SEQUIM — Sometimes it’s best to say nothing. Just stand close and be quiet.
That’s what Steve Brown did, on some days, during nine years as a police chaplain in Tacoma.
It’s what he’s ready to do again in Sequim and Clallam County as a volunteer with the Sequim Police Department.
Chaplains go “any place we’re needed,” said Brown, 67.
That means accident scenes, disasters, even a high-strung cable on the Tacoma Narrows Bridge to talk with a man who planned to commit suicide by jumping into Puget Sound.
Sequim Police Chief Robert Spinks decided this year to establish a chaplaincy program for his city, and recruitment of volunteers has begun.
John Cramer, 72, a psychotherapist and associate minister at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, is coordinating the program, and says it has two missions.
“Our primary focus is to minister to people in crisis situations,” Cramer said.
“We’ll also minister to the officers themselves and their families. Their work is extremely stressful and grinding.”
More police officers die from suicide than from on-duty incidents, he added.
Every Sequim Police Department chaplain is an ordained clergyman or woman, and each is a volunteer who agrees to be on call outside business hours.
Cramer, Brown and other Sequim police volunteers say the same thing about volunteer policing: Providing a caring presence and making a connection with someone in need are rewards that transcend payment.