Why did my department send me to a psychologist after a shooting when I did not hit anyone and I was fine?

Most law enforcement agencies have a policy of sending officers for mandatory counseling/evaluation after involvement in a critical incident. A critical incident is sometimes defined as a shooting only involving the officer(s) who fired a weapon, but most often all officers directly involved in the incident are referred. Sometimes an officer not in a position to take action may be as effected by the incident as much or more than an officer who shoots.

I advise law enforcement agencies to refer officers for a posttraumatic incident interview when they are involved in any incident that is above and beyond what officers usually face. Referrals are mandatory because many officers would not attend otherwise. Making the referrals for such incidents routine and mandatory takes away any stigma that may otherwise be associated with being ordered to "see the shrink" after an incident.

Officers usually benefit from learning how to identify and deal with any emotional issues or symptoms that may develop in the short term or in the long term as a result of the incident.