An active shooter incident at the Old National Bank in Louisville, Ky. A mass casualty event with five dead and nearly 10 hospitalized. A rookie police officer was shot in the head, listed in critical condition. Any one of these factors is accompanied by a devastating volume of trauma to the officers responding. To consider all of them in conjunction would prove a formidable adversary to the most robust of agency cultures and resolve.
And yet, the Louisville Metro Police Department (LMPD) faced it all in their response to the tragedy on April 10, 2023, when a gunman opened fire in a conference room in a downtown high-rise bank building. In their presentation for the IACP Officer Safety and Wellness Conference this year, representatives of the LMPD’s wellness unit provided an overview of their unit, its response following the incident and experiential takeaways for implementation. In discussion, there are relevant, tangible insights yielded from the presentation that can be adapted for departments of all sizes — agency leaders and officers alike.
LMPD’S Wellness Unit
The presentation, conducted by Major Bryan Edelen, Lt. Joel Lopez and Sgt. Natalie Hughes, began by detailing the organization’s robust wellness unit. Key to any culture of resilience, preparation is key. LMPD wellness staff recognized the timely benefit of building its holistic approach to wellness from the top down, but the need and catalyst of this effort was fully expressed following the civil unrest of 2020. The nation was saturated with violent protests, but, specifically, LMPD was responding to unrest from the shooting death of Breonna Taylor.
The LMPD Wellness Unit, established in 2022, proves as a worthy model for officer wellness, not only in how it was designed but how its activation generated effective, meaningful results from the aforementioned bank active shooter incident.
In analysis, I have identified four C’s to depict their success that others may learn from:
- Comprehensive: The wellness unit identified five key pillars in which to offer resources and support: Physical, spiritual, social, financial and mental. This holistic approach recognizes that “wellness” is not just the traditional nutrition and fitness prongs. Further, it expands past the (fortunately) increased awareness of mental health. Financial concerns such as living below one’s means is a prevailing challenge throughout police culture. With the relevancy of over-commitment to police identity (for active and retired law enforcement personnel), the incorporation of spiritual and social elements is a welcomed sight to see in scope.
Collaborative: The unified efforts for LMPD’s Wellness Unit started in its conception. Previously, many wellness staff members and resources were scattered through an organizational chart. Various roles and positions were housed in different divisions of the department (peer support, chaplains, health and safety training officer). By aligning them all within the same unit, they were able to function more fully as a team in response to critical incidents, including the bank shooting.
Due to a collaboration between LMPD Police Chief Jacquelyn Gwinn-Villaroel, her command staff, city leadership and local businesses, they were able to build a wellness facility known as “The Summit.” The Summit is a three-story center that further focuses on the five pillars of wellness outlined above. It not only serves as a home base for the wellness unit, but includes a gym, cafe with refreshments, officer lounge, meditation room, basketball court, multipurpose room and a first aid station. Further, it houses mental health professionals and a full-time contracted physical therapy group.
By hitting health and wellness from multiple angles in an effort built through key alignment, LMPD had the structures needed to best address mounting challenges. Regarding the day in analysis, having the full-time staff members allowed them to focus on the evolving, multi-layered tasks at hand with 100% focus, which also freed up other personnel and resources to stay on top of continuing day-to-day concerns.
:LMPD’s Summit Wellness Center.
Photo/LMPD
:LMPD’s Summit Wellness Center.
Photo/LMPD
:LMPD’s Summit Wellness Center.
Photo/LMPD
:LMPD’s Summit Wellness Center.
Photo/LMPD
:LMPD’s Summit Wellness Center.
Photo/LMPD
:LMPD’s Summit Wellness Center.
Photo/LMPD
:LMPD’s Summit Wellness Center.
Photo/LMPD
:LMPD’s Summit Wellness Center.
Photo/LMPD
:LMPD’s Summit Wellness Center.
Photo/LMPD
:LMPD’s Summit Wellness Center.
Photo/LMPD
:LMPD’s Summit Wellness Center.
Photo/LMPD
:LMPD’s Summit Wellness Center.
Photo/LMPD
:LMPD’s Summit Wellness Center.
Photo/LMPD
Congruent: As mentioned, previous to the unit’s development and realignment of existing departmental resources, those resources were scattered. In many instances, one can recognize how joint goals involving multiple chains of command, different units and divisions can prove cumbersome and potentially ineffective.
Since the wellness unit had reformed as one full-time staff, specific leaders were able to best assess and deploy resources in a coordinated effort. For the active shooter incident at the bank, wellness leadership relayed the need to be adaptable. Peer support was deployed simultaneously with the safety officer for medical supply restocking. Boots on the ground were thus able to pivot as needed. This necessity was only further underlined when patrol officers needed to respond to yet another active shooting incident that same day, following the first.
Communicative: By having the congruent, collaborative responses activated through a singular leadership vein, communication was streamlined. They identified the range of needs to focus on: the injured officer, his family, the officer’s crew and addressing logistical benefits. By having strong relations already established with the area hospital, this made much of their response even smoother. In addition, the free-flowing communication between units was recognized as a dynamic that proved to be an invaluable asset.
Strong communication includes communicating back to your leadership and team. An introspective view on what went well, and what could be adapted or improved, akin to an after-action or debrief. For this incident, the wellness unit leaders recognized several takeaways. This included the need for a singular point of contact for all external support, which was overwhelming (in a good way). Outside agencies and donations poured in and a specific person to be the reception and liaison was recommended.
In addition, the presenters recognized the value of receiving help. For a large-scale event, outside agency wellness resources, such as peer support, can be crucial. Beyond the overall need, the wellness agents and peer supporters needed peer support. LMPD staff relayed the lesson that they could have brought in additional support sooner.
Conclusion
The LMPD provided a model in wellness — not just in writing but in practice. The departmental and city leadership was appropriately credited for building the systems and structures to support the critical work the wellness unit and partnering resources were able to respond to.
The presentation provided a reminder that it is not any one sole entity or unit that is responsible for wellness — not the bosses, not the peer support officers at the line level. It’s not even solely the individuals in a specific agency or department.
Truly, for wellness to be a legitimized effort and culture, it has to exist at all ranks, positions and in the community which we serve, supported and shared by allies and stakeholders.
