What is Block Out Syndrome and Duty to Intervene?
Block-Out Syndrome for public safety personnel is when you are suddenly not thinking clearly, during a high stressful situation, and you make really bad decisions. This becomes a ticking time-bomb for other issues.
Poor decisions can result in the following:
Loss of life or serious injury
Lashing out at a co-worker or community member
Display of unprofessional behavior
Make stupid mistakes
Go against department regulations and policies
Push family members away, turn to addictions
For public safety employees block-out can happen during a very stressful event or simply by being mentally overloaded. This mental overload can build over time like a pressure-cooker. When the pressure becomes too great, it blows causing harm to many in the agency. Executives are then thrown into a whirlwind of questions as to what happened.
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