Stand with Officer Longworth for Brain Health

Most become a police officer for the right reasons, to do good, to help, to make a difference in their community, to protect and serve. If they manage to survive their career the average life expectancy is 5-7 years after retirement. That statistic comes from the exposure to trauma, chronic and toxic stress, and injuries, moral and physical.

On September 28, 2019, Officer James Longworth was injured while attempting to arrest a homicide suspect. Officer Longworth was slammed onto the ground, knocked unconscious and suffered a broken shoulder and broken rib.

I met Officer Longworth about a year later when he was taking a class I was teaching. Officer Longworth was agitated and had outbursts in the class. On break, I sat and spoke with him about his behaviors. He told me the story of his incident and showed me emails from the department's HR division telling Officer Longworth not to communicate with them. I asked him a few questions about his symptoms, and right then a non-medical professional was able to assess he was suffering from a traumatic brain injury (TBI).

Over a year later, this man had not received a diagnosis or treatment for his injury. He was sent to see the department psychologist where it was confirmed Officer Longworth had a TBI and the process to get him help was started. Yet he never received treatment. Yet again Officer Longworth was left alone to deal with this injury.

Officer Longworth had issues with his memory, focusing, and knowing where he was at times and coworkers and superiors put it off as odd behavior but nothing serious.

In November of 2021 Officer Longworth, cleared for duty, but not treated was involved in an officer-involved shooting that resulted in PTSD which exacerbated his TBI symptoms. Per direction from the department, the department psychologist was not allowed to speak to Officer Longworth, so he was by himself suffering again.

In November of 2023 Officer Longworth’s struggle with his TBI and PTSD were debilitating, and he reached out for help. He went to treatment at FHE with their shatterproof program. His treatment was cut short because the worker’s comp would not communicate, and the department drained all his sick and vacation time, not allowing him to be on FMLA leave.

Here we are in April of 2024, four and a half years later and he still suffers. Not only is he suffering, but his family is also suffering. This has wreaked havoc on their finances with lost wages and having to pay for treatment out of pocket. They have watched their husband and father struggle and can’t do anything about it.

THIS SHOULD NEVER HAPPEN. When you enter a career field that has a high chance for injury both physical and mental injury, you should be taken care of. Officer Longworth should not be 4.5 years out from an injury while still asking for help. Officer Longworth should not have lost wages. Officer Longworth should not be paying for treatment! This is an injury that if left untreated has serious and lasting implications. This is an injury that impacts his overall livelihood from his own health to his ability to be a provider, a father, and a husband.

Officer Longworth went to the Amen clinic in Georgia. The Amen Clinic is a leader in brain health. This is not paid for or recommended by his department. He will be receiving partial payment from the police foundation fund designated to help cmpd officers get access to treatment. This helped him to get a full assessment and treatment plan for his injury.

Unfortunately, Officer Longworth is not the only one in this situation. Hopefully, with your help, we can raise money to assist him, and raise awareness to help other officers struggling, and stop these situations from happening in the future!

Please consider helping!

We are attempting to raise $25,000 for the Longworth family for the following lost wages and costs of treatment.

Every little bit helps! If you can’t give financially, please share!!!

***ENTER JAMES LONGWORTH IN THE NOTES***

100% of proceeds go to Officer Longworth