Pubdate: Wed, 08 Oct 2014
Source: Regina Leader-Post (CN SN)
Copyright: 2014 The Leader-Post Ltd.
Website: http://www.leaderpost.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/361
Author: Kevin Bissett
Page: B6

MOUNTIE'S DEATH DRAWS ATTENTION TO PTSD

FREDERICTON - The death of RCMP Cpl. Ron Francis, who helped draw
attention to post-traumatic stress disorder among emergency first
responders, is a terrible loss that underscores the need to deal with
the issue, the RCMP's commanding officer in New Brunswick said Tuesday.

"It's unfortunate that this condition, if you will, took over and
consumed him, but he didn't let go," assistant commissioner Roger
Brown told a news conference at RCMP headquarters in Fredericton. "His
goal was to try to make some sense of it himself and to bring an
awareness to what this is all about."

Francis was found dead Monday afternoon at the Kingsclear First
Nation. It appears no one else was involved in his death but Brown
wouldn't provide any details about the circumstances of how Francis
died.

Brown said the police force was doing all it could to get Francis the
support he needed, meeting with him as recently as Sunday.

"I know there will be much speculation about why this happened and
assumptions may be made," Brown said. "Unfortunately this is not the
outcome that I would've hoped for, that I would've
anticipated."

Francis, who served with the Mounties for 22 years, made national
headlines last year after he complained that he wasn't allowed to
smoke medicinal marijuana for PTSD while in uniform.

Last November, Francis returned his red serge uniform, saying he was
doing so on orders from his superiors, and accused the RCMP and the
federal government of not doing enough to support officers with PTSD.

At the time, the RCMP said its officers who are prescribed medicinal
marijuana should not be in red serge or regular uniform while taking
their medication as it wouldn't portray the right message to the public.

Brown said Tuesday the uniform still belonged to Francis. He said his
goal was to have Francis, who was on leave from the RCMP, return as a
contributing member of the force.

"This wasn't a pot-smoking issue. This wasn't a red serge issue,"
Brown said. "This was a cry for help and a need to raise the awareness
as to what PTSD really is within the organizations that we all work
for."

T.J. Burke, a friend of Francis since childhood who was also his
lawyer, said the RCMP helped get him into a program in British
Columbia for people coping with PTSD. But Burke said he believes the
Mounties could have done more.

"To feel not supported was very difficult for Ron and I think that
caused quite a bit of pressure on him," Burke said.

"At the end of the day, I believe they made their best efforts, but
I'm hard-pressed to say they did everything they could."

He said the federal and provincial governments need to set up centres
with experts to offer care for front line responders who have PTSD
symptoms.
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