Kalamazoo County Sheriff Office staff is pictured during a plaque presentation ceremony November 7 at the Kalamazoo County Sheriff Office from the Til Valhalla Project to the family of Sergeant Ryan Proxmire, who was killed in the line of duty in 2021.
(Photo by Bruce Rolfe)
By Bruce Rolfe
A plaque presentation November 7 at the Kalamazoo County Sheriff’s Office from the Til Valhalla Project to the family of Sergeant Ryan Proxmire, who was killed in the line of duty in 2021, focused on remembering the late Kalamazoo County Sheriff’s Department sergeant.
However another important message was discussed at the ceremony.
Kalamazoo County Sheriff Richard Fuller said it’s very important mental health support is available to first responders who face danger and can be exposed to trauma often.
Fuller, who said he has been a recipient of mental health care and counseling, said many in the first responder field are starting to recognize the need for mental health support.
“For the last several years, we’ve been able to recognize more and more the importance of making sure people can go home safe at night. I tell people when my professionals are retired from the emergency services, I’d like them to retire with their physical health, their mental health, and their financial health. And to do all of that, they have to have support,” points out Fuller.
What first responders dispatchers see and hear as part of their job helping others can be very disturbing, making mental support important.
“We can’t just expect them to put the gun on, put the badge on, grab the fire hose, or go out there and put out a fire without supporting them. We recognize that we have humans, who have emotions, who have feelings, and then for us to forget that, or to try to suppress any feelings we have in our professionals. It takes away the humanity that we talk about all the time,” continued the Kalamazoo County sheriff.
Fuller said there are times that law enforcement, firefighters, EMS personnel, and dispatchers often face a traumatic event, yet they are expected to go right back to their job, sometimes the same day or later the same night because of a staff shortage.
“We need to come up with better ways of making sure that the mental health and well being of our organizations is all one thing that people focus on,” said Fuller.
Proxmire was killed in the line of duty August 15, 2021. He served with the Kalamazoo County Sheriff’s Office for more than nine years.
He was a patrolman, field training officer and subject control/defensive tactics instructor.
Memorial Plaques containing the photos of both Proxmire and Sheriff Orcutt are on the wall of the Orcutt Room at the Sheriff’s Office. On each plaque is a bar code that goes to a website that tells the story of each fallen hero. Fuller emphasized it’s important for agencies to remember fallen heros from their own departments.
According to the website odmp.com, Sheriff Orcutt was shot and mortally wounded by two men who were attempting to free prisoners from the county jail in 1867.
“That’s a really, telling thing that organizations must remember those who have served and must recognize that those who have served have sacrificed, the ultimate sacrifice, and they are true heroes,” Fuller adds.
Fuller adds he was happy to have some of the Kalamazoo County Sheriff’s Office staff attend the ceremony and not only offer support to the Proxmire family, but grasp the opportunity to remember
“This is an organization of people who have grown up in this service, who have matured throughout their life, in this building. We are blessed in Kalamazoo County to have some of the most professional emergency service providers. in any of these fields we’re talking about. I’ve had the luxury of working with all of them,” continued the Kalamazoo County sheriff.
A plaque presentation November 7 at the Kalamazoo County Sheriff’s Office from the Til Valhalla Project to the family of Sergeant Ryan Proxmire, who was killed in the line of duty in 2021, focused on remembering the late Kalamazoo County Sheriff’s Department sergeant.
However another important message was discussed at the ceremony.
Kalamazoo County Sheriff Richard Fuller said it’s very important mental health support is available to first responders who face danger and can be exposed to trauma often.
Fuller, who said he has been a recipient of mental health care and counseling, said many in the first responder field are starting to recognize the need for mental health support.
“For the last several years, we’ve been able to recognize more and more the importance of making sure people can go home safe at night. I tell people when my professionals are retired from the emergency services, I’d like them to retire with their physical health, their mental health, and their financial health. And to do all of that, they have to have support,” points out Fuller.
What first responders dispatchers see and hear as part of their job helping others can be very disturbing, making mental support important.
“We can’t just expect them to put the gun on, put the badge on, grab the fire hose, or go out there and put out a fire without supporting them. We recognize that we have humans, who have emotions, who have feelings, and then for us to forget that, or to try to suppress any feelings we have in our professionals. It takes away the humanity that we talk about all the time,” continued the Kalamazoo County sheriff.
Fuller said there are times that law enforcement, firefighters, EMS personnel, and dispatchers often face a traumatic event, yet they are expected to go right back to their job, sometimes the same day or later the same night because of a staff shortage.
“We need to come up with better ways of making sure that the mental health and well being of our organizations is all one thing that people focus on,” said Fuller.
Proxmire was killed in the line of duty August 15, 2021. He served with the Kalamazoo County Sheriff’s Office for more than nine years.
He was a patrolman, field training officer and subject control/defensive tactics instructor.
Memorial Plaques containing the photos of both Proxmire and Sheriff Orcutt are on the wall of the Orcutt Room at the Sheriff’s Office. On each plaque is a bar code that goes to a website that tells the story of each fallen hero. Fuller emphasized it’s important for agencies to remember fallen heros from their own departments.
According to the website odmp.com, Sheriff Orcutt was shot and mortally wounded by two men who were attempting to free prisoners from the county jail in 1867.
“That’s a really, telling thing that organizations must remember those who have served and must recognize that those who have served have sacrificed, the ultimate sacrifice, and they are true heroes,” Fuller adds.
Fuller adds he was happy to have some of the Kalamazoo County Sheriff’s Office staff attend the ceremony and not only offer support to the Proxmire family, but grasp the opportunity to remember
“This is an organization of people who have grown up in this service, who have matured throughout their life, in this building. We are blessed in Kalamazoo County to have some of the most professional emergency service providers. in any of these fields we’re talking about. I’ve had the luxury of working with all of them,” continued the Kalamazoo County sheriff.
