Over a third of police officers involved in the anti-mandate Parliament protests in Wellington have been referred to support services to help with psychological impacts including trauma from the experience.
The 23-day-long protest that ended on March 2, saw many officers suffering physical injuries such as head injuries, a chest injury and leg injuries, but what couldn't be seen was the mental impact the riots had on staff.
Information released under the Official Information Act (OIA) shows between February 9 and March 13, 2309 police officers were deployed to the protest, including 392 Wellington District staff and 1802 police staff from other parts of the country.
In an OIA seen by the NZ Herald, it showed 35 police staff were referred to psychologists and more than 750 have been referred to wellness advisers at the end of May.
"The referrals to psychologists may be a mix of constabulary staff and police employees, and may be for a range of matters including debrief or psychological input to mitigate impact of trauma and/or cumulative experience including the protest."
Police staff also suffered 154 injuries during the protest, nine of which required hospitalisation, with the majority happening on the last day when the majority of peaceful protesters had left and the violence escalated with fires lit and bricks thrown at police.
