AMERICAN POLICE BEAT: SEPTEMBER 2017 33 With police violence—and public scrutiny— on the rise, cities turn to mindfulness to help officers deal with the stress of the job. By Barry Yeoman Photographs by McNair Evans GOOD COP, MINDFUL COP Lieutenant Fred Dauer of the Emeryville Police Department Field Services Division, after a patrol. Emeryville, a commercial hub located between Berkeley and Oakland, California, is one of many urban communities bringing mindfulness training to its first responders. 2017 August 2017 mindful 61 community struggling to even regulate my own space, how the hell do I have the capac- ity to have empathy?” Goerling adds. “We’re going to take a moment to do some deep breathing. We have to be aware of how we feel; we’re going to embrace the fear. We’re going to embrace, maybe, the anger at the injustice that’s occurring. But we’re not going to let those emo- tions interfere with our tactical, cognitive decision making.” Lt. Goering participated in a Pacific University study with 43 other officers. Meditation, martial arts, breathing and body-aware- ness resulted in less stress and fatigue. Officers re- ported they were sleeping better. “The goal is not just to help police officers have happier, healthier lives,” says Dan Grupe, one of the scientists leading the study. The hope for MBRT is that these tactics and methods of coping will help cops be more compas- sionate, which hopefully will improve relationships with the community. To read the story on how mindfulness techniques are helping cops cope go to Mindful.org/mindful-po- licing-the-future-of-force. This report was compiled by APB Correspondent Brianna Dunn. This article was origi- nally published in Mindful magazine, the official publica- tion of The Foundation for a Mindful Society, a non-profit organization dedicated to inspiring, guiding, and con- necting anyone who wants to explore mindfulness. Check them out at www.mindful. org. (801) 475-6000 www.symbolarts.com customerservice@symbolarts.com Contact us today to get started on your custom products BADGES PATCHES MEDALS THE LEADER IN PUBLIC SAFETY INSIGNIA FOR OVER 30 YEARS COINS APPAREL PINS