- When you're a service driven person,
it's very hard to ask for help.
It's very hard to say, there's something wrong with me.
(gentle music)
My name's Joshua Walters.
I'm a deputy with Franklin County Sheriff's Office.
There's really an infinite amount of places
to get concussions for law enforcement
and to evaluate a concussion,
it's challenging in the way that when we get hurt,
if it's not bleeding, it's not broke,
then it's not seen, and you're fine.
- About three quarters of all law enforcement officers
reported at least one lifetime history of concussion.
So there's a lot of officers
who are sustaining a concussion,
but then they don't have the appropriate resources.
(gentle music)
- When you look at the statistics of law enforcement,
it's a perfect profession to die early
and struggle in so many ways.
If I can help somebody tomorrow be in a better position
and survive something better for their family,
then that's the whole point of the whole thing.
- I think the impact we're seeing is pretty tremendous.
We're following a pretty structured procedure
where we could get officers in for an initial evaluation
and then subsequent follow-up evaluations,
and I think it's having a big impact on the officers.
(dramatic music)
- We want the best officer on the street.
I don't want an officer operating at 90%.
I want an officer operating at 110%.
I wanna see that go through 88 counties.
I wanna see all the sheriffs be able to take advantage
of this partnership.
- Ohio State is really the global leaders
in understanding concussions in law enforcement officers.
There's really nowhere else in the world
that people are taking the steps we are to recognize,
diagnose, treat and manage concussions in law enforcement.
- Working with Ohio State is fantastic.
The group of people I work with
are the most compassionate people
that I've probably ever met,
and I wanna give as much back to them as they give to me.
If I can help tomorrow's cop be a better cop,
then I've had success in this process.