Police officers face death sooner
Anniston Star – July 10
Law enforcement is a dangerous job, but it only gets worse in the off hours. Last month Calhoun County Sheriff Larry Amerson, acting as the new president for the National Sheriff’s Association, attended a Department of Justice Conference in Washington D.C., on the mental and physical health concerns among those who wear the badge…“In general, law enforcement is not a very healthy profession,” said Mark Lanier, a criminal justice professor at the University of Alabama. “It’s a job where you go from complete boredom to complete excitement in a matter of seconds.” Lanier said studies about health for police officers really began to pick up steam in the 1970’s, when the stereotypes about police officers eating jelly doughnuts on the job started to look more like a reality. “Firefighters can spend a lot of time working out or training,” Lanier said. “A lot of what police officers do is sit in a patrol car all day.”