"They are looking for a good working environment, reasonable pay and benefits, and respect," Ihler said. "Right now all those things aren't being met."
His bullet-resistant vest stopped one of them from tearing through his chest.
But it was the mental health help he got following the experience that saved his life.
“The first thing is realizing, ‘Hey, I’m not crazy, I’m not tripping,’ this is what I’ve learned, it’s part of the process,” Lowe said.
Ever since, Lowe has partnered with other St. Louis area first responders who have survived trauma to form a nonprofit that helps them, and others, begin the mental health part of the healing process.
They call themselves Project HURT, and they sprang into action the night a Bellefontaine Neighbors police officer struck and killed Moline Acres Police Sgt. Herschel Turner. Some of the group s members helped Moline Acres police officers, but Lowe said a Blue-on-Blue type of line-of-duty death presents additional mental health needs.