ANY COP WITH PTSD SHOULD BE TERMINATED ON DISABILTY

Daniel Harless, a Canton, Ohio cop, has been fired for a controversial June 8 traffic stop involving a man with a permit to carry a concealed handgun. The patrol car video shows that Harless unleashed a flurry of profanities at the driver, shouting he should have gunned down the driver for being stupid. The city revealed that Harless has been involved in similar incidents in the past.

The city justified the firing because “It is quite clear that (Harless’) actions represented a pattern of behavior where inappropriate verbal abuse and threats of death or great bodily harm of the various complainants occurred. This escalating pattern of potentially dangerous behavior cannot be justified or excused and clearly illustrates the seriousness of the departmental infractions.”

The police union defended Harless and is opposing his firing on the grounds that the cop has been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder. The head of the union said, “Obviously, it’s an unfortunate set of circumstances that transpired. We feel that due to the fact that (Harless) has PTSD, that nobody realized it for eight-plus years, for it to come to light the way it did ... this is not a way we wanted this to play out. PTSD is obviously a disease.”

The police union claims that his PTSD stems from a 2003 incident in which Harless was involved in a life-and-death struggle with a suspect. “It affects people in different ways. Unfortunately, (Harless) had PTSD, and it wasn’t realized for eight years. Unfortunately, he was fired, and we will address that situation at a later time.”

Here is my take on the firing. It sure looks like Harless and his defenders are resorting to the same tactics defense lawyers use every time an Iraq or Afghanistan war veteran is tried for a crime – he did it because he was suffering from PTSD.

If Harless is suffering from PTSD he has absolutely no business being a police officer. You cannot predict the behavior of someone truly suffering from PTSD and an armed cop with this disorder should be considered a very dangerous person.

The bottom line is that a person with PTSD is not mentally fit to be a cop. It may be cold, but in the interest of public safety, any officer with PTSD should be terminated on disability!