Several sheriff’s deputies also responded to the Oxford and MSU mass shootings, who were present at the wading pool shooting – The Morning Sun
U.S. Rep. John James, Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard and Mayor Bryan Barnett of Rochester Hills address the media to deliver the first information about a mass shooting at a wading pool on Saturday, June 15, 2024. (Stephen Frye / MediaNews Group)
There are many things first responders can’t “unseen,” says Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard.
A large number of the Oakland County Sheriff’s deputies who responded to the June 15 mass shooting at the Brooklands Plaza wading pool in Rochester Hills were also at Oxford High School more than two years ago, when a student killed four classmates and injured others.
Some of these officers were also involved in a mass shooting at Michigan State University last year. Three students died and five others were seriously injured.
“When there’s something like this (a shooting at a water playground), pretty much everyone shows up,” Bouchard said. “There’s a lot of overlap” with officers who have responded to other mass tragedies, he said.
Nine people were shot at the wading pool, and three were seriously injured. Police say the shooter later took his own life in his trailer in Shelby Township.
Bouchard said he recently cut a position to hire a peer-to-peer counselor to help employees “process” the things they see.
Katy Kildee, The Detroit News
Michael Nash, the 42-year-old man who shot and killed nine people at a Rochester Hills wading pool on Saturday, lived with his mother, Kathryn, in this trailer in the Dequindre Estates in Shelby Township. Legal experts question whether the mother could be charged under Michigan’s red flag law.
This includes not only mass shootings, but also the things they witness every day – car accident victims, child abuse, suicides and more.
“I think healing is a misnomer. I don’t think you ever heal,” Bouchard said of first responders who repeatedly witness such incidents.
“There are things you can’t forget. You have to figure out how to deal with them. It’s hard to process because we empathize so deeply with our victims.”
He stresses to his employees that talking about their experiences with someone who is trained to listen to them will not be seen as a sign of weakness, nor will it impact their careers.
“This is not weakness. This is strength,” he said.
A peer-to-peer counselor serves nearly 1,500 sheriff’s office employees, he said.
Other departments of similar size across the country have five to ten such consultants.
Tragedies involving children are particularly difficult for rescue workers, Bouchard said. Several of the victims in the water playground were children.
“It tears you apart on every level,” he said. “I’m so proud of them for getting dressed and moving on.”
Bouchard said a significant number of staff members – not just lawmakers – have not been able to return to work since the Oxford shooting.
These include correctional officers from the Oakland County Jail who were supervising children at Oxford High School while a student ran through the halls with a gun, indiscriminately shooting those who stood in his way.
This also includes dispatchers who “had to accompany people through the worst moments of their lives.”
At least one officer decided to leave the police force after the Oxford shooting, Bouchard said. Others are in different circumstances, and some are unable to work. Some still hope to return to work.
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