Sandy Hook Responders Suffer from PTSD
At least one Newtown (Conn.) Police officer has been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress and several others report psychological effects from responding to the mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School.
In a detailed interview with the New York Times, the Newtown officers gave the most detailed account yet of the carnage they witnessed in the wake of the Dec. 14 shooting.
Officer Tom Bean, who was off duty and rushed to the school that morning, has been diagnosed with PTSD and needs medication to sleep. He hasn’t returned to work.
“Our concern from the beginning has been the effects of PTSD,” Eric Brown, a police union lawyer, told the Times. “We estimate it is probably going to be 12 to 15 Newtown officers who are going to be dealing with that, for the remainder of their careers, we imagine, from what we’ve been told by professionals who deal with PTSD.”
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