grand Ronde police joining Polk County support effort
By Brent Merrill
Smoke Signals staff writer
Grand Ronde Police Lt. Tim Her-
nandez will participate in the Polk
County Sheriff’s Office’s soon-to-be
formed peer support group for offi-
cers involved in police shootings.
Hernandez, who was recent-
ly promoted to lieutenant in the
Tribe’s seven-man department, was
tapped by Tribal Police Chief Jake
McKnight to join Polk County’s new
program.
McKnight said he chose Hernan-
dez based on Hernandez’s previous
experience with the major incident
task force in Deschutes County.
“He’s got the most experience and
he’s just a good guy,” McKnight
said. “He’s really articulate and he
cares. I just think he will be a good
fit for the position.”
Hernandez, who was the past
vice president and president of the
Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office
Employee Association, spent sev-
en years in Central Oregon as a
criminal detective primarily inves-
tigating deaths before joining the
department in Grand Ronde.
“Those emotions and things you
go through and the things you don’t
talk about like suicides and things
like that – having that experience
is helpful to be able to mentor some-
body and tell them it’s OK to feel
the way you’re feeling and it’s OK
to talk about it,” Hernandez said.
“More importantly, what the sheriff
is doing is really, really important
just so those guys know that there
is somebody out there that is part
of a peer group that you can reach
out to.”
Hernandez said his past experi-
ence took him to many crime scenes
and that there is a bond between
officers who have been involved in
traumatic events.
“I’ve investigated a lot of of-
ficer-involved shootings so you
know the emotions and the things
the guys go through when they go
through a critical incident,” Her-
nandez said. “Having a familiar
face that goes through and helps
you go through the process. It’s
easier to tell someone how I feel
than tell somebody who won’t
understand or maybe they think
I’m weak. It’s a lot easier to talk to
somebody who has been through
something like that.”
Tribal Emergency Operations
Coordinator Steve Warden agreed
that Hernandez is the right person
for the job.
“There is a guy who cares about
where he’s at and the people who
he works with,” Warden said. “He
has years of experience under his
belt and he is really into making
sure that things get done right. I
think he’ll be a real benefit to the
program.”
Polk County Sheriff Mark Garton
said the idea for the peer support
team began after two officer-in-
volved shootings in the local area
last year got everyone’s attention.
“We’ve had two officer-involved
shootings in the last seven months
– one for Dallas and one for my
agency,” Garton said. “The police
chiefs and myself started talking
about how we can help our own
folks because we utilized the trau-
he doesn’t know. He’s that guy that
ma team
wants to take care of our fellow dep-
from Marion
uties. He has a good perspective.
County at
“It takes a special person to be
the Dallas
that
peer support person. It has to
shooting.
be the right person – not everybody
We called
can do it. The team leaders will
for their help
find the right people within their
and they
organization that they think would
came over
be good at listening and helping in
and helped
Lt. Tim Hernandez
that way. The mission will be the
our guys.
same for all of us.”
“We thought let’s address this
Lane County Sheriff’s Office Sgt.
as a county so all the chiefs and
Greg Rice oversees the peer support
I figured out that we want to go
team in his department in Eugene
forward with this so we’ve had a
and he said the key to making the
couple of meetings about planning
peer support concept work is the
how to build a team.”
language in state law that makes
On July 5, 2016, 29 year-old Josh-
information gathered during peer
ua Bolster of Salem was shot and
support sessions confidential.
killed by a Polk County deputy near
“The ORS gives the support team
Doaks Ferry Road. The deputy was
some protection,” Rice said. “If a
cleared by a Polk County jury one
department has
month later.
a team then the
On Dec, 16,
communications
2016, Jeremiah
between staff
Anderson of Dal-
and that person
las was shot and
is confidential.
killed in the Wal-
That is huge for
Mart parking lot
us because that
in Dallas by re-
enables the staff
sponding officers
to feel comfort-
after Anderson
able talking to
allegedly resisted
the peer support
arrest for drunk-
team.”
en driving.
Warden said he
Garton said
the Polk County
~ Tribal Emergency has only had to
Sheriff’s Office
Operations Coordinator pull the trigger
on his weapon
will supervise the
Steve Warden once during his
team and that
law enforcement
each area police
career and it still haunts him.
agency will send a representative
Warden had received a call about
to be a team leader.
a burglary and hostage situation
In an article written by retired
near Sheridan early in his career.
Lane County Sheriff’s Office Lt.
When he arrived on scene he saw a
Dell Hackett, he said officers have
young man pointing a handgun at
always confided in each other when
him after already shooting a man
they faced tough times.
and firing the gun at joggers.
Hackett, who graduated from the
“He saw me and I jumped out
FBI National Academy and worked
with the shotgun,” Warden re-
in the Police Services Division
called. “He turned and I could
during his career, wrote that the
see him squeezing the trigger so I
idea for peer support teams found
squeezed the trigger on the shotgun
its genesis from police officers
and nothing happened and nothing
gravitating to other officers on the
happened on his end of it. He threw
force who were natural listeners
the gun away and I racked another
and good communicators.
round in it and came down on him
“It is no secret that our profession
and told him to freeze and he did.”
is wrought with emotional turmoil,”
To Warden’s surprise the shooter
Hackett wrote. “Critical incident
turned out to be an 11-year-old boy
exposure, cumulative stress, orga-
with a history of problems greater
nizational stress, family and rela-
than his age.
tionship difficulties can all seem
“He was a kid,” Warden said. “It
overwhelming at times.”
had
an impact. Even though the
Hackett, who was a board certi-
fied expert in traumatic stress, said
that in Oregon communications
and information gathered during
officer peer counseling sessions is
now privileged information protect-
ed by law.
Garton said officers involved in
the peer support team will undergo
training to help them prepare for
the issues they will face in support-
ing their fellow officers who have
been involved in crisis situations.
Garton has tasked Polk County
Sgt. Todd Fink with heading up the
peer support team.
“He has the right temperament
and truly the right mentality of
wanting to help take care of peo-
ple,” Garton said. “Todd can really
talk to anybody and calm them
down. He’s a good people person
and he interacts well with people
“Just pulling the
trigger is a tough
deal. That set
me back quite a
ways. I don’t talk
about it to any-
body."
guns didn’t go off, it had an impact.
When I retrieved his handgun it
was a revolver and it had three
dented primers on rounds that
didn’t go off. I figure those are the
ones he was squeezing off at me.”
Warden said he still has night-
mares about that moment.
“Just pulling the trigger is a
tough deal,” Warden said. “That
set me back quite a ways. I don’t
talk about it to anybody. I’ve just
gotten to the point recently where
I think it’s important to share those
feelings.”
Warden said he found help
through a state-sponsored program
that helped him deal with the after-
math of the near shooting incident.
“That was really helpful because I
got to listen to a lot of other people
tell their stories and we discussed
a lot of the same feelings of not
wanting to be in that position
again,” Warden said. “Hopefully it
(finally talking about his feelings)
helps others realize they have to be
prepared all the time.
Warden said he is glad Polk
County is beginning this program
to support officers at such a critical
point.
“Having peer support groups is a
real important thing,” Warden said.
“To have that support group there,
I think that’s huge.”
Incidents like those mentioned by
Garton are happening closer and
closer to Grand Ronde and they led
McKnight to ask Hernandez to get
involved with the peer support team.
“The biggest thing is I agree with
the other chiefs and the sheriff that
it is important that you have that
support there as soon as possible,”
McKnight said. “You know I’ve
never been through anything like
that. I can’t imagine what they are
thinking or what’s going on in your
head when you go through some-
thing like that. The more stress you
can take away from them the best.
“Unfortunately, slowly but sure-
ly, surrounding Grand Ronde the
county has been involved in a lot
of shootings. Yamhill County has
been involved, Lincoln City has
been involved. It’s just a matter of
time unfortunately that something
will probably occur here. When it
does I want to make sure I have all
my ducks in a row and that my guys
know they are going to be supported
and that we will take care of them
like a family.”