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Facing the Trauma

When intense events happen, game wardens help each other deal with the stress.

By Jen Shugert

December 2024 Issue

Warden water rescue during Katrina
Photo by Earl Nottingham

Ten years ago, Texas Game Warden Hollis Gregory was working a hot July night shift in Childress County. As with most night shifts, he patrolled back roads looking for hunters parked on the side of the road waiting for a deer to pass by. But this night was hotter and drier than most in the southern tip of the Panhandle. A hard wind kicked up. The fields in the area had just been plowed, blowing dust and debris everywhere, severely obscuring his visibility — and that of other drivers on the road. It wasn't long until Gregory received a call on his radio about a vehicle collision on U.S. Highway 287 involving a tractor-trailer. He was close to the site of the accident and notified dispatch that he was on the way. When he arrived, he was one of the first officers on the scene.

“There were two vehicles: a rolled-over car on its side in the middle lane and an 18-wheeler that was on fire on the shoulder. I saw the 18-wheeler driver standing there with a fire extinguisher. I checked on the people in the car in front. Everyone was fine. I couldn't believe it,” Gregory says, recalling his initial relief that no one had been seriously injured.

“I radioed EMS and the fire department. Both were already on the way. I briefed another unit that arrived on scene before going over to the driver of the 18-wheeler to check on him and find out what happened. The driver said, ‘I'm OK, but there is another car underneath my truck.’”

To Hollis, those words were a punch in the gut. A third vehicle had been claimed by the collision.

“I was a brand-new warden. I had never seen an intense accident. It was really, really tough to process. But with law enforcement, we have to finish the job, then we can deal with the traumatic experience later.”

Gregory and his team spent the next few hours putting out the fires, rerouting traffic and clearing the scene. When he returned home, he could not sleep. The next day he experienced an onset of sights and sounds reminding him of the accident and the couple who lost their lives. As a member of the Texas Game Warden Critical Incident Team, a volunteer-based network of game wardens trained to recognize the impacts of trauma on mental health, he understood what he was feeling.

“I knew I needed help. I knew all of this was completely normal, that my body and my brain were trying to rationalize the incredibly intense situation. I also knew that I needed to talk it through with somebody,” says Gregory, who called a fellow member of the Critical Incident Team to help him talk through and process what he had experienced. “He was very encouraging. He wasn't judgmental. It was completely private. It's not like I was instantly healed once I put down the phone, but there was enough affirmation and encouragement to help me continue to process the events.”

warden on boat near fire
Photo by Brent Isom

Gregory's experiences are not unique. According to studies, law enforcement officers experience a greater amount and variety of traumatic incidents than the average person — sometimes up to three traumatic events every six months. Police work is tough, stressful and dangerous. Game wardens and other officers find themselves in dangerous situations every day — arresting armed suspects, responding to drownings or evacuating residents from burning buildings. Without the proper resources and intervention to deal with intense experiences, law enforcement offers can develop post-traumatic stress disorder. The effects of PTSD may lead to depression, substance abuse, aggression and even thoughts of suicide. The mental health of law enforcement officers was recognized as an issue of national significance in 2017 when Congress passed the Law Enforcement Mental Health and Wellness Act to support law enforcement agencies in their efforts to protect the mental health and well-being of their employees.

warden in training class
Photo by Jen Shugert
mental health books
Photo by Jen Shugert

The Team

To combat the negative effects of trauma on law enforcement officers, a growing number of state and local agencies are incorporating intensive mental health programs. For the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, that program is the Critical Incident Team, or CIT for short. CIT volunteers offer support to their fellow Texas game wardens and state park police officers. CIT members are trained and certified through nationally recognized organizations like the Law Enforcement Management Institute of Texas. While they are not trained as mental health experts or therapists, they can assist fellow officers who may be struggling with their experiences.

The idea behind peer-to-peer support networks like CIT is simple. Because of continued stigma associated with seeking mental health treatment — and limited mental health resources in rural areas of the state — officers are much more likely to reach out to each other than a professional. So why not equip officers with the training to properly help their peers through difficult times?

Game Warden Cynthia Guajardo-Echols
Photo by Jen Shugert

According to Game Warden Cynthia Guajardo-Echols, CIT member and mental health advocate, the team serves a much-needed purpose: “We need to invest in our people. They need to know that we have their backs and that they are adequately prepared for what they will face in the field. Then we need to follow up with them to make sure they are OK.”

For Guajardo-Echols, it's about sending the right message to the 550 wardens across the state that they are not disposable or alone when they experience trauma. Guajardo-Echols says that reinforcing concern over their well-being and openly discussing personal obstacles and successes can ensure that wardens stay with the agency and feel valued.

While mental health-focused classes are becoming more common in modern law enforcement, that wasn't the case a couple of decades ago. Back then, James Barge was a fresh-faced Texas game warden patrolling his home district in East Texas. Like many rural game wardens, he formed close connections with members of other local law enforcement agencies. A friend who worked for the local sheriff's office was out on a call one day when things turned violent and he was shot in the line of duty. The friend survived, but he was distraught over the situation. Barge wanted to support his friend through the difficult time, but he did not know how. Through his research, he found an Assisting Individuals in Crisis course with the nonprofit International Critical Incident Stress Foundation. With supportive managers, Barge and a fellow warden attended the class at the Galveston County Sheriff's Office.

“When we got there, two other Texas game wardens were also there. We didn't even know they were coming,” says Barge, an Angelina County game warden and CIT lead for East Texas. “We sat through the class, got home, and as critical incidents happened, leadership started reaching out to us, especially when wardens were killed or injured in the line of duty. Captain Greg Williford, supervisor of Special Operations at the time, contacted us and officially created the Critical Response Incident Team, making me one of the team leads. We got to work and started growing the team. That was about 15 years ago.”

Barge and his counterpart in West Texas, now-retired Game Warden Kenny Lee, began building CIT from the ground up. They enlisted wardens across the state who were passionate about helping their fellow officers and willing to undergo days and weeks of intensive training. It took time for the team to find their footing, establish procedures and chip away at long-held attitudes that emotions are to be bottled up and ignored.

Over the course of 15 years, CIT grew from four volunteer wardens to a network of 34 wardens and 14 state park police officers. With the support of the agency, the Texas Game Warden Critical Incident Team serves as a model for other law enforcement agencies. CIT members train local law enforcement to facilitate their own peer-to-peer support networks.

With consistent interest across the state, Texas game wardens continue to provide training opportunities to new volunteers. Among them is Autumn Gillespie, who has been a state park police officer for three years. Her supervisor presented her with the opportunity, and she joined CIT. Recently certified through International Critical Incident Stress Foundation, she now attends regular trainings facilitated by Texas game wardens to prepare her for when she is called to support her fellow officers.

“You know, everything I've been through … I like to help people,” says Gillespie, assigned to Franklin Mountains State Park. “I have been in places other people have been. I thought I would be a good asset to the team, and it's not just for the team, it's for myself. It's the possibility of bringing comfort to somebody like others have done for me. Especially in this job, you have to be super-strong to go to someone and ask for help.”

The Future

According to Guajardo-Echols, normalizing mental health support among law enforcement remains the biggest hurdle. The stigma around trauma still prevents other agencies from developing support networks and stops officers from reaching out when they should.

“It happens a lot,” says Guajardo-Echols, speaking to her experience responding to multi-agency incidents. “We respond to an incident with other first responders who aren't offered CIT services. So, we take that on because they are our family. We bring them in, and we talk. We get them connected to resources and follow up.”

Despite the stigma and gaps in services that remain, the team celebrates their accomplishments. In 2017, CIT received the Outstanding Team of the Year Award in the Texas Parks and Wildlife Employee Recognition Awards Program. West Texas CIT team lead Bo Hancock received Warden of the Year in 2021. Guajardo-Echols received the Meritorious Service Award for her continued advocacy for the CIT program and connecting law enforcement to mental health resources.

In the meantime, Gregory continues to serve the people of Childress County and beyond. He believes a part of his success in the field is due to mental health awareness and the CIT program. “If we let traumatic events build up and we don't process them, it's going to affect our personal lives, it's going to affect our work and it's going to affect how we view the job. I can tell you from personal experience that talking through events and working through the intense accidents we see, that has benefited me.”


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