ABSTRACT
This chapter addresses the less often considered psychological, emotional and cognitive challenges that are uncommon and usually irrelevant in general traumatic events. It discusses a number of the important issues that arise for public safety personnel who when faced with making life or death decisions react with consequences that can be life changing. The importance of post-incident services is supported by many law enforcement organizations policies suggesting, if not in fact mandating, debriefings for personnel involvement in critical incidents. A critical incident that occurs when an officer is alone frequently yields a host of thoughts, feelings and concerns that tend to be absent in a multi-person response. Providing debriefings for law enforcement personnel following critical incidents, particularly the officer involved shooting, is a specialized task that is characterized by a knowledge base that comes primarily from hands-on exposure at this point in time.
