Shooting: Greater Victoria police officers will be entitled to a reintegration program
Security forces in intervention after a shooting, on June 28, which ended in the death of two suspects.
To facilitate their return to work, police officers in Victoria and Saanich will be able to participate in a special program aimed at reducing the psychological effects that may result from the fatal shooting that occurred on June 28.
The Critical Incident Reintegration Program, developed by the Edmonton police, will take place over several weeks at the Malahat shooting range, explains the public affairs manager for the Edmonton Police Service Victoria, Cam MacIntyre.
This is a multi-step program for officers involved in a potentially traumatic event, such as the bank robbery in Saanich that ended in a major shooting and death of the two suspects.
“It is a reintegration process that focuses on reducing psychological risk over the long term.
—Cam MacIntyre, Victoria Police
As part of the program, police officers will be followed by a psychologist to determine potential stress triggers, whether it is the sound of a gun, the smell of gunpowder, or even the sound of a radio.
What we want to do in these cases is to make the situation as safe and comfortable as possible for the policeman, so we work with the pairs and with a trainer , illustrates Cam MacIntyre.
Without being able to confirm the exact number of police officers who will take part in this program, Victoria Police say that several of their officers will be able to join and that there is no is not reserved for the police officers who were on the spot during the shooting, but also for those who participated directly or indirectly in the case.
On June 28 around 11 a.m., Police responded to a call after two armed men broke into a Bank of Montreal branch in Saanich, Vancouver Island. The ensuing shootout sent six police officers to the hospital and killed the two suspects.
Victoria Police confirm that one of their officers remains hospitalized due to his injuries.
