Facing the inner demons

“THANK you for speaking out.” It’s been the overwhelming response received by Wangaratta’s Tyler Robinson after going public about personal battles with PTSD and recapping harrowing tales as a first responder and going days without food during his time on the police force. Walking down the street to local cafes, Tyler said since his podcast episode on Dyl and Friends was released last month he has had strangers open up to him about their stories. “It’s been pretty overwhelming to be honest,” he said. “I’m happy a lot of people have seemed to have gotten something out of it.” Born and raised in Wangaratta, Tyler had an upbringing like any ordinary kid, thoroughly enjoying his time in the city, playing footy in his spare time with the Wangaratta Magpies. He followed in the footsteps of his father and current Wangaratta Sergeant Craig Robinson to join the police force. After beginning in general duties in and around Sydney, Tyler then undertook rigorous training to become part of the New South Wales Tactical Operation Unit (TOU) as a breacher for five years. The TOU is not too dissimilar to a SWAT team seen on TV, specialising in high-risk situations including armed robberies, counterterrorism and crisis negotiation. As a breacher, Tyler’s role in the unit involved finding ways to gain access to property through either manual, mechanical or explosive means, learning how to construct explosives and the safety behind them. “In these sorts of environments, the pressure doesn’t come from the job, it comes from not wanting to let your mates down,” he said. He left the unit following the birth of his first child, London, and was stationed at Mulwala, transitioning back into general policing duties. Tyler said a tipping point for his subsequent PTSD diagnosis came not long into his move, when he received a call from officers on the night of 19 January, 2022. Police were performing a welfare check at a Corowa property after a three-month-old baby hadn’t been seen for days. An officer then screamed in shock as they located the baby wrapped in a blanket on the top shelf of a freezer in a rear granny flat of the property. As the most senior officer on scene at the time, Tyler’s duty was to communicate with high-ranking officers and the homicide squad in Sydney, while also accommodating those first responders. He then checked the granny flat himself, seeing the dead newborn inside the freezer. The following night Tyler was woken by his wife, who told him he had been screaming in his sleep and couldn’t wake him up. Tyler said he then started having intrusive, suicidal thoughts while he was working and became hyper-vigilant at home, placing knives around the house and conducting counter-surveillance in fear of being followed. "I thought 'I could run into this tree'...they just popped in while I was working and I thought, this was not good," he said. The former sergeant said he continued to reach out for help, admitting his struggles to co-workers and helpline counselling, but was unable to access what he needed. Speaking on Dyl and Friends, Tyler said he saw and talked to a professional every three or four months when he was in the TOU, and once he left the role, there was a lack of accessible support. “It was like you didn’t experience the things you did in the TOU,” he said. After leaving the force in 2022, Tyler said he was able to find peace and support after moving back to his hometown, being closer to family and friends who have been vital in his recovery. “You always reach a point in your life when it’s nice to come home, especially when you have a young family and a supportive wife,” he said. Tyler said there could be improvements made in all emergency services where support can be provided, and he was willing to help advocate for it. “A little bit more support would be ideal, at least to fulfil the responsibilities that the employer has or says to the general public that they supported their frontline officers or emergency services,” he said. “It would enhance our society greatly I think.” Tyler said he was hesitant to bring his story to light, but he felt inspired by a man relatively unknown to him who opened about his own mental health battles. “I thought it was pretty powerful and if I could do the same to someone else, I’d do that,” he said. Tyler now works in real estate with O’Brien Real Estate, saying that police work transitioned almost seamlessly into the role. “I was fortunate enough that Peter Joyce gave me an opportunity and it’s worked out really well,” he said. The Wangaratta local said despite being a slight change from her hometown Byron Bay lifestyle, wife Sasha has enjoyed the family’s move to Wangaratta with London and 18-month-old Harley. “I think it’s a fantastic town, you’ve got everything you want here, close enough to Melbourne, close enough to Albury, big enough to have everything and small enough not to be overwhelmed,” Tyler said. LifeLine Crisis Support is available 24/7 at 13 11 14.

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