Four NYPD Suicides In Four Weeks

AusFost1 @ 2/14/2012 9:26 PM

Just so sorry. Nothing is ever that bad, please reach out to someone - your families will never understand if you don't. RIP.

NPDBob @ 2/15/2012 3:58 AM

When all seems lost and there there are no lights at the end of the tunnel, remember that all events in life change - always. Choosing a permanent solution to a temporary problem is never a valid response.

Joese @ 2/15/2012 6:04 AM

Is no way out of Corruption.

Bob T.retired @ 2/15/2012 12:18 PM

To any Officer that reads this and I speak from experience, hear me, I contemplated suicide. I thought of my family and friends and the devastation it would cause. I sang the song Tomorrow from the Broadway musical Annie, each time I tried to attempt it. I was afraid if someone knew I would lose my job because of mental problems. I finally reached out to the VA as a vet and was hospitalized for depression and found out I had bipolar disorder. I got meds and did enough time to vest and move south to a slower pace. I worked as a deputy until new policy put me on administrative leave. I was forced to file for disability which I received. I have since enjoyed my kids growing up and a divorce, but I am still alive and each day I treasure more then the other. Get help, I know it seems hopeless, but...TOMORROW, TOMORROW, ITS ONLY A DAY AWAY. 24 LITTLE HOURS, WHAT A DIFFERENCE A DAY MAKES, AND DONT FORGET YOUR LOVED ONES. THEY DONT WANT THAT 1/2 MILLION INSURANCE POLICY YOU HAVE, THE FAMILY WANTS YOU AND THEY WILL ALWAYS SUPPORT YOU. PUT THE GUN DOWN, UNLOAD IT AND THINK THINK THINK.

Donn @ 2/15/2012 2:25 PM

Suicide is the monster that we can't see, the evil that doesn't appear in our photo line-ups, the villian that we can't grasp hold of, the ethereal enemy that doesn't reveal itself to us until too late ... yet it leaves us as dead as the resistive armed felon and oftentimes with more unanswered questions. Suicide is rarely if ever considered a line-of-duty death, and we as a profession believe that we are above such demons. All too frequently we are wrong, and the pressures of law enforcement have pulled the trigger just as assuredly as the cop-killer criminal.

Unk @ 2/15/2012 3:08 PM

Thank You Bob T. You saved someone.

Scott @ 2/15/2012 4:23 PM

Cudos Bob T. You are a better person for what you did, like the previous poster, "You saved someone."

chp7016 @ 2/16/2012 12:16 AM

There IS a way around this. We call them “annual mental health checks,” at least once a year—voluntary, to keep up with the stresses and traumas of this caustic career. You can’t go 10, 20 years or more without doing it. It’s no different than having a good batting coach, or getting a physical, especially in this job. If you don’t trust your department or EAP, go outside and pay the co-pay yourself—you can afford it. It’s your family, your life and your career. Don’t wait until “you need help” to get it—get the help BEFORE you need it so you’ll be ready for the crap when it hits.

popo @ 2/16/2012 11:24 AM

We will always have the enemy within, as well as our external foes. To any fellow officers going down this path, reach out... people do care... depression is no different than high blood pressure, it's one of the side effects of dealing with what we do, day after day. Innoculate yourself with a good mental health plan, find a good set of non-judgmental ears to share the pain, but most of all, put down the gun until you remember we can't afford any gaps in our thin blue line. Be safe.

Kim @ 2/16/2012 8:13 PM

My condolences to the families of these fine men. RIP

Jim @ 2/17/2012 6:53 AM

Suicide is not painless for your familiy and friends. It is the most selfish act a person could ever do. We need to keep in mind though, that these people were having extreme mental issues at the time they took their own lives. They were not seeing straight. They were literally at the end of their ropes. And when the rope went taught, it was their family, friends, and fellow officers that felt the snap. I am sorry for them.

You be strong within yourself. If you need strength from the outside, be willing to seek it.

Jim A

Det. Sgt. and Chaplain M. @ 2/17/2012 7:37 AM

Suicide is the #1 killer of our fellow LEOs...we lose an average of 1 a day and police suicide is often intentionally unreported or misreported. Bottom line though is that God has a plan for your life and it does not include suicide. I have resources on my website to assist in this area: see www.TheCenturionLawEnforcementMinistry.org and scroll down the left side. Moreover, the best defense to this and related issues in our God-ordained profession (Romans 13:1-5) is to be in a right relationship with Him through Christ.

This coming from someone who knows what the business end of a Glock tastes like.