Joliet Police Officer's body found in Cook County Forest

Joliet police officer dies in apparent suicide
By The Herald-News
September 6, 2018

A Joliet police officer apparently committed suicide Tuesday in a Cook County Forest Preserve.

Daniel Rupp, 33, was pronounced dead about 3 p.m. Tuesday in the Sag Valley Equestrian parking lot in Lemont, according to the forest preserve police and medical examiner’s office.

Rupp’s body was found outside his personal vehicle, and a handgun was located nearby, said Sophia Ansari, a spokeswoman for the Cook County Sheriff’s Office.
read more here

Chicago Police Officer shot himself in a patrol car

Chicago officer kills himself in police station parking lot, officials say
Chicago Tribune
Peter Nickeas
Julu 10, 2018

A Chicago police officer killed himself in the parking lot of the Calumet District police station Sunday night, according to authorities.

A spokesman for the Chicago Police Department confirmed the death Monday.

The officer, a 36-year-old man, was pronounced dead at the police station about 7:30 p.m.

He shot himself in a patrol car with his service weapon, according to authorities. An autopsy Monday ruled his death a suicide.
read more here

Law Enforcement Still Struggling to Get Officers to Seek Help For PTSD

Report: Police Departments Need Mental Health Programs
ASSOCIATED PRESS HARTFORD, Conn
By DAVE COLLINS
May 26, 2016

Studies show there are about 125 to 150 officer suicides a year and more than 200,000 officers are suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder or some other form of emotional stress

A U.S. Justice Department report prompted by the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre urges police chiefs around the country to put mental health programs in place in to help officers cope with on-the-job trauma, including the aftermath of mass shootings.

The report, offered as a best practices guide, was prepared with help from officials including retired Newtown police chief Michael Kehoe, who led the response to the 2012 school shooting and worried over the following weeks that some of his officers might kill themselves.

Most police departments train to respond to mass shootings, but few prepare officers for the psychological fallout, says the report released Wednesday by the U.S. Department of Justice and the National Alliance on Mental Illness.

The 140-page report emphasizes how to prepare for mass shootings, but it says taking steps such as choosing trusted mental health service providers, creating peer support programs, and designating mental health incident commanders also will help officers cope with more common events such as car crashes, suicides and domestic violence.

Law enforcement experts say it has been a struggle to create conditions in which officers feel comfortable coming forward for help.
read more here

Royal Canadian Mounted Police PTSD and Suicides

Current, former Mounties speak out about experiences with PTSD
News Talk 980
CKNW Vancouver, BC, Canada
Shelby Thom
August 10, 2015

Wilson says over the past 8 years, 31 RCMP members have committed suicide.

“I have Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.”

“I have PTSD.”

“I have PTSD.”

“You are not alone.”

That’s the purpose of a new YouTube video featuring current and former Mounties speaking out about their struggles with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.
read more here

Mountie with PTSD after Greyhound bus beheading committed suicide

Mountie suffering PTSD after Greyhound bus beheading takes own life
The Canadian Press
July 17, 2014

WINNIPEG One of the first police officers on the scene of the beheading of a young man aboard a Greyhound bus on a Manitoba highway six years ago has taken his own life.

Ken Barker, a recently retired RCMP corporal who was a dog handler, killed himself last weekend after struggling with post-traumatic stress disorder for years.

Family and former colleagues say the 51-year-old had already seen almost two decades of horrific crimes when he witnessed the grisly scene on the Trans-Canada Highway west of Winnipeg in 2008.

Tim McLean was stabbed, mutilated and beheaded by Vince Li, who was later found not criminally responsible because of mental illness.

Barker's family say they're speaking out about the suicide in the hope more Mounties will seek help.

Shari Barker, the former officer's estranged wife, said Wednesday her husband was a sensitive man who did not want to be known as the Greyhound guy.

Barker, who had two adult children, retired last month and had been on medical leave since October.
read more here

A run to tackle tragic 'demons' of police suicide in Canada

Clairmont: A run to tackle tragic 'demons' of police suicide
Family hopes cop’s suicide spurs dialogue and healing
The Spec.com
By Susan Clairmont
March 12, 2014

It is hard to imagine that someone who was so loved, by so many, could feel so alone.

Those words came to me in an email from a Crown attorney the day after Staff Sergeant Ian Matthews took his life at Hamilton Police headquarters on Dec. 17. I have thought of them many times since: at his overflowing funeral; each time a cop or a lawyer shakes their head and says they still can't believe he's gone; whenever I speak to his family.

Ian's family has been remarkably candid about their loss. They use the word suicide. They talk about mental illness. They discuss Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.

And they talk about turning their tragedy into something positive for other cops struggling with "demons."

For anybody struggling with demons.

You Are Not Alone is the theme of a walk-run dedicated to Ian, taking place at Bayfront Park on April 10 — which would have been his 48th birthday.
read more here

Police officer found dead in New Jersey Park

Veteran police officer found dead in Union County park in apparent suicide
By Tom Haydon and Tom Wright-Piersanti
The Star-Ledger

UNION TOWNSHIP — The body of a 25-year veteran of the Union County Police Department was found in a township park this morning, the victim of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound, authorities said.

The 50-year-old officer, who has not been identified, apparently shot himself while seated on a metal bench running alongside the first-base line of a small softball field at Kawameeh Park, said Sebastian D’Elia, Union County communications director.

The officer, whose body was was discovered by a passerby just before 8 a.m., was not in uniform or on duty, D’Elia said.

This is the second park-related public suicide in less than a week in New Jersey. Last Friday, a Carteret man was found hanging from a tennis court fence post at Carteret Park, next to Carteret Middle School.
read more here

Suicidal Cops Often Reluctant to Seek Help

Suicidal Cops Often Reluctant to Seek Help
State suicide prevention report puts police in a high-risk category for suicide. More officers commit suicide every year than are killed in the line of duty.
By Daryl Nerl

The Pennsylvania suicde prevention report says police officers are three to four times more likely to commit suicide than everyone else and that more cops – an estimated 300 every year – die by their own hand than by homicide, though they acknowledge that “data is often hard to obtain.”

The apparent suicide of Bethlehem Police Officer Frank A. Rossnagle over the weekend is a reminder that the stress cops live with daily can too often lead to similar tragedies.

At the same time, police officers are too often reluctant to get help because of the stigma attached to needing it, according to a 2006 official state report on suicide prevention, which identified law enforcement officers as having a higher than normal risk of suicide.

Rossnagle’s is the second high-profile suicide in the Lehigh Valley in the past three months.

Political activist and businessman Charles Snelling killed himself in March after killing his wife, Adrienne, who had been suffering with Alzheimer’s disease. Family members said he could no longer bear to watch his wife suffer.
read more here

Standoff, Officer Suicides Highlight Stress Of Police Work

Standoff, Officer Suicides Highlight Stress Of Police Work

IMPD Officer Taken Into Custody After 4-Hour Standoff
February 16, 2012

INDIANAPOLIS -- A standoff sparked by an Indianapolis police officer who threatened to kill himself came the same day as another officer suicide in New York City, highlighting the emotional stress of police work.

Veteran Indianapolis Officer Craig Ratcliffe had just split with his girlfriend when he left his beat and drove to north side, where he called family, friends and police, threatening to kill himself, police said.

He eventually surrendered and was taken to Wishard Memorial Hospital for evaluation.
"It's unfortunate. Obviously, he's got some issues he's got to deal with," said Sgt. Bill Owensby, president of the Fraternal Order of Police union. "Fortunately, we have the capabilities of dealing with them. We like to educate our members about peer support to head these things off before they fester."
read more here

Recent suicides highlight chronic stress officers face on the job

As much as veterans have hold of my heart, cops come in a very close second. There is a huge difference between the level and type of PTSD military and law enforcement personnel end up with. They do not just respond after the event happens. Their jobs require them to often participate in the event itself. They use weapons. They have to use violence in response to violence. They see others wounded and at the end of the day they wonder if tomorrow will be their day. Considering both professions come with a lot of hatred from too many people, it makes everything harder on them.

Wednesday I was speaking with a Chaplain for the Orlando police. He is a minister, a veteran and ex-motorcycle cop. He said that when a firefighter shows up, everyone is happy to see them but when a cop shows up, no one is happy. It usually means they are in trouble or totally upset because a crime has been committed against them.

The number of exposures to traumatic events add to all the stress they already feel.

Recent suicides highlight chronic stress officers face on the job
BY MAUREEN FEIGHAN THE DETROIT NEWS
JANUARY 29, 2012
Greg O'Dell was a respected law enforcement official and a married father of two when he drove his car to a residential street in Scio Township two days before Christmas last month, got out, and killed himself.

O'Dell, 54, the chief of the Eastern Michigan University Police Department, never told his colleagues he suffered from depression. Now, a month after his death, the department is trying to move forward while struggling to understand why a man who seemed to have it all would take his own life.

"He never let on that he had any issue," said Bob Heighes, Eastern's interim police chief.

In the past month, three men from public safety careers have died of suicide in southeast Michigan. Some public safety officials say it highlights the chronic stress law enforcement officers face and the challenges of persuading them to get help.

On Jan. 6, Daniel Armitage, an Ann Arbor firefighter whose wife had been hospitalized with domestic abuse injuries, lay down in traffic on Interstate 696 and was killed. Three days later, a border patrol agent stationed in Gibraltar killed himself in the parking lot of a Trenton hospital.

Studies show police officers have a higher suicide rate than the public. About 140 to 150 police officers kill themselves each year, or 17 per 100,000, according to Badge of Life, a group of active and retired police officers, medical professionals and surviving families of suicides from the U.S. and Canada. The rate for the general population is 11 per 100,000.

"Police officers are human," said John Violanti, a research associate professor at the University of Buffalo who has studied the suicide rates of police, military personnel and firefighters. "They not only have to put up with life's usual struggles, they also have to put up with this job that exposes them to death, human misery, abused kids. They can't get rid of this baggage and it eats at them."
read more here

Our Lost Heroes Police Suicide Statistics

2009 Police Suicide Statistics
Our Lost Heroes

PAMELA KULBARSH, RN
Crisis Intervention Contributor
Officer.com


The Badge of Life Organization recently released their preliminary 2009 police suicide statistics. There were 143 police suicides in 2009, a slight increase from 2008 police suicides of 141. In 2009 there were 127 in the line of duty deaths. Officer suicide rates are at least double of the general population. Any law enforcement suicide is one too many. World Suicide Prevention Day is observed on September 10 each year to promote worldwide action to prevent suicides. Various events and activities are held during this occasion to raise awareness that suicide is a major preventable cause of premature death.

The 2009 Badge of Life police suicide study provided additional demographic information:

•Ages 40-44 are at highest risk of suicide, representing 27% of all suicides.
•Service time at highest risk was twenty years plus.
•Officers with less than ten years on the job had a suicide rate of 17%.
•64% of suicides were a surprise.

There is no easy or full proof way to identify which officers are most at risk for taking their own lives. Every officer has his or her breaking point. The stresses of daily life, coupled with stresses from tragic/critical events, can push a police officer to end his/her life. Recognizing the signs and symptoms of stress and depression before an officer reaches that breaking point is essential.

The top predictors for suicide for anyone are: a diagnostic mental disorder, alcohol or substance use, loss of social or family support, and the availability and access to a firearm. 90% of officers commit suicide using a gun. Additionally, about 90% of the time, an officer is drinking heavily when he/she kills himself/herself. Statistically, most officers that commit suicide are white males, working patrol and are entering middle-age. They have experienced a recent loss, real or perceived. Most have no record of misconduct. Most shoot themselves while off duty.
read more here
Police Suicide Statistics

Police, community mourn veteran Oakland officer

Police, community mourn veteran Oakland officer
By Sean Maher and Harry Harris
Oakland Tribune
Posted: 08/24/2009 05:40:29 PM PDT
Updated: 08/24/2009 08:21:06 PM PDT


OAKLAND — Murray Hoyle, a hardworking, highly respected 28-year Oakland police department veteran, died Saturday evening in a rural area of eastern Contra Costa County, authorities said. He was 51.

He fatally shot himself, investigators said. Though they declined to give a reason, they said he may have been having some personal problems. Just before 6 p.m. Saturday, he called 911 dispatchers in Contra Costa County to tell them he would do it and where they could find him.

It was the second time in slightly more than a year that an active-duty Oakland police officer took his own life. In July 2008, Lt. Derrick Norfleet fatally shot himself at his Vallejo home.

To a department still recovering from the March 21 killings of Sgts. Mark Dunakin, Ervin Romans and Dan Sakai and Officer John Hege, coupled with Norfleet's death, Hoyle's suicide was a shock, especially since no one had seen any signs it would happen, members of the department said.

read more here

http://www.mercurynews.com/breakingnews/ci_13195288

The price of today, 18 veterans and 1 cop committed suicide

Everyday 18 veterans take their own life. Everyday, another police officer takes their own life. Don't you think it's time we take care of all the people we depend on?

I have been where you fear to go...
I have seen what you fear to see...
I have done what you fear to do...
All these things I've done for you.
I am the one you lean upon...
The one you cast your scorn upon...
The one you bring your troubles to...
All these people I've been for you.
The one you ask to stand apart...
The one you feel should have no heart...
The one you call the man in blue...
But I am human just like you.
And through the years I've come to see...
That I'm not what you ask of me...
So take this badge and take this gun...
Will you take it?
Will anyone?
And when you watch a person die...
And hear a battered baby cry...
Then so you think that you can be
All those things you ask of me...?
"Tears Of A Cop" - author unknown
Enter
http://www.tearsofacop.com/index6.html