The Pain Behind The Badge

I recently had a chance to interview Sgt. Clarke Paris of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department about his work to reduce police suicides and help police officers deal with the stresses of their jobs.

Clarke is the creator of the website: www.ThePainBehindTheBadge.com and the one documentary film of that same name.

“The Pain Behind The Badge” is a one-hour documentary film about Police Suicide created and produced by Clarke Paris in conjunction with 100 Watt Productions.

The hour long film was the winner for Best Documentary Film in 2009 at the Las Vegas International Film Festival and won Honorable Mention at the 2008 Accolade Film Festival features three real police officers from different agencies who share with the viewers their battles with job-related stress, marriage, and PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder). Two of these officers explain… in detail their personal struggles and discuss their journeys that took them to the brink of committing suicide. This film also includes interviews with a psychologist, a counselor, and a police officer’s spouse.

If you would like to listen to our interview please click the replay button below or RIGHT CLICK HERE to download (that’s CONTROL CLICK if you use a Mac then SAVE LINK AS…) a copy of the mp3 file.

During our interview Clarke announced two special upcoming seminars.  The first two day seminar will be presented in conjunction with Lt. Col. Dave Grossman October 7 & 8, 2010 Las Vegas NV to download a PDF flyer for this event CLICK HERE.

The second with be a “Pain Behind the Badge” seminar taught by Sgt. Clarke Paris and Tracie Paris, RN, BSN on October 18 & 19, 2010 Seattle WA. to download a PDF flyer for this event CLICK HERE.

This training presented by Clarke Paris, an active police sergeant with more than 26 years experience, and Tracie Paris, a Registered Nurse with 26 years experience, also addresses issues such as police stress, depression and the roles they play in law enforcement(relationships, use of force, Internal Affairs complaints, motivation, etc.).

The instructors use their personal experience and training to make this training dynamic, entertaining, and informative. Some of the other topics discussed in this Police Suicide Prevention Seminar are Peer Support, Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), Employee Assistance Programs (E.A.P.), Critical Incident Stress management (CISM), and the use of Police Chaplains, to name a few.

You can learn more about what Clarke and Tracie are doing at their websites: http://www.thepainbehindthebadge.com.

CopsAlive wishes Clarke and Tracie great success, and thanks them for all that they are doing to improve the quality of life for police officers and their families around the globe.

CopsAlive.com was founded to provide information and strategies to help police officers successfully survive their careers.  We help law enforcement officers and their agencies prepare for the risks that threaten their existence.

We do this by Helping Law Enforcement professionals plan for happy, healthy and successful lives on the job and beyond.  We think the best strategy is for each officer to create a tactical plan for their own life and career.

The Law Enforcement Survival Institute (LESI) works with individuals and organizations to help them create and sustain success in their lives and careers as law enforcement professionals.  It is the primary goal of The Law Enforcement Survival Institute to become the preeminent source for training, resources and information about how to create and sustain a happy, healthy and successful life and career while providing superior law enforcement service to your community.