In his 37 years of ministry to the law enforcement community here in Southern California - most of that with the Los Angeles Police Department, but also serving simultaneously 13 years with the FBI - Father Michael McCullough has buried 97 police officers. Thirteen were suicides.
"Those statistics are off the chart," says the 63-year-old "Father Mike," who is not only the Los Angeles Police Department's single fulltime chaplain, but also a graduate of the police academy himself and a reserve officer. "For those statistics to be so high says to me that the pressures on our police officers are immense. They tell me that these guys' and gals' emotional backpacks are full."
The pressures start with the LAPD's rigorous application process, testing and training. For every two academy graduates, some 100 candidates have failed because of educational, physical, psychological or other reasons. And those young men and women who do earn the prestigious badge often find themselves working four ten-hour shifts a week out of stations hours away from their homes.
And then, of course, there's the dangerous work itself.
"It's busy and it's intense," Father McCullough points out. "If they get a Code 3 call, a life or death emergency, that's going to supersede all the other calls. But they generally get their calls three or four or five at a time, maybe of lower priority. So there's that pressure just to keep up.
"And then they're dealing with the five percent of society that the rest of us don't want to deal with. I think that's where a lot of the pressure is because they always have to be on guard. Cops never know when the most innocent situation can erupt into serous confrontations. I mean, the average police officer is assaulted something like 50 times in his career - life-threatening situations."
But according to the veteran chaplain, who started his special ministry with the Culver City Police Department during an early clerical assignment at St. Augustine Church in Culver City, the number one danger for those working in law enforcement today is cynicism. He says cops witness on a regular basis human suffering and evil the rest of us might never encounter in a lifetime.
The 'greatest danger'
"The choice for police officers is either to talk it out with a professional, peer or somebody they feel comfortable with, or keep it within," says Father McCullough. "If you stuff it, if you're hurting but you don't do anything about it, that's where cynicism can start to callous you.
"And I think it's the greatest danger in law enforcement. Because what you do is, brick by brick by brick, build a wall to protect yourself from the pain. But as the wall gets higher, you block out all the good stuff, too. If you shut down the negative feelings, you're also going to shut out the positive feelings."
In his orientation class at the police academy, he tells raw recruits it's better to meet the problems they will inevitably face in their career and life "head on" rather than try to keep a lid on their negative and painful feelings. Why? Because their troubles will sooner or later "blow their way out" as alcoholism, workaholism, sexaholism or some other destructive behavior.
With more seasoned cops, Father McCullough hopes he's built up enough of a rapport that they feel free to see him way before "they have the gun in their mouth." As a priest, he has the highest level of confidentiality of any chaplain in the LAPD, especially when it comes to hearing the confession (sacrament of reconciliation) of Catholic officers. He can also refer a troubled officer to one of the department's psychologists, another chaplain or an outside counselor or therapist.
Desert Refuge
"So that's where a place like our Desert Refuge comes in, where we can offer a variety of programs or lectures or retreats or days of recollection," he says. "Number one, it gives them some perspective. You get 130 miles out from L.A., and it seems like the boondocks when you get out there to Joshua Tree. But a problem that's the size of a half dollar up close gets a lot smaller when you move it away and you get that perspective.
"And it's scriptural. I mean, Jesus often went to the desert. When we have a retreat out there, that's a great opportunity I have with them. The night skies are so beautiful. You can't sit out there and look at the stars and not think about God and want to talk about God. So a lot of times they'll talk about the things that have built up cynicism in their lives: How does God allow evil? And other basic questions of life."
The Desert Refuge for Peace Officers, the brainchild of Father McCullough, was incorporated in 1999 as a place of hospitality, healing and solitude for law enforcement personnel and their families. Individuals, families and groups can make use of the refuge, which lies on five acres two and a half hours from Los Angeles.
Open mostly on weekends, services include counseling, workshops for new law enforcement officers, a variety of retreats as well as plenty of opportunities for prayer, meditation and Bible study. Work parties over the years have planted some 70 trees, laid irrigation pipes and erected an outdoor Stations of the Cross. Future plans call for a chapel.
A life's work
After nearly four decades of counseling law enforcement officers, consoling their families and praying for both, "Father Mike" still brightens when he talks about his life's work.
"I want to deal with issues like depression long before it becomes an issue in an officer's life," he says. "'Let's keep you spiritually and emotionally healthy. We want you to be balanced and at your best game.' That's what the Desert Refuge - and my ministry - is all about.
"The joy of this work is I really believe anytime I can help a police officer I have helped a hundred citizens. If I can help a police officer who is emotionally and spiritually stable and plugged in, he or she is going to do a great job in the field.
"The challenges are mostly the long hours, but the rewards just so far outweigh the challenges," he adds. "I mean, being close to people in the critical moments of their lives. These people are just above average to me. They're so committed to society - and they believe in America, they believe in values, they believe in helping people."
For more information on the Desert Refuge for Peace Officers, visit www.drpo.org or contact Father Mike McCullough, 2515 W. Martin Luther King Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90008-2728; (323) 298-7174.
