'I’m an ex police officer - Keir Starmer doesn't know what it's like'

A former police officer has said that she feels those injured in the line of duty are “at the bottom of the pile”, and the Government needs to ensure there is better aftercare and recognition as she seeks to establish her own version of Prince Harry's Invictus Games. Kerry Snuggs, 46, who served 21 years, four years as a special constable and 17 years as a regular in Hampshire, believes the Intrepid Games would become a community of “those who have really suffered significant injuries as a result of their service to our country”.

While attending a concern for the welfare of a man in 2012, Ms Snuggs used a takedown with another officer to prevent him from harming himself. She landed on her kneecap, which misaligned it significantly. After surgery and physiotherapy, she returned to work on light duties, and had to use a leg brace and wheelchair. But Ms Snuggs “felt like I was a hindrance” to those around her, which caused her mental health to deteriorate. Further surgeries took place, but they were unsuccessful, and meant she remained in chronic pain. The officer was also suffering flashbacks and nightmares, and “just wanted to stay at home”.

This came with “an uncontrollable desire to feel safe all of the time”, a fear of the dark and inability to be sociable. When out, she always sat near an exit with her back against the wall.

The former officer was then diagnosed with complex post-traumatic stress disorder (CPTSD).

In November 2019, she suffered a breakdown while fireworks were going off, and feared that terrorists were coming into her house.

Amid the distress, she considered taking her own life, but saw “a glimmer of hope”.

Ms Snuggs was helped by her local minister, and partnered with her service dog Bert for four years, who changed her life, and passed away in 2023.

One of his final jobs was to take her to play sitting down volleyball after encouragement from a police officer who had been present at one of Ms Snuggs’ mental health talks. She has kept playing.

The former law enforcer is aiming to raise £25,000 for the first games, and has been helped by local schools and a scout group, including one boy who walked 11 miles and raised £650.

The games would give injured officers “a recognition and camaraderie that they may never have had”, Ms Snuggs told the Daily Express, adding that she hopes to “reach those who need a purpose to start sport to aid their recovery”.

She said: “I do not see this as a fix to those problems, but more of an assistance to adapt and overcome some hurdles.

“The games for me is to be able to give hope to those who reached the same dark place as I did.”

Aftercare for those who have been wounded while serving has been “shocking” in Ms Snuggs’ experience.

She said: “We are the forgotten ones. Once we are broken, it feels like they have no use for us.

“I was medically retired whilst I was in crisis, and whilst I was undergoing surgeries.

“It seems once you are broken, you are shown the door.

“I recall being visited twice and that was to give me papers for my medical discharge.

“I was never recognised by the job for saving the person that tried to harm himself.

“There needs to be more focus on rehabilitating officers, more funds to go into Police Treatment centres.”

She added that more mental health support is required in “a more practical way”, such as debriefing on shifts, visits to injured officers, and access to medical services.

Ms Snuggs said: “Leaving the job made me lose myself in a civilian life. I was lost.

“We work a lot of shifts so friendships I found are difficult to maintain.

“When I was injured, a lot of my civilian friends disowned me and didn't support me.

“I found help from a nearby church where they stepped in to help me. I would have been lost without them.”

Adjusting to life “on civvy street” after the force has been “very difficult” for her.

Ms Snuggs said: “You have seen things that people can't even imagine, you retain trauma that you feel that no-one understands.

“You feel different and lose your identity. I struggle daily.”

When asked what she would tell Sir Keir Starmer, she said the Government needs to recognise injured emergency services personnel more.

Ms Snuggs said: “The military receives a lot of support once in war, but the emergency services are facing a difficult kind of war, with their mental health, with seeing trauma that no-one else should ever face.

“We have sacrificed so much for our communities and it's about time we receive more support.

“For charities like ours, where we are taking a hands-on approach, we need funds and opportunities to help support the forgotten ones.”

Ministers “push and push to get so much out of our emergency services for very little wages and resources”, Ms Snuggs said, but it is “becoming thinner on the ground by the year”.

She added: “I would like to see Keir Starmer go out with the emergency services and see what they are battling with each day!”

Stuart Henderson, 58, served in the Metropolitan Police Service and in Hampshire or 28 years. Having carried on despite physical injuries - such as being hit over head with a hammer while chasing a burglar after a break in at a hotel on the Isle of Wight - he retired in 2018 after experiencing PTSD following the death of a colleague, who was knocked off their motorcycle on duty, in 2013.

It came to a head when, in 2017, a mock-up e-learning scenario showed an active shooter in a shopping centre, which sent him "over the edge".

"I ended up going home and sitting in a quiet room for the rest of the day," Mr Henderson recalled. Eventually, he says he was told that he could no longer continue in the job.

Now a swimming teacher, the former officer, who took up archery after a trip to Centre Parcs in 2023, says the Intrepid Games would ensure camaraderie continues after service.

Mr Henderson said: "Personally, I think, when you lead the police, you realise after a little while that you're a number, not a name.

"Because work goes on, you lose contact with your old colleagues, and that camaraderie.

"I think the games would be really good for like-minded people to come together, not injured in the same way, but doing the same thing."

The ex-bobby highlighted that sports are a "great release" with a physical benefit, as well as a mental benefit.

"When I do my archery," Mr Henderson said, "all I think about is the archery. Concentration, the stance, everything like that."

He added: "I joined in 1990, and the welfare was going down the pub after a shift, and banter.

"Which, quite rightly, some of the banter has stopped now. But from, what I've heard now, a lot of police officers, it's a totally different generation where now they go to work because they go to work, and they go home, and it's bottled up.

"I still understand that welfare's got better, but I think once you are told that you are leaving the police, ill health retirement, that's it, you retire.

"Yes, you get your pension and your injury on duty benefit. But that's it. There's just no more contact. If you need extra therapy, like I did, I had to go privately."

Mr Henderson added that he would ask the Prime Minister: "Do you actually realise what a police officer does every day?" He also believes that those discharged from duty need to be recognised in some way, such as with a medal.

In July, former officers injured while serving, led by former Sussex copper Tom Curry, 75, gathered outside Parliament to call for a medal to recognise their service.

A Home Office spokesperson said: “We express the utmost gratitude to police officers for the huge bravery and sacrifice they show throughout their service, including those who are injured in the line of duty.

“We remain committed to supporting their mental and physical wellbeing, and are working closely with police leaders and staff associations to support that goal.

“This includes providing ongoing funding to the National Police Wellbeing Service and the launch of their new mental health crisis support line, which ensures officers and staff can access immediate, confidential help when they need it most.”

A spokesperson for Hampshire Police said: “We know, that as police officers and staff, our work sees us encounter some of the most complex and difficult situations, often dealing with people who are in crisis or injured through the course of their duty.

“We do not underestimate that impact and it is vitally important that we keep our people healthy, well and resilient.

“Our work in this area is always evolving to meet current needs and in line with national guidance, a review of the Ill Health Retirement process is ongoing, with a commitment to support officers to be retained where possible, so they feel valued and we benefit from having their skills and experience staying in force.

“This includes enabling access to recuperative and adjusted duties, ensuring access to welfare support, medical treatments and therapies to help with their recovered.

“This ongoing work was recognised in the recent PEEL Inspection, highlighting that the workforce is well supported and protected, with a strong wellbeing offer to reduce the pressures on our teams and ensure they have the capacity and space to deliver policing within our communities.”