Police officers who were mentally broken combating terrorism in Northern Ireland need acknowledgment and compensation as much as those who were shot or blown up, a court was told today.
The plea was made at the opening of a legal bid by more than 5,000 police officers seeking redress for the alleged trauma they suffered through more than three decades of violence.
The biggest group action ever in the Northern Ireland High Court could land the British government with a £100 million damages payout if the action succeeds.
Officers, both serving and retired, have accused the chief constable of negligence for failing to tackle injuries including post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety and depression.
Opening the case, Stephen Irwin QC said the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) had faced ferocious terrorism and added there was a tendency to forget the heroism of those who had served in war or conflict. He said the men and women of the RUC were ordinary, decent people who had been put into the role of heroes.
"Some of them found it too much and became broken," he said. "Those who were injured in their minds were injured just as much as those who were shot or maimed in explosions.
"A number have killed themselves because of the pressure on their lives. They are just as dead as those on the roll of honour in the annual reports of chief constables. Those men and women died by reason of their service."
More than 5,000 serving and former members of the RUC and the Police Service of Northern Ireland were taking the action. Over 2,000 of them are still serving, ranging in rank from constable to chief superintendent.
Mr Irwin said the action is not against the traumatic incidents they faced - the officers accepted the risks of service and knew the situations they would meet. But they allege the authorities failed to deal properly with predictable psychiatric and psychological consequences.
The claim covers the period from when Northern Ireland was plunged into civil unrest at the beginning of the 1970s but focuses mainly on the latter part of the decade.
The claim also alleges RUC chiefs knew by the mid-1970s the potential dangers facing officers exposed to severe trauma on a daily basis.
During the hearing, which is expected to last for at least four months, 12 individual cases will be set out to illustrate the basic argument. The case continues.