Traumatised police face peer criticism

A Queensland police officer has laid bare some of the unexpected consequences of being shot on the job.

Senior Sergeant Daryl Green faced two rounds of facial reconstruction surgery and took 22 months off work after being shot in the face and shoulder in 2000.

Snr Sgt Green says he had to deal with workplace rumours of negligence and was condemned for taking too much time off work.

He recalls one WorkCover officer saying she “expected him to be back at work in a week” despite psychiatrists saying he was suffering mental trauma.

He said that when he finally returned to work, he was hurt by some of the reactions of colleagues.

“I knew what I was going through (but) other people didn’t. I felt isolated … I wanted to find a desk and hide,” he said.

Snr Sgt Green now gives presentations on personal and professional resilience and believes support for police has improved since he was shot.

The officer was responding to a domestic violence incident when he was shot in Brisbane more than a decade ago.

His colleagues Sergeant Chris Muller and Constable Sharnelle Cole were also wounded by a gunman who opened fire on their car.

The body of the gunman, who took his own life, was found three weeks after the shooting, in bushland.

AAP stu/tnf/mjs

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