The trauma follows the hostage situation – even for the police officer who shot

The 14 passengers and the driver were stuck on a regional train between Yverdon and Sainte-Croix for four hours on Thursday evening. Finally, a shot from a police officer freed them. The bullet hit. And the hostage taker died on the spot.

Such incidents are extremely rare in Switzerland. And this response from police officers is just as rare, as Dirk Baier, head of the Institute for Delinquency and Crime Prevention at ZHAW, tells Watson.

On average, police have only used firearms about ten times a year over the past decade, with about 20,000 police officers. Trend down. Baier says:

The firearm is only used when there is extreme danger to those present, including police officers. Baier is therefore certain that there was also a real danger to the emergency services and passengers in Vaud. Exactly as the Vaud police had communicated.

According to Baier, the primary goal of emergency services is never to kill the perpetrator. The primary purpose of firing a shot is to incapacitate them. However, one accepts a murder. Baier summarizes it as follows:

You have to imagine the initial situation in Vaud something like this: Due to the diversionary maneuver – an explosion – there was probably smoke in the air and the hostages were screaming. It was also cramped on the train then. A well-aimed shot that wounds but does not kill: very difficult.

So now the hostage taker is dead and the hostages are free again, physically unharmed. The police action ended. However, such an experience may be far from over for the hostages.

Baier speaks of a “potentially traumatic experience” for those affected. Because there was fear of death. Whether someone comes through the experience well or not largely depends on their personal resilience and the social support they receive. But also from the media:

Since their liberation, the hostages have received psychological care. The driver also receives psychological support, according to the regional train operator Travys at Watson’s request.

The police officer who shot the perpetrator could also face a difficult time, Baier said. The professional literature talks about ‘post shooting stress’ or ‘post shooting trauma’, i.e. a trauma that police officers can suffer as a result of shooting. Similar to post-traumatic stress disorder.

People with post-shooting trauma often struggle with insomnia, nightmares and anxiety. It is not uncommon for them to turn to alcohol or other drugs to cope with stressful feelings – usually guilt and anxiety.

What can also happen, according to Baier: “The police officers repeat the shooting situation over and over in their heads and wonder whether they could have acted differently.” Even if the shooting was completely justified. Therefore, in Switzerland, any police officer who used a firearm during an operation would be temporarily relieved of duty and given psychological support.

Police officers in Switzerland are prepared to shoot and periodically participate in shooting training, Baier said. There are also special units that train explicitly to rescue hostages – “absolute professionals,” Baier calls them. But not every police officer can routinely deal with such exceptional situations. Therefore he states: