By Chuck Remsberg

Part 3 of a 3-part series

In the first two parts of this special survival series, Chuck Remsberg shared a wealth of life-saving, yet often overlooked, things officers can and should do when trying to help a seriously injured officer survive.

Robert “Coach” Lindsey, one of the nation’s most popular officer survival experts with four decades in LE training, ASLET Lifetime Achievement Award winner, former colonel and academy director for the Jefferson Parish (LA) S.O

In agreement with PoliceOne’s other experts on the psychology of helping a wounded officer, Lindsey addresses some of the often-ignored practical aspects of responding to an officer down call that can make the difference between life-threatening chaos and life-saving control.

“When you get that kind of call-one of the worst things that can happen-you have to consciously make an effort to mentally, emotionally and spiritually prepare for what you are about to get involved in,“ he says. “In about 30 seconds you can bring to your conscious mind specific things you’re going to do, an ‘internal p lan’ for when you get to the scene.

“This very well may be the most important and challenging thing you ever do. With this ‘when/then thinking’ you start to manage things before you even get there, preparing yourself to be part of the solution, not the problem. The antithesis to that is a bunch of people standing around with no plan and a wounded officer bleeding out.

“First, you need to calm and control yourself. You don’t want to surrender your ability to act to things that diminish your performance skills, like high adrenalin, high blood pressure and respiration and high stress.

“When you arrive, you may come under fire from the same person who shot the officer. You have to protect and save yourself before you can protect and save him. Don’t take for granted that he has fled just because you don’t see him or there’s no immediate gunfire. Get cover for you and the down officer and use other officers to set up a safety perimeter in case the attacker surfaces again.

“Medically, you have three basic duties until EMS arrives: stop the bleeding, start the breathing and treat for shock.

“If the officer is shot in a vested area, he may still have tremendous impact trauma that will affect his breathing and put him at risk for shock. If he’s unconscious and not breathing, do you know how to clear his throat…how to restore respiration?

“If he’s shot in a non-vested area, where’s the blood coming from-the entrance wound? an exit wound? both? Do you know how to push a cloth into a wound to stop the blood flow…how to handle a sucking chest wound? If for no other reason, you need these skills at a genuinely useable level because you may need to apply them sometime to help yourself.

“Someone may have thrown a blanket over the injured officer to keep him warm as a prevention against shock. But is there any insulation between him and the cold ground, which may be the main source that’s chilling him out?

“Keep do ing what you can to treat the officer until you can hand that responsibility off to someone who is better trained in procedures and equipment than you are.

“The injured officer may be on the very brink of panic: ‘How bad am I hurt? I don’t want to die!‘ People want to know what their chances are and whether you can help them.

“It’s imperative that you take a positive position: ‘I’m here…I’m going to help you…You’re going to be ok. You’re shot once. I’ve controlled the bleeding. You’re breathing. I’m going to raise your feet and keep you warm. The paramedics are just two minutes out.‘

“Keep him informed so he has no mystery about what’s going to happen, and ask him what he needs. Give him believable, truthful feedback in which your non-verbal language and your verbal support each other. Tell him, ‘I want you to look me in the eyes and know I’m telling you the truth.‘
“Get the wounded officer involved, so he participates in saving his own life.“ One drama tic example occurred when Lindsey responded to an officer who’d been badly shot in the throat in an overgrown vacant lot where it was feared the assailant might still be lurking. Because Lindsey needed both arms to carry the officer, he handed the officer his pistol and told him to cover them on the way out to safety.

“That made him part of the process of surviving. It took his mind away from the gravity of his injury and empowered him to be part of saving his own life.“

When possible, “someone the officer has an excellent relationship with should be brought to him and should ride with him in the ambulance,“ Lindsey says. “He shouldn’t just be handed off to strangers, if you can avoid it.

“After the scene is clear, start taking care of yourself. For every stain on your body there are stains within you that need to be washed clean. The officer who was hurt may not be the only one who needs post-traumatic stress counseling.“

By Chuck Remsberg

Part 2 of a 3-part series

In Part 1, Chuck Remsberg shared the potentially life-saving importance of giving a seriously injured officer “something to do” and of getting him o r her “focused on things in life that are important to him.“ We continue the series with insights from police psychologist Dr. Alexis Artwohl and Calgary (AB) instructor Brian Willis.

Dr. Alexis Artwohl, former psychologist for the Portland (OR) Police Bureau, co-author of the book Deadly Force Encounters, expert on the mental impact of traumatic experiences, principal in Survival Triangle Training:

High on Artwohl’s list of crisis aids is the book Deep Survival: Who Lives, Who Dies and Why. Using fascinating case histories, the author explores how people react in life-threatening situations, and Artwohl believes there’s much that cops can learn from his discoveries.

What he finds, she says, is that “survivors are people who have the ability to stay cool under pressure and control their emotional response. Also they tend to be proactive in working toward their own survival. They quickly get control over the ‘Oh shit!‘ reaction and focus on what they need to do to save themselves.“

If you are injured, proactively helping your survival can include continuing to fight to neutralize the threat, seeking cover, calling on your radio, yelling for help. “You keep responding as a problem-solver,“ Artwohl stresses. “You don’t just sit there like a victim. Even when you’re injured, there are usually things you can do.

“Even the smallest things that help promote your staying alive are more powerful psychologically than just waiting for fate to play your hand. People who do that have much less chance of making it.“
[The author of Deep Survival, Laurence Gonzales, says he found “an eerie uniformity in the way people survive seemingly impossible circumstances. [T]he most successful survivors…go through the same patterns of thought and behavior, the same transformation and spiritual discovery, in the course of keeping themselves alive….[I]t doesn’t seem to matter whether they are surviving being lost in the wilderness or battling cancer, whether they’re struggling through divorce or facing a [financial] catastrophe-the strategies remain the same.“ Gonzales lists “The 12 Rules of Survival,“ with elaboration on each, at ]http://www.deepsurvival.com.]

Whether you’re wounded or trying to help another officer who is, remember that how an injury looks is by no means conclusive. “A lot of blood doesn’t mean anything,“ Artwohl says. “With today’s medical care, you may be shot through th e heart and still survive. You just don’t know enough on the scene to make an accurate determination of the long-range effects of a gunshot wound.

“If the wounded officer asks about her condition, reassure her, no matter how bad it looks, that medical help is on the way and that she’ll recover. The most important thing is for the officer to feel safe, protected and hopeful about surviving. In talking to her, you need to appear calm, in control and optimistic. Even if they don’t completely buy it, it’s a lot better than being negative.

“Any kind of physical contact tends to be comforting, if it does not compromise the wounded officer’s medical condition. Hold their hand, at the very least. Sit on the ground next to them. Keep your posture relaxed, smile, use a calm voice, no alarmist terminology or facial expressions. Avoid nervously pacing or fretting. Remember that 80% of human communication is nonverbal, and the wounded officer will pick up on your body language an d will be influenced by it.

“You need to engage in purposeful behavior designed to improve the situation. I’m not saying it’s easy to do, but it is important.“

Part of an optimistic approach might be to use humor, particularly if you know the wounded officer well. “Humor can be a huge stress reliever and help calm the injured person,“ Artwohl explains. She recalls a situation in which an injured party, suffering great pain, expressed concern that he would be permanently scarred. A friend tending to him quipped, “Yeah, you’re gonna be uglier than you were before!“

“Cops are used to black humor,“ Artwohl says. “Trading insults back and forth like partners often do in their daily relationship can help lighten the atmosphere and normalize the situation. It’s very helpful any time you can restore a sense of normality to an extremely stressful situation.“

If you don’t know the wounded officer well, you may want to introduce humor very gently into the situatio n. “Maybe start with something fairly low-key, like saying lightly, ‘I hate it when this happens,‘“ Artwohl suggests. “See what reaction you get.“ If you are wounded it may be helpful to crack jokes about yourself in relating to the responders who are tending to you.

When working with an injured officer, “don’t forget to ask them if there’s anything you can do for them right now,“ Artwohl says. “They may have specific wishes, to put a jacket over them so they’re warmer or to contact their spouse to meet them at the hospital-things that are important to them that you may not think of.“

And if you’re hurt, tell the responders what you’d like. “Successful communication on all levels is essential in these crisis situations.“

Brian Willis, 25 years as LEO/instructor with Calgary (Alberta) Police Service, certified in variety of performance-enhancement disciplines, creator of “Winning Mind Training” and “Verbal Trauma Control” programs:

“With the right approach to a wounded officer, you can stop his bleeding, eliminate shock and start his healing and recovery right there,“ Willis told PoliceOne. “Whether he’s shot, stabbed or has a heart attack, there are things you can say to help him use the power of his mind to survive…even if he is unconscious.

“Too often officers trying to help get caught up in urging the wounded person, “Don’t die!,“ “Don’t do this to me!,“ “Don’t give up!“ These are not useful things to say.

“What’s much more effective is to combine positive imagery, the power of language and the power of expectation” in what Willis calls Verbal Trauma Control.

“People who are in a trauma state are frightened, confused, uncertain about what’s going to happen and feeling very alone even if other people are around,“ he explains. “Mentally, they’re in an altered state that is very highly suggestible. They need someone to tak e command of their situation.

“As the helping party, you need to stay calm and project confidence and authority, just like you’re accustomed to doing with civilians in trauma. “Tell them, ‘I’m here to help you, EMS is on the way, the worst is over.‘ Emphasizing that the worst is over can be very effective in getting their mind properly channeled.

“To augment your practical first aid procedures, tell them, ‘You can start doing things to help yourself. Your mind has the power to stop your bleeding. Just let your mind do this. Stop bleeding. Save your blood. You’ll notice that you’ll start to feel better right away.‘ Gently but firmly keep reinforcing your commands.

“They’re not in an analytic, conscious state of mind that’s going to argue or reject what you’re saying. In effect, you’re bypassing their conscious mind and speaking directly to their subconscious, which is ultra receptive in this highly suggestible state and can process information at hyper speed, ev en if the person is unconscious and appears unable to hear you.

“The subconscious mind controls all the autonomic functions of the body. It knows how to do what you’re telling them to do. It can reduce the heart rate, lower blood pressure, slow or stop bleeding, release the body’s natural pain inhibitors, all through the power of suggestion.“

A paramedic who uses Willis’ techniques wrote him recently about an officer’s husband who suffered a burst aneurysm and was bleeding profusely from his abdominal aorta and suffering intermittent seizures when EMTs arrived. “I guided him through his blood vessels, how intact and perfect they were, how he can begin to stop bleeding to conserve his blood for its important functions, etc.,“ the paramedic reported. “Within a few minutes, the external wound had clotted. He improved his skin colour and condition and peripheral pulses for the trip in [to the hospital]. His doctor felt that he beat all kinds of odds and told him [later] t hat what happened on the scene was what saved his life.“

In reducing pain, Willis advocates helping the wounded officer create positive mental images in which they are in a comfortable place where the pain is able to disappear. He cites instances in which victims of severe burns have been told to “imagine a cold, clear mountain stream washing over your body, starting to heal it.“ Not only does this help subside pain, he claims, but these people “recover faster with minimum swelling and scarring.“

Using a technique Willis calls “discomfort dialing,“ an officer whose pain is relieved through the power of suggestion can be told that when he reaches a medical facility his pain will temporarily return to help the doctor in making an accurate diagnosis. After that, they’ll be able to “turn it down” again. You need to counteract any negative input, Willis advises. “Otherwise other officers or gawkers saying how horrible the situation is can have a huge adverse impact. ‘Immun ize’ the wounded officer by telling him, “You may hear negative things from other people here. Ignore them. These people don’t understand the ability of the mind to control and heal.‘ This will help sustain your positive suggestions.“

If you are the injured party, Willis suggests: “Slow your breathing down to slow your physiological responses. Tell yourself, ‘The worst is over. I can stop bleeding now.‘ Imagine your bleeding stopping and the wound closing over. Imagine yourself in your favorite place and experience how comfortable it feels. Direct your mind to scan the rest of your body to confirm that it is ok, so you’re not obsessing only about the injured part. Imagine-and do-what you need to do to help yourself prevail.“

The effectiveness of all this will be enhanced if you have advance experience with positive mental imagery. “The more you practice this approach in a variety of situations, the more comfortable and skilled you’ll be with it and the better you can tap into the incredible power of your mind for help.“
[Brian Willis offers a new one-day course, Verbal Trauma Control for First Responders, that can prepare you for effectively using the power of suggestion in a variety of crisis situations. For more information, contact him at: (403) 809-5954 or ]http://www.winningmindtraining.com]

Next: The final installment of this special survival series in which Robert “Coach” Lindsey, one of the nation’s most popular officer survival experts, shares insights into the value of “starting to manage things before you even get there.“ Stay tuned to the Street Survival Newsline!