Jason Walters and K-9 Freddy

My name is Jason Walters. I was in law enforcement for 28 years, the last 26 years being with the Minneapolis Police Department. I became duty disabled with PTSD and retired in 2021. PTSD had taken control of my life; everyone around me saw it, but I didn’t. My partners, wife, children, and friends all noticed changes in me that were having negative effects on all my relationships. I sought help and was soon diagnosed with PTSD. I was forced to retire. It was like a divorce I never wanted. I heard it best described like this: Everyone has a bucket, and traumatic events we experience add a little sand or gravel or larger rocks into your bucket. Some people’s buckets are large, some are small, but if your bucket starts to overflow, your life may start coming apart around you. My bucket overflowed following the events in Minneapolis during the summer of 2020.
Therapy helps, but many LEOs don’t or won’t seek that help. We are trained to push emotions, feelings, and thoughts down and move onto the next call. Some of us try to numb ourselves with substance abuse, many of us find ourselves having relationship issues, and unfortunately some of us cannot cope with the trauma and take our own lives. Cops, firefighters, EMS, corrections, military, paramedics, doctors, nurses, all experience tremendous amounts of traumatic incidents far more regularly than the average citizen. Thank God that there are programs like Soldier 6 out there for us to lean on and find support. I am optimistic that this program will help me through my day-to-day struggles. Thank you, Soldier 6, for granting me access to your services. My boy Freddy and I appreciate you!