A room of police and first responders falls silent when the video begins playing.
On screen, a young girl with shining blond hair runs away from her abusive father, who grabs her and throws her over his shoulder. Later, the girl is shown flashing back to that moment and screaming when social workers and police show up to arrest her father. She also flashes back and has outbursts when her foster parents try to show affection.
The video, a dramatized version of events many foster children go though, was part of a panel at Spokane’s second annual TEAM conference. TEAM stands for “Together Everyone Achieves More” and focuses on helping police, first responders and social workers better understand how trauma can affect them, as well as the people they serve.
After watching the video, panelists from local fire and police departments, as well as local social service agencies, discussed how first responders can approach situations like domestic violence arrests to avoid traumatizing children and other bystanders in the home.