A longtime NYC and Long Island cop is trying to reshape the stigma around mental health in policing — and cites himself as “living proof” that officers can be open about their troubles and come out better on the other side.
Former NYPD and current Nassau County police officer Tommy Shevlin now serves as the president of Nassau Police Benevolent Association, and is using both his platform and his own battle with depression and addiction to reshape the way mental illness is addressed in the police force.
“I’m living proof that you’re not broken forever, and you don’t just get rehabilitated and survive, you actually can thrive like I am,” Shevlin told The Post.
Shevlin first joined the NYPD back in 1998, and after serving on the city streets for seven years joined the Nassau County Police Department where he patrolled for 10 more years.
During that time, Shevlin found the inherent stressors of the job — long hours, violent encounters, public scrutiny — became too much for him to bear and began to bleed into his home life.