Police shooting prompts questions about PTSD treatment availability

Questions are being raised about the availability of help for soldiers and veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder in the wake of a police shooting that killed a Winnipeg man earlier this week.

Roy Thomas Bell, 44, was killed Monday night in a confrontation with police officers responding to a 911 call. Police said the former Canadian Forces member was threatening them with a bat and a firearm, and could not be subdued by a stun gun.

Before police shot Bell, witnesses said they heard him telling the officers to shoot him, raising speculation the man, whose friends said he had been dealing with PTSD, may have committed "suicide by cop."

Dr. Greg Passey, a retired military psychiatrist who treats people with PTSD, said he wasn't surprised to hear about the Winnipeg case.

One in five people with PTSD attempts suicide, he said.

"Sometimes it's difficult to actually take your own life," he said."From a soldier's point of view, getting into a situation where you can ensure someone else will kill you is an effective way of actually committing suicide."

The Department of National Defence confirmed Roy Thomas Bell served in the military for more than 20 years before he was released in 2004.It's not clear when, where or why he developed PTSD, but friends said his mental state had deteriorated recently.

More services needed: Dallaire

Senator Romeo Dallaire, a former military general who is perhaps Canada's best-known sufferer of PTSD, said he worries not enough services are available for people like Bell.

"Those who have this injury are to be treated as people who have an injury and monitored that way, just as you would if they had lost a limb," he told CBC News.

Veterans Affairs set up an Operational Stress Injury Clinic at the Deer Lodge Centre in Winnipeg in 2005; Dallaire said there is a need for more services.

"What is needed is dedicated bed space for cases, just like probably like this chap, who could have maybe been brought to a place where he would be secure," he said.

"We don't have enough of those dedicated beds, and nor do those clinics of the Veterans Canada have them, so I think that's a major deficiency."

The Winnipeg clinic has handled more than 270 cases since its opening, said Real Cloutier, CEO of Deer Lodge Centre, and demand has grown by 50 per cent in the two years the clinic has been operating.

Cloutier said he is satisfied with the level of service provided at the clinic, but noted they are planning to expand its services in the future to keep up with demand.