Handcuffed emotions: Is the police force doing enough to protect officers from trauma?

Ben Pearson was a traffic cop, attending several fatalities every week. But when his mother died and he returned to work too soon, his grief overwhelmed him. He talks to David Barnett about his new book, and how the force deals with mental health problems

Pearson: ‘Once I started typing the floodgates just opened’ (Channel 5)

Ben Pearson was parked in his patrol car on an icy February day when the call came through that an officer was needed to assist at a road traffic accident on his West Yorkshire patch. It was only half a mile away, but Pearson was fervently hoping that someone else would respond. No one did. He knew it was his duty, and he had to do it.

Pearson had just returned from compassionate leave after the death of his mother. The break from work wasn’t long enough for him to come to terms with his grief. He was on anti-depressants and struggling hugely, but privately. And what happened next was going to make things far worse than he could ever have imagined.

When Pearson arrived at the scene he discovered that the accident was fatal. And it involved a 44-ton, 18-wheeler truck. And a child.