Former Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department Officer Chad Webster is talking about changes he wants to see that can help officers who experience trauma.
He reached a breaking point in 2020 during the George Floyd protests.
WSOC SPECIAL SECTION: MENTAL HEALTH RESOURCES
“Because I wanted to help people, I thought policing would be the best avenue for me,” Webster told Channel 9.
He spent nearly two decades with CMPD serving on Charlotte’s streets and in local schools. He described how he coped with tragic cases.
“You just take these awful things, put them in a box, put it up in your head, and you fill up some space,” he said. “Because if it’s here, where you’re thinking day to day, it’s going to take away from your ability to think in the moment and on the job.”
Compartmentalizing worked for him until the summer of 2020.
“We put a line (there) to push everybody that way,” he said.
They were trying to contain protestors after the death of George Floyd, but officers were outnumbered in Uptown.