Faye's search parties pay emotional price

Posted 2/24/20

More than 300 law enforcement and other volunteers worked long hours seeking a missing child.

They worked incredible hours in Churchill Heights, racing against time to find 6-year-old Faye Marie …

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Faye's search parties pay emotional price

Posted

More than 300 law enforcement and other volunteers worked long hours seeking a missing child.

They worked incredible hours in Churchill Heights, racing against time to find 6-year-old Faye Marie Swetlik.

They knew that the longer it took, the odds of saving her life were diminishing.

Many had trouble sleeping and could not help but bring the burdens of the job home with them.

“I think of police officers as they are like athletes, they are very resilient, they are very strong, but they are also human beings,”  Eric Skidmore, a chaplain and program director with SC LEAP told WISTV.

SC Law Enforcement Assistance Program is a SLED employee-assistance division that provides South Carolina law enforcement with training, resources and around-the-clock access to staff and volunteers to help with any mental, physical, or spiritual needs.

“When a human being experiences the impact of a critical incident, when they experience a situation of extreme vulnerability, or they see someone get injured or killed, or their friend or coworker right beside them is injured or killed, that kind of event in the life of any normal human being would have an impact that can be long-lasting,” Skidmore said.

The chaplain said LEAP is there to answer questions law enforcement may have, listen to them and make sure they all know they’re “normal people who have gone through an abnormal experience,” he added.

Another SCLEAP chaplain David Tafaoa said trauma can build and becomes dangerous for law enforcement.

“These officers are expected to go right back to work the very next day," he said.

"They have been exposed to a critical or traumatic event. Before they know it, they are dealing with critical incidents that affect them mentally and emotionally and physically.”

Lexington County, faye swetlik

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