09/11/2025
I am not someone who believes in coincidences, and my connecting with Matt Walsh is just another case in point. In late 2021, thirty years after I began a rewarding career as a “cop counselor,” I started questioning what I was missing. I had been featured on Investigative Reports with Bill Kurtis and founded two police hotlines. I had authored and lobbied for over ten years for one in New Jersey, then went on to create CopLine, which would not have the same constraints and limitations as a state-run hotline funded by government money.
I was fortunate to be hired as the Clinical Director of the Boston Police Department Peer Support Unit and had the honor of working under Sergeant Brian Fleming. Brian had the foresight to send six officers exposed to the blast overpressure of the bombs to the University of Pittsburgh, where studies were being done on military concussions. Five out of the six officers were diagnosed with post-concussion syndrome.
Still, the pieces did not fall into place until years later. I reconnected with a high school classmate, now a neurosurgeon, who was training police officers to identify concussions in domestic violence victims. That was when I began to understand the role not only of concussions, but also of non-concussive and subclinical head injuries, in shaping mental health. My career took a permanent turn. I began researching the effects of repetitive head impacts and blast overpressure on officers. The more I read, the more I realized how much I, and frankly the entire law enforcement wellness community had overlooked.
This journey led me to Matt Walsh, who had already published his article in Police1. It also reconnected me with Dr. Beverly Anderson, head of the Employee Assistance Program for the Metropolitan Police Department, who is now training officers on concussions and proper protocol. The department went on to establish internal best practices after suspected concussions.
In private practice, I began assessing patients differently and saw how prevalent these injuries truly were. When I need expert help diagnosing complex cases, I turn to Beth Murphy, MD, PhD, at McLean Hospital in Belmont. When I asked her who she refers suspected PCS or CTE cases to, she immediately answered: “Dr. Robert Cantu of the Cantu Concussion Center.” That introduction would once again change the course of my future.
I entered an arena I had not been in since my undergraduate days at UCLA. I began assembling a team of world-renowned experts and writing grants to support research into the intersection of brain injury and mental health in law enforcement. Dr. Cantu introduced me to Dan Daneshvar, MD, PhD, who has dedicated his career to this field as well.
I conducted a survey in Texas thanks to Kevin Lawrence, Executive Director of the Texas Municipal Police Association an unwavering advocate for his members and the broader law enforcement community. I also reached out to Shelley Jones, co-founder of Survivors of Blue Su***de, to ask if she would share a survey with her members when the time was right. And I spoke with Karen Solomon, co-founder of First Help, who has become a close ally. Both Shelley and Karen were immediately supportive. Karen even said, “I think you need to meet Erin Smith, you two seem to be aligned in your thinking.”
I have since had the honor of lecturing with Erin and Matt several times. Erin played an invaluable role in a CopLine conference, demonstrating through role-play the importance of volunteers asking about repetitive head trauma (HIT) and blast overpressure (BOP). We all believe that had Erin called CopLine on January 7, 2021, she may have received the resources that could have changed both her and Jeff’s futures. Likewise, if Matt’s article had received the attention it deserved, we would be years ahead in addressing CTE in law enforcement.
Thanks to the courage of Gina Elliott, widow of Brent Simpson, a canine officer with Charlotte-Mecklenburg PD we now have the first confirmed case of CTE in a police officer. The years Brent spent in defensive tactics training, repeatedly taking hits in the Red Man suit, came at a price no one should have to pay. It is our collective hope that the price Brent and Gina paid will change the future for officers and their loved ones. What had long been speculation became reality thanks to Gina’s willingness to speak publicly, including to The New York Times.
I know this is a long post, but I felt it was important to share the facts about how long this work has been underway and to give credit to those who have contributed along the way.
Understanding the long-term effects of CTE can assist with strategies to address officer mental health
