From the Battlefield to the War Zone: Police Officers with Military Experience in the Ferguson Riots

• In Event: Police Decision-Making

Abstract

The 2014 riots in Ferguson, Missouri was a significant event in which officers experienced exhausting levels of stress from continued and intense waves of violence and protests. The purpose of this paper is to determine if military service made officers better suited to handle the extreme stress that the riot presented. Through the use of survey research with police personnel, this paper explores to what extent officers with and without prior military service report different experiences with stress and implement different coping mechanisms. This paper not only adds to the existing research in the area of police officer stress, but also helps to create a more complete and valid picture of what officers experience when subjected to prolonged high stress environments.

Author

• Joseph John Pashea, Jr., Southern Illinois University Carbondale