Rural law enforcement officers often receive little or no support for frequent on-the-job mental trauma

Police answer calls to tragic events such as school shootings, family annihilation, severe child abuse cases and domestic violence crimes. During those calls, victim care is a primary focus but little attention is given to the psychological trauma law enforcement officers may experience as they manage crime scenes, reports Susan Szuch for the Springfield News-Leader, which covers Ozark news.

It's often hard for police to ask for help, particularly in rural communities where suicide rates are higher, but reaching out for care is stigmatized, according to Szuch. If officers ask for mental support or have psychological struggles, they can be deemed unfit for duty.

Michael Mason

The experiences of Michael Mason, a rural police officer and later Police Chief in Humansville, Missouri, a town with roughly 900 residents, serve as an example. Mason had a hard time processing many of the difficult scenes he had to work. In 2023, he attempted suicide. Afterward, he was "given a choice to get help but be fired and lose his Peace Officer Standards and Training certification, or to resign and keep his credentials," Szuch writes. "Mason chose to resign."

Although Mason moved on from his job loss and landed the police chief position in Humansville, he faced similar challenges and had learned not to ask for help. "He took his own life on Dec. 14, 2025," Szuch reports. "He was one of at least 27 law enforcement officers who died by suicide last year."

While laws and attitudes toward psychological care for law enforcement officers have been slow to shift, some changes have been made. "In 2020, the Law Enforcement Suicide Data Collection Act established a data collection program to 'help agencies understand and prevent suicides,'" Szuch explains. "In 2022, the federal Public Safety Officer Support Act changed its definition for line-of-duty deaths to include suicide, which can affect not only the way the death is discussed but how honors are conferred and what benefits survivors receive."

For officers who want someone to talk to, law enforcement leaders stress the "importance of talking to someone who understands a law enforcement officer’s unique situation and experiences," Szuch reports. "CopLine, a hotline for law enforcement officers run by retired law enforcement officers, offers a free, confidential way for them to talk with someone who understands the trauma and pressures of the job." The phone number for CopLine is 1-800-267-5463 (1-800-COPLINE).