Over the past several weeks, there has been a rather large spike in the number of domestic violence cases in the city of Manitowoc.
While SeehaferNews.com has not reported on every single one, there have been days where two or three reports came in of one member of a family or relationship either physically or emotionally abused their significant other. While these situations are emotionally taxing on the victims involved, they can also be tough for the officers who see the fallout of the situation.
We spoke with Manitowoc Police Chief Nick Reimer about the issue, and he ensured us that “Mentally we are doing quite well. This is a time where there is a lot going on, but that’s not all that unusual,” he explained. “We live in a community where we feel like we have a small-town community feel, but we are still a pretty decent size for a city in Wisconsin. We have always had our fair share of serious calls, but the most important thing is that after the officers are done dealing with that, that they are ok with everything that is going on and we make sure their mental and physical health is in tip-top.”
Reimer said that the protocol in the Manitowoc Police Department is for two officers to respond to domestic violence calls, and that they remain neutral during the call. He said his officers do a good job of simply handling the situation in a calm manner, but they have systems in place to help officers who are struggling with the mental aspect of seeing these situations.
“We have our Chaplin program, which helps out all of Manitowoc County and is all volunteer,” Reimer said. “An excellent group of people who are dedicated to helping out not only the mental health of the Police Department or Sheriff’s Office employees but also the citizens out there.”
Reimer said that being a police officer is a tough job, which requires mentally strong individuals to do it. However, even the most mentally tough individual could need some help at times, and the Police Department is doing everything they can to make sure their employees, including the dispatchers, receive all the mental health help they need.
