Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: TUESDAY, September 20, 1994                   TAG: 9409220048
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: A-1   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: By KATHY LOAN STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CHRISTIANSBURG                                LENGTH: Medium

FIRST DAYS THE HARDEST AFTER AN OFFICER'S DEATH

The three days after a police officer's death in the line of duty are the most critical, a Richmond Police Department psychologist says.

Members of the Christiansburg Police Department - who lost Officer Terry L. Griffith on Sunday after he was shot while trying to make an arrest - will face a range of emotions in the coming days, Jon Moss, the psychologist, said Monday. Friends and co-workers need to know how to help them deal with the crisis.

"The critical period is now ... through the funeral," Moss said.

"Police need an opportunity to mourn the death of a colleague," but will have trouble finding the time to do so adequately. "While they're mourning their fellow officers, they also have to go out and do their jobs. ... When do they get a chance to mourn?''

The death of a police officer forces other officers to deal with their own mortality and their family's fears for their safety, Moss said.

"This brings home the harsh reality that their lives could be lost at any moment," he said. "The men and women of the Christiansburg Police Department are going to be deeply touched by this event. ... It's going to take a while for the department to heal, [but] life will go on."

Friends of Griffith's family and fellow officers - and of the deputies who shot his killer - can do many things to help them through the week, Moss said. It's important, though, that supporters realize "any reaction ... is normal, from just being angry to being in tears. Or even laughter," Moss said.

Moss offered these suggestions:

Listen.

"Provide a sense they are appreciated and what happened is a tragedy, but life goes on."

Make sure wives and children of the officers are given support and have the chance to talk about their feelings.

Moss said the officers who shot and killed Patterson "are probably handling it better - because they got to do something," he said. "Their training kicked in," and they responded in what appears to be a justified manner.

Deciding to use deadly force, or to draw one's weapon with the chance of having to shoot someone, happens "when you've got 100 percent belief in your heart and your head" that your life or the lives of others are ``in jeopardy. Then, your course of action is to eliminate that threat," said Dan Haga, Montgomery County's chief deputy.

While the decision may be right, police officers sometimes must work through the emotional trauma of taking another's life.

Four Roanoke police officers also were dealing with those feelings Monday. They were scheduled for debriefing sessions after they shot and killed Gary Wayne West early Sunday after a two-hour standoff on Williamson Road.

John Heil, a psychologist at Lewis-Gale Clinic and a member of a regional team that debriefs police officers and others after stressful incidents, said talking in a group setting often is helpful to police officers after a shooting. Officers are asked to recount the incident in detail and to share their feelings about what they have encountered.

"One thing you invariably find when you put people in a group is that they share a lot of the same reactions," Heil said.

Staff writer Ron Brown contributed to this story.