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Thread: Suicide rate outpaces line of duty deaths

  1. #1
    Modding this sack of shit BehindBlueI's's Avatar
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    Suicide rate outpaces line of duty deaths

    https://www.policeone.com/lodd/artic...LojAVnhhGN5DQV

    Less than 10 percent of U.S. departments have suicide prevention programs.

    Police can text “BLUE” or “TALK” to 741741 to reach the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, or call 1-800-273-8255.
    This is not a new problem, it's just one that's now more in the open and less stigmatized. The days of taking out a cleaning kit and calling it accidental are gone. Hopefully the days of accepting drinking as a substitute for mental health services and being "hard" are fading as well. Our department has taken it seriously, having an office who's sole task is taking troubled officers and rehabbing them so they can continue to do the job and lead a productive life outside of it.

    Watch out for each other. Don't be the guy who's stuck wondering "if only I'd..."
    Sorta around sometimes for some of your shitty mod needs.

  2. #2
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    We lost an officer to suicide the week before Christmas. He was on duty at the time.

    As a profession, we definitely need to keep an eye on eachother.

  3. #3
    It is terrible. This has been a problem for a long time that hasn’t addressed. Just as PTSD in the military needs to be addressed. There is a lot of stress involved in both jobs and more should be done to assist in helping.


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  4. #4
    problem was the stigma when I was in. Admit you have a problem, say goodbye to deployments.

  5. #5
    Site Supporter Totem Polar's Avatar
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    Not a LEO, but just lost an uncle in law to suicide new years eve. Had to skip this last summer’s local Corvette car show because both guys I used to go to car shows with killed themselves last year. Fortunately, it looks like I have a new godson-in-law coming online pretty quick who loves Corvettes, so the show goes on. But still. Major uptick from my POV.
    ”But in the end all of these ideas just manufacture new criminals when the problem isn't a lack of criminals.” -JRB

  6. #6
    Having had to pronounce a cop who literally pushed pause on the TV remote and put his duty weapon in his mouth, I would agree that there is a problem and stigma. The saddest part of that call for me was his dog on a leash outside the house looking up at us on the porch. Almost as if the dog knew that it’s life had irrevocably changed for the worse. Dude’s partner found the body when he didn’t show up for work. He did it old school, one round with an empty mag and the slide locked back. I’d read about it, but it was the first time I’d seen it.

    Generally, these days when I sense a coworker or colleague is struggling, I point them toward Warrior’s Heart. I know of another in my profession that locked himself in the office and overdosed on enough narcotics to kill an elephant. He was dealing with chronic pain from a previous injury and god knows what else.

    I’m really not sure what conclusions to draw, but outside of LEO/EMS/MIL, I can’t count the number of bodies I’ve pronounced from hangings, GSW, and ODs. One of my closest friend’s son hanged himself last year and another of my uncle’s nephews killed himself a couple of years ago. This time of year is always rough.

    The ones that piss me off are the ones that have young kids that find the bodies and the ones that do stupid shit that puts the public at large at serious risk. Swerving head on towards a TT is a good plan until you consider how many other people that action could have killed from the resulting collisions.

    As I’ve posted before, suicide is rarely the right answer, and it always creates more questions than answers for the survivors.

    Sebastian Junger’s “Tribe” is a good read, and I think he’s probably on to something.

    My apologies if I went on a bit of a rant in this post, but the subject is not abstract for me. While dark humor generally rules the day, I’m generally kind to those that call 911. The system is definitely fucked, but if they have no one else to call, then definitely call us.


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  7. #7
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    Cops are one of the few professions that have the opportunity to see the world and people for how they really are and most of the time humanity leaves a lot to be desired. Add to this the toll that the job takes on your family, the general thanklessness of the job, and most of the public's negative opinion of law enforcement and it really doesn't surprise me that guys choose to self-terminate.

  8. #8
    Site Supporter Erick Gelhaus's Avatar
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    We are seeing more about the suicides. I "think" it is because there is better reporting and sharing, although we may be having a few more. I think far, far too often the suicides were hidden or cloaked before.

    Regardless, it is a real problem that departments and peers need to do a better job of dealing with.

  9. #9
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    This is probably my greatest fear. My brother is devoutly religious and very anti-suicide, and has a new family that is fantastic, seems very happy, talks to me and my folks on a daily basis, is a great brother, has never given me even a hint of concern. But I know from when we were kids that he can be pretty sensitive.

    I just try to bring it up pretty directly frequently enough that he'd have a chance to say something.

    It's a hard job. It does psychological damage. Gotta maintain the brain just like you maintain your gear.
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  10. #10
    Member TGS's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by BehindBlueI's View Post
    Watch out for each other. Don't be the guy who's stuck wondering "if only I'd..."
    Quote Originally Posted by Beat Trash View Post
    We lost an officer to suicide the week before Christmas. He was on duty at the time.

    As a profession, we definitely need to keep an eye on eachother.
    Unfortunately, I'm not convinced that looking out for each other is enough.

    I was one of 3, maybe 4 friends to a not-so-popular classmate of mine that killed himself the week before Christmas. Some of the guys, especially the guys in his office, beat themselves up over it. I heard about it within 3 hours, and immediately reached out to one of his friends from his prior agency that I had met during an active shooter instructor course.

    The answer was near universal from his friends, coworkers, former coworkers and family: What the fuck, I just talked to him X days ago and nothing was amiss. What the fuck, he swapped shifts with me that night and everything was fine. Etc.

    He had stressors in his life, but we all do...….and none of his stressors were anything that any of us would identify as a risk for suicide.

    Especially given the details of who/what/why/when/where, none of it made sense. I mean, a college buddy of mine that I went into the Marines with killed himself over circumstances that a lot of people would easily identify as being "fuck my life has fallen apart and I've lost all that is dear to me". But my LE academy buddy? Nope.

    Ditto an officer from the county that I used to work EMS in that killed himself the day after Christmas.

    Through the lens of my experiences, saying that we need to be better at looking out for each other is the same as when I hear the teeth-gnashing of gun control advocates saying, "We have to do something! More gun control to solve this!".

    It's hallow wishful thinking. A lot of this shit (as in the suicides) just doesn't make sense, and people are going to do what they're going to do. Over the last decade and a half, I've sat through countless briefings on the risk factors and identifiers, and even took a very insightful course on interview techniques for mental health triage. With the exception of my buddy in the Marines, none of it has applied to the suicides in my life and the split is about the same for the suicides I saw in EMS. Regardless of that, you're still going to be the guy wondering if you could've done something....that's unavoidable. That's just who we are.
    "Are you ready? Okay. Let's roll."- Last words of Todd Beamer

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