Thom Jackson was a soldier in the U.S. Army from 1985 to 1993. After his service in the military, Thom joined the Nevada Highway Patrol and held every rank from Trooper to Deputy Chief.

“In my career as a trooper I spent a lot of time conducting use of force training, which led me to review many uses of force within my agency. I witnessed first-hand the stress the troopers experienced not only from uses of force, but from their day to day job duties.” Thom explained that this pattern of stress he noticed motivated him to take action once he obtained a leadership position in Nevada Highway Patrol.

“When I progressed into leadership we built a structured protocol to help troopers who experience critical incidents recover emotionally. The protocol was entirely separate from the use of force investigation and focused only on the troopers’ wellbeing. I think we were successful in mitigating some of the stress in the aftermath.”

Thom would like to dedicate his episode of Family First to “the victims of police suicide, both the lost and the loved ones left behind.” It is his hope that this series will be able to help those currently struggling, and motivate them to find the help they need.