Sheriff speaks on mental health of Oxford High School first responders

Sheriff Michael Bouchard spoke on the mental health of the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office deputies who responded to the Oxford High School shooting.

“They’ll never be the same,” Bouchard said of the deputies, who called their experience “devastating.”

Bouchard spoke at length about the deputies’ experience, and efforts to counsel them, during a Saturday, Dec. 4 press conference.

“Their job – and they did it – was not just to go in, but to ignore everything else and go to the sound of the gunfire or the chaos,” Bouchard said. “Because that’s the active threat.”

“If they stop anywhere to calm a teacher or a student, or to render aid, more people could be killed.”

“That’s an incredibly unnatural act to walk past a child that’s in panic and terror, and may even be hurt, and to ignore that because you hear chaos or gunshots,” Bouchard said.”

As a result, Bouchard said accused shooter Ethan Crumbley still had 18 unexpended rounds of ammunition when he was taken into custody.

“That’s what I keep reminding them of,” Bouchard said, indicating those unused rounds “could have been 18 more kids.”

Bouchard said the deputies have been “struggling in a big way” since the school shooting that left four people dead and seven others injured.

“We have a complete debrief for everybody that was at the scene,” Bouchard said. “And I went to every one of those sessions to talk to them, and tell them how proud I am of them.”

“We’re going to do everything we can to help them, to try to process this, and to try to be able to move forward in a healthy way for themselves, their families, and the community.”

“We also need them back out on the front line,” Bouchard said, indicating there’s “no lack of need” for deputies to deal with future threats.

“And sadly, we’re going to face more. We are inundated with threats.”

In the days following the Oxford High School shooting, Bouchard said the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office has dealt with threats against candlelight vigils, memorials, and law enforcement officials.

“It’s absolutely absurd that after a tragedy we see a huge spike in threats,” Bouchard said. “But that’s what we’re seeing.

Accused shooter Ethan Crumbley, 15, is being charged as an adult with one count of terrorism causing death, four counts of first-degree murder, seven counts of assault with intent to murder and 12 counts of possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony.

Ethan Crumbley’s parents, James and Jennifer Crumbley, face four charges each of involuntary manslaughter after Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald alleges the couple purchased a handgun for Ethan Crumbley as a Christmas present. They were arrested early Saturday, Dec. 4, after failing to show up at an arraignment hearing Friday.