Changing the Code

As the result of several incidents involving off duty police officers and drunk driving, including the December death of Sonia Baker, Fort Worth law enforcement has begun taking steps toward curbing alcohol abuse and teaching healthy stress management.

Chief Jeff Halstead, after noticing that much of the alcohol abuse could be stress-related, has ordered Officer Billy Mitchell to research alcohol and stress awareness programs and to integrate these programs in an attempt to reduce officer misconduct.

The stresses put on police officers are apparent. They are asked to deal with the worst aspects of society. On any given day, law enforcement is exposed to death, rape, murder and a whole bevy of other events that would make a normal citizen cringe. It is no small wonder that they may have a difficult time separating work from normal life, and who can blame them.

"When I go to church, I carry a gun like a lot of other officers do," Mitchell said about separating work life from home life. "When we go to Wal-Mart we're looking for perpetrators that we may have arrested or we may have upset at some point. We don't sit with our backs to the door at restaurants."

The program has already been well received with 12 officers coming forward to begin counseling. This is a big step for officers that have traditionally shunned this type of counseling or treatment.

During a presentation given to officers, Mitchell gave a presentation that goes a long way to show how alcohol abuse among officers has been treated in the past. In the video, an officer pulls over another off duty police officer who is driving under the influence. The officer goes on to tell his drunken peer how difficult a situation he is putting him in and calls a supervisor to the scene. The supervisor gives him a tongue lashing for being irresponsible and breaking the law, but then allows the officer to be picked up instead of being arrested.

It is this unwritten code among officers that has enabled many of them to leave bars and gatherings drunk, without other officers stopping them. In the case of Sonia Baker, officer Jesus Cisneros was allowed to leave a bar where other off duty officers could have done something to stop his drunk, and ultimately, deadly driving.

It is precisely this code that has allowed officers to bypass some of the same laws that they are sworn to uphold. Fort Worth should be commended not only for taking strides to eliminate an environment that enables incidents such as Baker's to happen, but also for attempting to get officers the counseling and help that many would not get without this program. Fort Worth has made it clear, they are serious about changing this code, and those who do not adhere, will lose thier job.