Hope After Tragedy: Post-Traumatic Growth for Police Professionals

Officer Tabitha Hays has been a member of the Baltimore County, Maryland Police Department since 2005. She is currently assigned to the Training Section where she instructs in multiple disciplines. She is a firearm, active assailant, tactical medicine, and first aid instructor along with numerous other instructor certifications. She has been named Officer of the Year twice and Officer of the Month nine times. In 2023, she was awarded Maryland Police and Corrections Training Commission Instructor of the Year for her agency. On May 21, 2018, Officer Hays was involved in a critical incident that resulted in the line of duty death of her friend and co-worker Amy Caprio. Less than one year later, in 2019, Officer Hays herself was shot and critically injured in the line of duty. Officer Hays endured numerous surgeries and months of physical therapy to return to duty. After over a year of treatment, she was able to return to full duty. For her actions in 2019, she was awarded the Mid-Atlantic Association of Women in Law Enforcement Valor Award as well as a Purple Heart. As a part of the training staff, she is using her experience and knowledge from those two significant events to help better equip, train, and prepare her fellow officers and recruits for response to critical incidents. She also joined her agency’s Peer Support team in an effort to assist fellow officers dealing with critical incidents, stress, and trauma.

Michael Kehoe retired as Chief of Police from the Newtown, Connecticut, Police Department in 2016. He is best known and notable for managing the aftermath of the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting. Chief Kehoe was hired by the Newtown Police Department in 1978 after graduating from Western Connecticut State University with a B.S. in Criminal Justice Administration. Chief Kehoe was promoted through the ranks of the Newtown Police Department eventually being promoted to Chief of Police in 2001. In 1985, Chief Kehoe received a Master of Business Administration from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Chief Kehoe has presented nationally on many topics including Crisis Leadership; Lessons Learned from the Sandy Hook Elementary School Shooting; Officer Wellness and Safety; Responding to Active Shooters and Mass Casualties; Safety and Security within School Settings; and Police Leadership. Chief Kehoe has participated in various national roundtable discussions and delivered testimony on Gun Violence and School Safety, 1st Responder Wellness and Safety, Emergency Protocols at Critical Incidents for State and Local Police, and School Related Threat Based Penalties. Chief Kehoe is currently consulting with the IACP as a subject matter expert in the Officer Safety and Wellness (OSW) initiatives and the Mass Violence Alliance Initiative (MVAI).

Elise Spina-Taylor is currently employed with the City of Miami Beach Police Department. She has worked for the department for over 28 years, currently at the rank of Lieutenant assigned as the Commander of the Training Unit and Department Wellness Program. Elise was an investigator for over 18 years of her career assigned to Burglary/Property Crimes, Major Crimes, Internal Affairs (IA), and Commander of the Street Crimes Unit. While working full-time for the police department, Elise obtained her Doctorate degree in Clinical Psychology. Elise has developed and conducted training classes for first responders as well as in the corporate sector and educational institutions. Elise continues to utilize her education, clinical, and law enforcement experience as the commander and psychologist consultant of the Hostage Negotiation Team (HNT), the Peer Support Team, and the Miami Beach Wellness Program called S.T.E.P.P.

Sara Dziejma serves as a Policy Advisor at the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) supporting the VALOR Officer Safety and Wellness Initiative and Hate Crimes Team. Prior to joining BJA in March 2023, Sara served as the Task Lead at Booz Allen Hamilton supporting the Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) Emergency Communications Division. Specifically, Sara focused on the implementation of the National Emergency Communications Plan and development of the SAFECOM Nationwide Survey, both aimed at enhancing emergency communications operability, interoperability, and continuity in all situations. Previously, Sara spent over 12 years at the International Association of Chiefs of Police, most recently as the manager of the Policy Center which develops guidance and recommendations for law enforcement agencies on over 100 different topics. Sara received her Master of Forensic Sciences from George Washington University and her Bachelor of Arts from the University of South Carolina.

Sabrina Fernandez is a Program Manager at the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP), overseeing multiple law enforcement training and technical assistance initiatives in topic areas such as officer safety and wellness, recruitment and retention, anti-human trafficking, and innovative online training. Sabrina has been with the IACP since 2010, addressing policy and operational challenges facing law enforcement and developing tools and resources to assist law enforcement in investigating and prosecuting criminal activity, preventing and responding to victimization, and increasing community safety. Prior to the IACP, Sabrina worked at the University of Tennessee Law Enforcement Innovation Center and Tennessee Regional Community Policing Institute, the University of Tennessee's Social Work Office of Research and Public Service, and the Baltimore Office of Homeless Services, after spending four years at the beginning of her career as a social worker and social policy advocate. Sabrina has a Master of Arts in Public Policy from The Johns Hopkins University and a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology, English and French from Drury University. She can be reached at fernandez@theiacp.org.