Central IL first responders gather for support after 3 officer-involved shootings

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (WCIA) — First responders throughout Central Illinois are standing together after a challenging week.

Following three separate officer-involved shootings in the last few days, first responders throughout the area gathered at the iHotel in Champaign to debrief through a community support initiative meeting.

Police, EMS and dispatch from seven counties across Central Illinois got the invite to Thursday’s meeting. It was put on by The Anchor Point — or TAP for short. They wanted to give first responders and their families support for the stress they handle every day.

Sunday night, an Indiana sheriff’s deputy was hurt in a shootout in Iroquois County . Wednesday night, two Macomb officers were hospitalized after being shot . That save evening, a Springfield man was shot by police after officials said he shot at officers.

Now, the impacts of this week are being felt in departments across the state.

“One of my fears or worries is that it will happen to one of my staff members,” said Champaign County Sheriff Dustin Heuerman.

Heuerman said incidents like this shed light on the realities of law enforcement.

“That really is a reality of the law enforcement profession,” Heurman said. “We are charged with protecting society from those who may want to harm them, but we have to be cognizant that they may harm us as well.

Terry McCord, Danville’s Deputy Chief of Police, shared a similar sentiment.

“As police officers, we just never know how close we are to a situation like that happening every day,” McCord said.

Events like these are why TAP called for a meeting.

“For so long, we’ve been reactive to it,” said TAP President Michael Jenkins. “So something bad happens, then we go get the help we need. We’re trying to change that, to fight the stigma.”

Jenkins said they want to help first responders debrief after critical instances.

“The typical person experiences three to five traumatic events in a lifetime. The average first responder experiences three to five a month,” Jenkins said. “So if you extrapolate that over 20 years, at minimum, 700 traumatic events, and we all know chronic stress leads to all kinds of medical problems, mental health problems. So it’s just making people aware or trying to be more proactive.”

With mental health sometimes pushed to the back burner, giving those in need a safe space to talk is paramount.

“I think we’re learning through situations like this, it’s very important to have that support,” McCord said. “And it’s very important to be able to talk about those things and give those officers that opportunity.”

Thursday’s meeting was the first by TAP that involved first responders from multiple counties. Jenkins said it’s his plan to hold more in the future.

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