Aubrey Assistant Police Chief Jeremy Johnson returned from his 11-week trip to Quantico with plans for a better wellness program for his fellow officers.
The FBI National Academy gives law enforcement agencies from 27 countries the opportunity to assign themselves advanced training courses on-site, and Johnson said he devoted his time to better educating himself on the physical and mental wellness opportunities his department can afford to its staff.
“I did that with the intention to create a wellness program for the police department,' Johnson said. “Some of the larger departments have an actual psychologist that’s on staff for the officers to just go talk through these traumas. While I don’t see us being able to do that, there are several organizations around us that have counselors.”
Johnson explained that mental wellness in particular is a concept that until recently hasn’t been a focus for officers.
“The police departments historically have not given officers an outlet for that or even someone to talk to about that,” he said. “Because we’re cops, we typically say, ‘Welp, that’s just how it is.' You go to these calls, deal with what you’ve got to deal with and pack it away and move onto the next call.’” The courses include college courses, both undergrad and graduate level, as well as networking opportunities for the participants.
JEREMY JOHNSON
“It gives you access to policies and procedures that are already incorporated where you don’t have to reinvent the wheel,” Johnson said. “For my physical and mental wellness aspect, they’ve already created the wheel, and I’ll take some of the stuff they have, mold it and incorporate it into us.”
Aubrey Police Chief Richard Brooks, a 2006 graduate of the academy, spoke highly of both Johnson, the first officer from Aubrey to be selected to attend, and the program itself.
“He’s done a fantastic job here, and the academy is a leader in leadership and management training,” Brooks said. “There are only six people per session from the Dallas FBI office, which runs all of North Texas up to the Panhandle and into Oklahoma. It’s the best of the best in the Metroplex. Only 24 officers from that office get to go each year, so it’s a big deal.”
Johnson said he was humbled to be nominated by his chief for the opportunity.
“Less than 1% of the law enforcement population worldwide actually gets to attend this,” Johnson said. “It’s an honor, a privilege and is very humbling to know I was selected by my agency to be able to apply.”
He further thanked Brooks and Lt. Abe Salinas for picking up the work load he left behind to take this opportunity.
“They picked up my slack for those 11 weeks and did my job for me and did an amazing job,” Johnson said. “Lt. Salinas was kind of thrown into the fire, and he emerged very well.”
He also gave thanks to his wife Catherine Johnson and daughter Haleigh for similarly picking up the slack he left behind at home.
“The stuff I’d normally do around the house on a daily basis, my wife and my daughter had to pick up,” Johnson said. “It’s important to note the sacrifices the home life and department takes.”
