MARIETTA — Seven months after the City Council appointed him as Marietta’s new police chief, Marty Ferrell said one of his biggest priorities has been supporting mental health initiatives for his officers.
“If they aren’t emotionally fit to be on the road, how are they going to come to your home and handle something, as a 21-, 22-year-old officer … if they’re not emotionally ready? So, I’ve emphasized a lot on our emotional health,” Ferrell said.
In an interview with the MDJ, Ferrell spoke about that concern, as well as crime in the city, recruitment and retention, gang activity, race relations and more.
The chief has led the department for 15 months. He was appointed interim chief in early 2022 upon the retirement of his predecessor, Dan Flynn, and was made the permanent chief last September.
Ferrell, an MPD veteran of more than 30 years, said that when he started working, mental health concerns weren’t considered.
“When I started in 1990, you would see horrible things, and no one ever asked you, ‘Are you OK?’ It just was unheard of, you just dealt with it and went on about your business,” Ferrell said.
Over time, the stress of the job, if left unaddressed, produces negative symptoms in officers — more use-of-force incidents, citizen complaints, absenteeism, alcoholism and suicides; along with less productivity.
Local departments have to get away from the “suck it up, buttercup” mentality of old, Ferrell said, if they are to be effective.
To that end, the department has rolled out new initiatives aimed at addressing officers’ emotional needs.
One novel approach is the department’s new “wellness room,” where officers can go to decompress after working at traumatic crime scenes.
“It’s designed to kind of calm you down and get you back on an even keel,” Ferrell said.
The wellness room at police…
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