Slay the Toxic Dragon: Police Leadership Impacting Member Wellness

By Sylvio (Syd) A. Gravel M.O.M., Brad McKay CTSS and Barbara L. Anschuetz EdD RP CTTS

It's understandable that police organizations and the leaders within them want to portray their work environments as supportive of their members when it comes to mental health. But we see far too many members being hurt and unsupported not to speak out. It's also important for us to state that not all organizations are failing to support their members. Even within some poorly structured organizations, there are many leaders who are doing their best for their members. But there are still enough problems for us to believe that this discussion about toxic work environments has to come out in the open.

In our roles, as two peer support workers (retired staff sergeants Brad McKay, York Regional Police; and Sylvio [Syd] Gravel, Ottawa Police), we are often taken aback by how many organizations think, or claim, that all is well with the support they offer their members, considering the conversations we have had with some of their members.

We thought it would be enlightening for those who lead police organizations to hear from us as two officers who have a combined sixty-eight years of experience supporting officers who suffer from mental health injuries or illnesses that can be attributed directly to toxic police work environments.

We have enlisted Barbara Anschuetz, a registered psychotherapist, with over thirty years of experience as a clinical mental health professional with police members and their families, to add her professional clinical perspective and many experiences to this publication.

We are not academics. Nor are we mental health professionals. We are simply two officers who have worked the streets, faced difficult situations in policing and survived. Our journeys were different in many aspects. Yet we both came through our injuries, scarred, but healed in many ways and still healing in others.

This book has been written with the intention of sharing with leaders what we hear from those who are suffering now. It may not be the truth police leaders want to hear. But, nevertheless, they need to know what some members see, hear and feel about working in their policing environment. We do not name organizations or people in this book, even when quoting from members in our narrative. These citations speak for themselves.

Nor do we advocate for groups or individuals. We want to encourage leaders to move toward positive change by presenting issues that create toxicity for the organization and help leaders "slay the dragon" in their workplaces.

Where we can, we offer advice on how to lessen toxicity, based on specific incidents we have seen. But, at the end of the day, this is truly about leaders taking ownership of their own work environments and doing what is right to remove toxicity in all its forms. The more they know about what can go wrong the more likely they are not to let things happen to start with.

We end our book by presenting twenty-two recommendations that are based on what members have told us are missing in police services or where areas can be improved. Our intent is to help leaders slay the toxic dragon.

• Language: English
• Publisher: BookBaby
• Release date: Aug 23, 2021
• ISBN: 9780988131699

Book preview

Praise for Slay The Toxic Dragon

"Slay The Toxic Dragon is a must read and a must have for anyone either in a leadership role, or anyone who aspires to be the leader that they were born to be. I will proudly add this book to my copies of 56 Seconds, How to Survive PTSD and Build Peer Support and Walk the Talk."

—Pete Grande

Director-Member Benefits

Toronto Police Association (in 27th year of policing)

"Since the release of Walk the Talk, I have felt that there was more to be said. I am certain that this [book] will meet or exceed that void. In this world of so much ‘noise’ on so many topics, think of this trio of writers as ‘noise reduction headphones.’ This will be a reading experience you will benefit from and want to share."

—Neil Orr

Ret’d Detective Constable, York Regional Police, former Secretary/Treasurer, York Regional Police Association, York Region CISM Team Alumni member

"It is with great admiration for the authors of the book, Slay The Toxic Dragon that, in my personal capacity and on behalf of the Global Mental Health Peer Network, I recommend this book as a valuable and necessary tool to promote protection of the men and women—first responders—who put their own [physical] health, mental health and lives in jeopardy to protect the general public."

—Charlene Sunkel

Founder/CEO of the Global Mental Health Peer Network

The role of leadership is integral in promoting officer wellness and resilience from a systemic and organizational perspective. To this end, the authors of this book provide theoretical conceptualization, as well as practical strategies, on how effective leaders can inspire officers and create a culture of wellness within the organization. I strongly recommend police executives, as well as officers and their families, read this book as a way to get inspired in their perspectives and discussions on how to promote organizational wellness.

—Dr. Konstantinos Papazoglou, Ph.D., CPsych

Clinical & Forensic Psychologist; Researcher & Law Enforcement Consultant; Founder & Director, ProWellness Inc., Toronto;

Vice-President, POWER Project, San Diego

"Syd Gravel and Brad McKay gave the world a piece of life and wisdom with Walk the Talk and I am confident that Slay The Toxic Dragon with Dr. Barbara Anschuetz is going to be even better. There is a sense of anticipation for [this book] that only comes from the genuine respect and admiration that the authors bring to the world of peer and clinical support to our policing and emergency responder workforce."

—Louise Murphy (Churchill Fellow)

Founder and Director, The Australian First Responder Foundation; Peer Support Coordinator, St. John Ambulance, New South Wales

"The authors of this book Slay The Toxic Dragon provide a boots-on-the-ground approach that can benefit the front line, middle management and leadership ranks in all police organizations. The time is now for leaders of all ranks to step up and arm themselves with the knowledge, skills and abilities to change the narrative for the betterment of those who serve and the public that relies on the delivery of healthy public personnel."

—William (Bill) Rusk (Sgt ret’d), M.A.Sc., B.A., C.P.

Executive Director, Badge of Life Canada/Insigne de vie Canada

"Slay The Toxic Dragon is a long overdue, ground-breaking leap into confronting injustices within the policing sector. Always brutally honest, often uncomfortably frank, this crucially important collection of personal testimonials, coupled with the authors’ decades of lessons learned, are the first steps in fixing what is not always right."

—Dave Gallson

National Executive Director, Mood Disorders Society of Canada

"Slay The Toxic Dragon is a giant and positive leap forward for law enforcement leaders and their organizations to substantially re-engineer healthier work environments. It provides a practical administrative gut check from the boots-on-the-ground law enforcement professionals providing practical, non-pedantic solutions. Slay The Toxic Dragon must be required reading and included in all supervisory and leadership training and promotional processes."

—Bruce A. Sokolove (Coach Sok)

Law Enforcement Trainer and Consultant, Field Training Associates

"Syd Gravel, Brad McKay and Barbara Anschuetz have combined decades of lived experience in working with and for emergency responders and their agencies. They have applied a compassionate and real-life approach to the challenges of organizational leadership. Slay The Toxic Dragon addresses the cultural challenges that police organizations face today and addresses these issues with courage, integrity and authenticity."

—Sgt. Belinda Mason

Human Resources, Police Service of Northern Ireland

"Slay The Toxic Dragon dusts the cobwebs off unfathomable police members’ experiences, bringing to light what actually transpires in policing organizations. This is a must read for any leader interested in truly effecting cultural change within their organizations. [This book] has inspired me to ensure no police member ever has to suffer as a result of workplace toxicity ever again on my watch."

—Michelle Vincent, Ph.D., M.A.CP

(Ret’d police officer, York Regional Police)

Founder/Director, The Haven For Members by Members

"Tell me why, even when we know what to do,

we always seem to wait until someone gets hurt

before we do what we should have been doing all along?"

Staff Sergeant (ret’d.) Sylvio (Syd) A. Gravel

Member of the Order of Merit and Order of Ottawa

Title

Copyright by Sylvio (Syd) A. Gravel, M.O.M., 2021

Published by: Syd A. Gravel

URL: http://www.56secondsbook.com

http://www.56secondsbook.ca

Slay the Toxic Dragon: Police Leadership Impacting Member Wellness. [electronic/print resource]

Authors: Dr. Barbara L. Anschuetz, Ed.D., RP, CTTS;

Brad McKay CTSS; Sylvio (Syd) A. Gravel, M.O.M.

Electronic monograph in PDF format ISBN: 978-0-9881316-9-9

Print format ISBN: 978-0-9881316-8-2

1.Toxic management. 2. Wellness management 3. Trauma management 4. Peer Support

Cover Illustration: Erin McKay

Cover Design: Evelyn Budd

Book Design: Patti Moran Graphic Design

Editor: Eleanor Sawyer

All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a database and retrieval system or transmitted in any form or any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise) without the prior written permission of both the owner of copyright and the above publisher.

PRINTED IN CANADA

To everyone who reached out to us to navigate their way through the emotional, mental and physical pain, bureaucratic frustration

and institutional betrayal, it was not for naught!

We have done several thousand interventions for first responders over a combined one hundred years plus of professional experience.

We salute those of you who trusted us at your most vulnerable times. To be trusted by you during one of your worst moments or times

in your life is truly humbling. We salute your courage and your dedication to your family, your circle of friends and your organization,

even when some of them let you down. We will continue to do our best to honour your journey in a way that helps organizations do a

better job of caring for their own. We know that the people in any organization are the most valuable asset and we thank you for your

service.

This book is dedicated to all of you and to those whose pain is known only to them.

Contents

Foreword

Preface

Acknowledgments

About the Cover

The Voices of Lived Experience

1. Introduction

2. An Overview of Leadership

Traits and Characteristics of a Good Leader

Know the Organization

Leaders and Organizational Health

Personal versus Positional Power

3. Do No Harm

Resources and Tools

Recruitment and Staffing

Thinking Like a Police Officer

4. Observations on Promotions and Toxicity

Mentoring

5. The Toxic Environment

Toxic Leadership

Toxic Management

Toxic Communication

6. Defining Burn Out

Burn Out Starts Early

Burn Out versus Compassion Fatigue

7. Burn Out: The Workplace or the People

The Recruitment Process

8. Reasons for Burn Out

Organizational Stress

Operational Stress

Organizational Moral Distress

Consequences of Burn Out on Leaders

9. Building Trust

Trust and Integrity

10. Anger and Perceived Injustice

11. An Introduction to Moral Injury

Organizational Response

Police versus Military Moral Injury

12. Sanctuary Trauma

Loss of Sanctuary at Home

13. Institutional Betrayal and Blindness

Acts of Betrayal

Institutional Blindness

14. Racism and Discrimination

The Terminology of Diversity

15. Sexual Assault, Harassment, Sexism and Gender-Based Discrimination

16. Bullying in the Workplace

What Is Bullying?

Consequences of Bullying

Bullying Begins Early

Dealing with Bullying

17. Constructive Dismissal

18. Denial of Psychological Injuries and Alcohol Use

Fit for Duty

The High Cost of Accommodation

Alcohol Use

19. Negating Toxic Environments

Building Resilience

Developing Wellness Plans

Peer Support

Maintaining Contact

20. Authors’ Recommendations

#1 Set Up an Action Committee

#2 Educate Recruits and Their Families about Mental Health

#3 Review Policies, Procedures and Guidelines

#4 Hold Trained Officers Accountable for Their Learning

#5 Create a Communications Strategy

#6 Develop a Mental Health Case Management Process

#7 Use the Case Management Process Effectively

#8 Consider Personality Trait Training

#9 Learn about Perceived Injustice and Sanctuary Trauma

#10 Develop a Process on Removal of Use-of-Force Equipment

#11 Condemn Bullying and Harassment in the Workplace

#12 Develop Policies to Support Psychological Health and Safety

#13 Hold Everyone in Leadership Accountable

#14 Develop an Integrity Mentorship Program

#15 Establish a Mediation Process

#16 Develop a Policy for Requesting Confidential Documents

#17 Set Expiry Dates for Medical Records Retention

#18 Have a Mental Health Professional Available

#19 Hire an Early Intervention Analyst

#20 Clarify Responsibilities between Units for a Member in Crisis

#21 Maintain Communication with Disconnected Members

#22 Create a Resiliency Strategy

Authors’ Closing Comments

Notes

About the Authors

Foreword

I am grateful to Brad, Syd and Barb for all they have done to assist thousands of emergency service first responders. They are true mental health pioneers and champions who have collectively dedicated more than a century to tirelessly assisting those who keep our communities safe and secure.

Long before organizations, and those who lead them, recognized the impact of the job on the mental health of our members, Brad, Syd and Barb were filling the void and giving of themselves to assist and support our members and their families.

I attribute much of my personal and professional growth to the individual and combined influence of these three trendsetters, who exemplify a long history of service above self.

I had the privilege of working with Brad for more than twenty years. The example he set as an accomplished investigator, father, son, friend and colleague served as a standard of excellence to those fortunate enough to work with him. We all have a select handful of more experienced officers who inspire us to do and be better. Brad is one of those officers whom I consider to be a mentor. He modelled the way for what a modern, people-focused, competent and compassionate police leader should represent and how they should conduct themselves.

I have learned much from Syd. His resilience, along with his willingness and courage to share his experience and the lessons learned along his journey, provides a clear and compelling vision of what is possible and what each of us are truly capable of as individuals, even in the most unimaginable and trying situations, by relentlessly committing to our own health and wellness. For those of us who have a responsibility and duty to care for others, Syd’s teachings enlighten us on the impact we have, and can have, on those we are fortunate enough to lead.

Barb’s professional commitment to, and passion for, improving the health and wellness of emergency service personnel and their families stands out as an industry leader. She was one of the first to gain the hard-earned trust and confidence of police officers, tackling stigma and barriers to care, and truly creating healthy heroes, families and survivors. I am grateful for all she has done to support and improve the quality of life for so many whom I personally care deeply about.

Slay The Toxic Dragon intentionally provides a provoking and powerful lived-experience perspective that will challenge leaders to open their hearts and minds through the experience, perspective and insight of our members – those who are relying on us for our understanding, compassion, engagement and action-oriented leadership.

Leadership demands responsibility–the responsibility to do the right thing for the right reason every time--particularly for a police leader, who is accountable for leading the brave women and men who commit themselves and risk their lives to protect the public from harm and to safeguard the quality of life in our communities.

Nothing could be easier than managing a group of dedicated police professionals, who are strictly regulated, highly trained and among the most technically and tactically competent around the globe. However, leading people-centred and frontline-focused culture change, which demands authentic inclusion to address stigma, harassment and systemic racism, takes courageous and tireless leadership.

As leaders, if we take the time and interest to learn from the past and are willing to take responsibility for and engage in the present, we have the ability and – frankly – the responsibility to create a better future. For those leaders who are committed to leading culture change in the best interests of their members and the communities they serve and protect, Slay The Toxic Dragon provides an action plan for success. It enables us to fulfill our foremost responsibility, which is to ensure the safety, health and wellness of our members, so they can in turn ensure the safety, health and wellness of our communities.

Thomas Carrique, O.O.M., M.A.

Commissioner

Ontario Provincial Police

Preface

It’s understandable that police organizations and the leaders within them want to portray their work environments as supportive of their members when it comes to mental health. But we see far too many members being hurt and unsupported not to speak out. It’s also important for us to state that not all organizations are failing to support their members. Even within some poorly structured organizations, there are many leaders who are doing their best for their members. But there are still enough problems for us to believe that this discussion about toxic work environments has to come out in the open.

In our roles, as two peer support workers (retired staff sergeants Brad McKay, York Regional Police; and Sylvio [Syd] Gravel, Ottawa Police), we are often taken aback by how many organizations think, or claim, that all is well with the support they offer their members, considering the conversations we have had with some of their members.

We thought it would be enlightening for those who lead police organizations to hear from us as two officers who have a combined sixty-eight years of experience supporting officers who suffer from mental health injuries or illnesses that can be attributed directly to toxic police work environments.

We have enlisted Barbara Anschuetz, a registered psychotherapist, with over thirty years of experience as a clinical mental health professional with police members and their families, to add her professional clinical perspective and many experiences to this publication.

We are not academics. Nor are we mental health professionals. We are simply two officers who have worked the streets, faced difficult situations in policing and survived. Our journeys were different in many aspects. Yet we both came through our injuries, scarred, but healed in many ways and still healing in others.

This book has been written with the intention of sharing with leaders what we hear from those who are suffering now. It may not be the truth police leaders want to hear. But, nevertheless, they need to know what some members see, hear and feel about working in their policing environment. We do not name organizations or people in this book, even when quoting from members in our narrative. These citations speak for themselves.

Nor do we advocate for groups or individuals. We want to encourage leaders to move toward positive change by presenting issues that create toxicity for the organization and help leaders slay the dragon in their workplaces.

Where we can, we offer advice on how to lessen toxicity, based on specific incidents we have seen. But, at the end of the day, this is truly about leaders taking ownership of their own work environments and doing what is right to remove toxicity in all its forms. The more they know about what can go wrong the more likely they are not to let things happen to start with.

We end our book by presenting twenty-two recommendations that are based on what members have told us are missing in police services or where areas can be improved. Our intent is to help leaders slay the toxic dragon.

Brad McKay, CTSS

Sylvio (Syd) Gravel, M.O.M.

Barbara Anschuetz, EdD, RP, CTTS

Acknowledgments

Syd Gravel met Evelyn Budd years ago at a Canadian Association of Professional Speakers meeting. He shared his hopes and dreams of reaching out and helping others through his writing. She offered to help with advice and direction as needed and she has never stopped helping throughout the writing of five books: 56 Seconds, How to Survive PTSD and Build Peer Support, Workplace Diversity: How to Get it Right! and Walk the Talk.

Evelyn retired in 2021 but has stayed on long enough to help publish this last book, Slay The Toxic Dragon as our consultant, because she believes in us, its contents and its necessity. Thank you, Evelyn, for all your support and, most importantly, your belief in us.

Eleanor Sawyer also retired from being a professional editor. But she jumped at the opportunity to work with Syd when she read his first manuscript for 56 Seconds. She has been with us every step of the way leading up to this fifth publication. We have always been amazed by how good our writing appears once it passes through her hands. Thank you, Eleanor, for making us sound so good.

We would like to welcome Patti Moran to the team. She will take over where Evelyn has left off and become our publisher extraordinaire. We look forward to Patti being with us through several more writing projects.

About the Cover

The cover artist, Erin McKay, has been around the policing and peer support environment her entire life. When she was an infant, she was brought to the critical incident stress management (CISM) team board meetings in her car seat. She now has a cousin, father, aunt and two uncles in policing. She