Sgt. John Rikard of the Asheville Police Department was gone

After Husbands' Suicides, 'Best Widow Friends' Want Police Officers To Reach For Help

NPR
SAMANTHA BALABAN JAMES DOUBEK
June 9, 2019

Nicole Rikard's husband, John Rikard, died by suicide in 2015. She talks with three other widows of police suicide every day.

Nicole Rikard had recently married Sgt. John Rikard of the Asheville Police Department in North Carolina. He had an 8-year-old son, Tucker, from a previous marriage. From the time Nicole and John started dating, they had scarcely been apart.

Soon after they married, however, Nicole had to go to Florida for some work training — she was a crime scene investigator in the same police department. John worked an overnight shift and would call her when he woke up to check in.

But one day, John wasn't answering her texts. Nicole heard from a colleague that he hadn't shown up for work either.

Stuck hundreds of miles away in Florida, Nicole got on the phone with John's colleagues in Asheville. She told the police to break into their house.

Thirty-six agonizing minutes went by. Nicole was vomiting in the shower.

She finally got a phone call from one of John's lieutenants.

"Well, John is gone. And it appears to be self-inflicted," the lieutenant told her.

"And I said, 'What the f*** are you talking about?'"
READ MORE HERE

Fort Worth veteran shot by SWAT Team had PTSD

Man fatally shot by Fort Worth police was Army veteran in constant pain, family says

Star Telegram
BY MITCH MITCHELL
JUNE 07, 2019

Cody Seals turned toward an officer, still locked out in a shooting stance, and pointed the light at him, which was later determined to be a flashlight, police said. Believing officers were about to be fired upon, a SWAT officer fired his weapon.

FORT WORTH
Sometimes the battles soldiers fight after they return from war are the most unforgiving, the family members of a man police killed last weekend said.

Cody Wayne Seals served in the U. S. Army between 2004 and 2008, doing more than one tour in Iraq, his mother, Sandra Seals, said.

Between 2008 and now, she got sick, her son got sick and he moved in with his father, she said.

A Fort Worth Police Department SWAT officer shot and killed Cody Seals, 38, on the evening of June 1 after a three-hour standoff at his home.
read more here

Before it gets to the point where veterans are facing off with Police Officers, which many of them are also veterans, isn't it time that veterans actually got the message they have been needing to hear? #BreakTheSilence and #TakeBackYourLife so you can heal and be happier!

With all the repulsive raising of awareness that suicides are happening...we need to remember that message is not healing. Veterans already know how to kill themselves. What they do not know is why they should stay alive!

Suicide Awareness...no requirement to carry anything!

Remember military lives lost we failed to honor

Wounded Times
Kathie Costos
May 26, 2019

Tomorrow is Memorial Day. There are graves that will be visited, ceremonies held to honor lives lost after military service by some citizens, while others are just enjoying the day off from work.

Repulsive when you think about it, but that is the problem. Too many did not think enough about their lives. They did not think about the fact that these men and women, were willing to risk their lives for the sake of others, but we were all too willing to not think about what they needed. We were too busy feeling good spending a couple of hours enjoying ourselves at a suicide awareness event, having fun because veterans are  committing suicide. 

This is for one of those events last year. Notice "come out and enjoy festivities" and this part really gets my blood boiling, "have a great time while raising awareness to the tragic epidemic of 22 suicides per day due to PTSD and lost hope."

This other part sums it all up. "No requirement to carry anything..."

Just goes to show you that what the average citizen thinks is helping, is actually hurting them. You cannot restore hope with stunts intended to give people a good time because someone read a headline!

These are some of the lives lost since last Memorial Day.

Airman at Cannon Air Force Base found dead in Ned Houk Park


Vietnam Veteran

The veteran, who was identified as Michael Douglas, died from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound at about 4 p.m. Wednesday in the emergency department parking lot of the Eisenhower VA Medical Center, according to a statement issued by Joseph Burks, public affairs officer for VA Eastern Kansas Health Care System.

Fort Knox 
21 year old Private committed public suicide at Clarksville High School after he stole a gun.


Colorado Springs

Hours after being discharged from a mental health treatment facility, 38-year-old disabled veteran Lee Cole hiked into a wilderness area in southwest Colorado Springs with a backpack and the cellphone on which he planned to record his final message.

Georgia
Navy Veteran set himself on fire in front of Georgia Capitol protesting the VA system. 

Not first time this happened. It also happened in New Jersey last year.

Norfolk Navy Yard
Sailor walked into helicopter blade, death ruled suicide.

Alabama
Air Force veteran shot family, and himself after setting house on fire.

Chicago Police Officer and Marine veteran committed suicide in parking lot of police station.

Phoenix AZ
Veteran shot himself inside the VA Hospital Chapel 

Not the first times since it happened last year when a 33 year old veteran shot himself at the VA.

Employee found dead inside Topeka VA Medical Center office

A Veterans Affairs employee died Tuesday morning inside an administrative office at Topeka’s Colmery O’Neil VA Medical Center. Joe Burks, spokesman for the VA Eastern Kansas Health Care System, said the employee died of an apparent suicide.

Suicide in Mishawaka VA parking lot puts spotlight on veteran mental health crisis

A veteran shot himself yesterday in the parking lot of the VA Health Care Center in Mishawaka -- dead from an apparent suicide.

Gunshot in lobby of Nashville VA Medical Center




Bay Pines VA Hospital Parking Lot

On Dec. 10, retired Marine Col. Jim Turner put on his dress uniform and medals and drove to the Bay Pines Department of Veterans Affairs complex. He got out of his truck, sat down on top of his military records and took his own life with a rifle.

Brieux Dash...on March 14, the 33-year-old hanged himself, according to the VA and the Palm Beach County Medical Examiner. He left behind his wife of 13 years and three children. 

Georgia VA hospitals 28-year-old Gary Pressley is now searching for answers after he took his own life in the parking lot of the Carl Vinson VA Medical Center 

The second occurred Saturday outside the main entrance to the Atlanta VA Medical Center in Decatur on Clairmont Road. 

And in Austin McLennan County Veteran’s Service Officer Steve Hernandez said the veteran was a patient who had been enrolled in the Phoenix program at the Olin E. Teague Veterans’ Medical Center in Temple and was discharged, but somehow his case was transferred to the Austin facility. 

And in Cleveland
Randy Stidham, died by apparent suicide. It happened after the 59-year-old held officers in a daylong stand off at his Adrian home. Police say Stidham fired shots from inside the house and even took aim at law enforcement. 

Greg Holeman Holeman, an Army veteran who served as a mechanic, fatally shot himself inside his pickup truck on the night of February 25, a Platte County Sheriff's Office lieutenant told KETV NewsWatch 7. The 48-year-old was parked outside of the Columbus Community Hospital's emergency department. And the not so public suicides

JARED JOHNS, A 24-YEAR-OLD ARMY VETERAN WHO SERVED IN AFGHANISTAN, KILLED HIMSELF ON SEPT. 11, THE ANNIVERSARY OF THE DAY THAT CALLED HIM TO SERVE.

Michael Wargo's battle was long and extremely well hidden.He spent 10 months in Afghanistan, then eight years battling PTSD, then four and a half hours explaining his life-altering decision in a video his parents received when it was too late to change anything. 

FORT MYERS, Fla. - This month, Air Force senior leaders issued a memo, calling for a culture change in that military branch. They were concerned after 11 airmen and Air Force civilians committed suicide in just the first four weeks of 2019. 

SAN ANSELMO (CBS SF) — A man is dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound after being in a tense standoff with crisis negotiators and police at a San Anselmo home that forced an entire neighborhood to evacuate 

Krysten Mischelle Gonzalez sat in an Oklahoma County jail cell while public defenders searched for an inpatient mental health treatment facility that would agree to accept her, the county's chief public defender says. Gonzalez, 29, was found unresponsive in her cell about 4:30 p.m. Tuesday.

If you are a veteran and think you do not matter because of the stunts you see, think again, because you do matter to a lot more people doing the work and willing to help you carry whatever load you have, and show you how to be able to help someone else down the road.

You do matter! It is time for you to #BreakTheSilence and stand up to all this nonsense! 

Too many veterans cannot find the help you need, when you need it. 

It is time to stop spreading these stunts on social media. Invest the time you take for their sake and spend it on your own sake to find the help you need.  

It is time to #TakeBackYourLife and live a better life! Oh, sorry with all the suicide awareness they have been spreading, they forgot to tell you that part too! You can heal!

Four widowed Police Officers' wives speak to #BreakTheSilence

Widows Of Police Suicide Speak Out

NPR
May 18, 2019
Heard on Weekend Edition Saturday

More police officers now die by suicide than in the line of duty. NPR's Scott Simon talks with the widows of four officers who took their own lives about losing their husbands to suicide.

SCOTT SIMON, HOST:
There is a suicide crisis in the United States. We're going to talk about it frankly, and our story may disturb some listeners. If you feel you're in a crisis, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, 1-800-273-8255.

The national suicide rate has increased by nearly 30 percent since 1999 in this blessed America. There are now more than twice as many suicides in the United States as homicides. Many involve drugs, drinking or depression, losing a job, a loved one, or stress. But experts say there is no one, two or 10 causes.

We have a story today to begin a series of reports about some of the people touched by suicide.

SIMON: Seven Chicago police officers have taken their own lives in the past 12 months. Father Brandt goes out to crime scenes and station houses if officers feel the need to talk to a priest, if not a therapist. Across the country, at least 159 officers died by suicide in 2018.

*******

Kristen Clifford's husband was Officer Steven Clifford of the Nassau County, N.Y., police. They had just gotten a puppy. They looked forward to having children. One day in May 2017, he wasn't responding to her text messages, so she drove home.

*******

Melissa Swailes was married to Officer David Swailes of the Los Angeles Police Department. They had four sons. David Swailes had symptoms of post-traumatic stress from his time in the U.S. Navy. On their youngest son's second birthday, Melissa Swailes came home and found her husband behind their bathroom door.

*******

Erin Gibson was married to Sergeant Clinton Gibson of the Liberty Lake, Wash., police. They were high school sweethearts. They had four children.

*******

Nicole Rikard had recently married Officer John Rikard of the Asheville, N.C., police. He was a recovering alcoholic, but he drank the night he took his life. She got a phone call from one of his lieutenants.
read the rest here

I am ready to fight the enemy of PTSD.

Tomorrow Watch Fire starts burning hope

Wounded Times
Kathie Costos
May 17, 2019

What started out as an opportunity to go and film this, plus the Watch Fire, ended up being much more than I planned on. Tomorrow I will be speaking at a ceremony to honor members of the Armed Forces. 

All week I have been trying to figure out what I should talk about. With 37 years crammed into my brain, there were too many topics to choose from.

I decided the one topic that does not get enough attention are military/veteran families.

Suicides keep increasing even though it is the hot topic of the decade. While it seems as if everyone is trying to change the outcome, the facts prove that they have gotten it wrong. 

I'll have to start out with the bad news. Suicide Awareness will not prevent them from happening. We have a decade of data to prove that.

Current military numbers are at a ten year high, including member of Special Forces. While the number of known veterans committing suicide have remained in the 20s since 1999, the percentage has gone up.

All this proves that raising awareness does not prevent them in the military community or in the civilian population.


Suicides are at the highest rate in decades, CDC report shows

According to a new report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 47,000 Americans died by suicide in 2017. Put another way, the suicide rate was 14 people in every 100,000 — up 33 percent from 10.5 people per 100,000 in 1999.

The suicide rate is at a 50-year peak, according to the AP. The new data shows that there were 2,000 more deaths from suicide last year than in 2016, the year when suicide became the second-leading cause of death for Americans between the ages of 10 and 34 and the fourth-leading cause for middle-aged Americans.

The thing is, it is also up in the veterans community, current military, law enforcement, firefighters and other first responders.

For civilians, most of them were dealing with some kind of mental health issue, and it was the same for those who respond to everyone else. The one thing that everyone had in common was, the simple fact they lost hope that one more day would make a difference in their life to make living worth it. They lost hope because we failed to give it back to them.

When you consider that PTSD plays a huge part in all of this, that should be the place where we begin to change the outcome.

As long as the people in charge of making the decisions and funding "efforts" keep asking the same questions to the same people, they will continue to support what has proven to have failed.

If we are going to change the outcome, we need to change what we put into it. The best place for that to begin is in our own homes.

Part of what I do is track news and government reports from around the country, as well as internationally. Over the last decade, it has gotten worse while raising awareness about numbers has prevented healing awareness from reaching those in need of hearing it.

Point Man understood this back in 1984 when they established Out Post for veterans and Home Fronts for families. We are on the front lines and that is where healing begins. So how did a Seattle Police Officer figure all this out way back then? Simple, he came back from Vietnam and knew what he needed, so it was an easy thing for him to understand other veterans. 

It was understood that veteran belong with veterans, in small groups, much like the units they served in to receive true peer support. 

Families needed it too!


We know them better than anyone else and that is why it grieves me so much to hear a family member say that they did not know how much pain someone they loved was feeling or what to do to help them.

We need to be made aware of the power families do have to change the outcome, especially for those who serve others.

The event tomorrow is in Tarpon Springs Florida. Thinking about what the topic should be, I was reminded of the Spartan women and what their job was. 

When the warriors were out fighting battles, it was the job of the Spartan women to take care of their families, crops and livestock. It was also their job to defend the homeland from invaders.

They were highly educated and trained to do battle with any enemy coming to their home front.

We need to be ready to fight this battle when they come home to us. Prepare our minds to get into gear while telling our emotions to take a nap when necessary. To know when to take something personally and when it is coming from a place of pain instead of anger.

We need to be able to wisely pick our battles with those we love, as well as when it is time to walk away and chill out.

We need to know when we need to just listen, and when it is time to communicate what they need to hear.

We need to see them though the eyes of our hearts that fell in love with them...and know that all the qualities they had, are all still there.

We need to prepare for battle the same way they prepared to fight the nations battles on other shores as well as within our communities as responders.

We need to be like minded but the only way to become ready to fight for those we love, is to stop listening to what failed long enough so we can start to hear what worked for other families.

I am Spartan

I am ready to fight the enemy of PTSD.

I will defend my home front from any and all invaders.

I will learn what I need to understand.

I will train for what I need to do.

I will ask for support as willingly as I offer it to others.

I am Spartan and my greatest power lives for those I love.

#BreakTheSilence and #TakeBackYourLife

There will be more of what needs to be heard but necessary if we really want to change the outcome, we have to change what we are putting into it!

If you want to know how you can learn the easier way what this battle is like and how to win it, you can read part of my life here.

 For The Love of Jack, His War My Battle

Yet another abysmal awareness event on veteran suicides?

This part is wrong

"Twenty-two veterans take their own lives every day, according to a study conducted by the Department of Veterans Affairs between 1999 and 2011. That’s one every 65 minutes."

This is the chart that according to the VA is just a basis.

and the research was from just 21 states using limited data. Plus of the "known" deaths, notice that the number was "20" a day in 1999 and "22" a day in 2010? What you did not notice is that there were over 5 million more veterans alive in 1999~ and the number released in the latest report of "20" a day showed how all this "suicide awareness" has not helped! The percentages went up...not down!

Forgotten Warrior Memorial unveiled at Channahon State Park

The Herald News
By Brandon Grossi
May 13, 2019

“With 30 years in the military and 14 with the police, I started having dark thoughts. ... I was afraid of coming forward, afraid that I would embarrass the military and those who served under me. I was afraid I wouldn’t be a man if I admitted I needed help," he said. "There was a night I got into my car and put my service weapon against my temple. By the grace of God I came away from that and got help ... If you know anyone you think might struggle, I’m asking you, I’m begging you, talk to them.”

Twenty-two veterans take their own lives every day, according to a study conducted by the Department of Veterans Affairs between 1999 and 2011. That’s one every 65 minutes.

K9s for Veterans and other veteran support organizations gathered with community members on Saturday to unveil and dedicate the Forgotten Warrior Memorial at Channahon State Park.

The circle of polished stone monuments and flags honors veterans who have lost their battles with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder as well as those who continue to struggle with mental warfare long after they return from the battlefield.

Roughly 250 people sat or stood before a temporary stage next to the memorial. Local leaders, veterans and mothers of fallen soldiers delivered remarks. By the second speaker, a light drizzle began to fall on the crowd.

“When I saw the weather report today, I was disappointed, but maybe this is better,” Channahon Mayor Missey Moorman Schumacher said from the podium. “Maybe this weather is more indicative and appropriate for the struggles of these veterans.”
read more here

Good intentions do not change much without good information. Want to help someone? Then ask them what they need and be prepared to help them get it!

Marine veteran promotes cause through song

Victim's brother asks for help in preventing police suicides

WCPO News
May 03, 2019

So far this year, 73 police officers have committed suicide in the United States. Suicides are outpacing line of duty deaths for the fourth year in a row.

The brother of a local police officer who took his own life is asking for support for their families and for the cause of treating PTSD among police.

You can help by buying a T-shirt and listening to a song being released as a single on Friday.

The song is "Superman Falls" by John Preston. The song and the T-shirt honor Michael Preston, a local veteran and police officer who took his life in 2016.

WCPO introduced you to John Preston and his songs in 2017.

Michael Preston, a husband and father of four, was a Marine veteran who worked as a deputy for Boone County and then Newport Police.

Post-traumatic stress was not really dealt with during his years of service.
read more here

The only suicide awareness events that should matter

Veterans commit suicide in public for reasons we cannot ignore

Wounded Times
Kathie Costos
May 2, 2019

Meghan Mobbs wrote on Psychology Today "Why We Must Be Careful in How We Talk About Veteran Suicide Talking carelessly about death by suicide can make the problem worse."

This got my blood pressure up.

"We can be sensitive to the loss, venerate their service, and honor their lives without conflating their actions with martyrdom. Spreading the notion that death by suicide is an effective way to deal with our problems or a laudable form of protest may place people at greater risk for suicide."

Does it matter where they do it or does it matter more they are brought to that time in their lives when they think that is the only power they have left?

I had to reply.

Posted May 02, 2019

Public suicides
Submitted by Kathie Costos on May 2, 2019
Normally I agree with you. This time I see this a different way. We accept far too much and expect far too little.

It is acceptable for groups to run around the country pulling stunts, and having fun while raising awareness that veterans are killing themselves.

It is acceptable for members of Congress and the DOD to get away with just saying they will do something, when all they do is repeat what did not work before.

It is acceptable to write checks, send out thoughts and prayers, while we count the dead who did not need to leave.

When I got into all of this over 3 decades ago, I expected that all we had to do was break the silence and show the way other veterans and families like mine could live better lives. Now we're fighting against everyone accepting "what is" instead of paying attention to the veterans who are actually suffering.

According to the VA, we actually had better results back in 1999. Their report had the number of suicides at 20 a day and there were over 5 million more veterans living in the country at the time. The "known" number is the same but that is after over a decade of "awareness" that it was happening all along.

They need hope tomorrow can be better and information on how they can make that happen. Families need to know that they are not alone. Friends need to know what to do. All they get are slogans and stunts with no one thinking it puts the focus on suicide and not healing.

Too many people out there who know how to help, but veterans cannot find us because it is easier to share pictures of Marines running around in their underwear, push-ups and folks getting a tattoo with 22.

So, yes, they end up committing suicide because of the lack of hope that people will demand change after that "one too many" died and they hope they will be the last to go.

The question is, when exactly do we find it unacceptable they had to resort to this end, and actually do something about it?

This part also jumped out at me.

"As unpalatable as it is to admit, the war to better understand and decrease veteran suicide is just beginning."

Just beginning? Seriously? Then who the hell was I learning from at the library in 1982? Who was writing about veterans committing suicide throughout the 80's and 90's and well into the previous decade? Is that supposed to be some sort of excuse?

What about all the money that went into "awareness" and "prevention" as the numbers went up all this time? 

I wrote about them in 2007 when researching this video and found over 400 of their stories.

I also tracked countless news reports for The Warrior SAW, Suicides After War and managed to make myself so sick to my stomach, I wanted to just delete the file instead of publishing it. 

To see the numbers, read their stories and then be reminded of how many years of this being and OK result from a billion dollar a year industry, is too pathetic to tolerate.


Veterans should never have to think about killing themselves, and even less about where to do it. If we were still putting them first, they'd know we had their backs. When we find it acceptable to settle for the BS coming out of Washington, it only reinforces the fact we will settle for them suffering.

Why are reporters still sucking the life out of suicide prevention? Can anyone explain the total disregard they have for facts when they report on "suicide awareness" stunts instead of the truth?

The truth is, the "22" a day has never been true. Just read the report yourself and see what the VA said about their own report.

The truth is, even the VA does not know how many because of how many veterans were left out of the data.

Here is yet one more truth about veterans committing suicide. They already know how to die...but no one is making them aware of how to heal!

When you hear "suicide awareness event" you may think about stuff like this.

Throughout the day, theVeteran Suicide Awareness March will be going on as well. People are marching 22 miles from Richmond to Winchester with a 22 pound ruck sack. They’re on a mission to bring awareness to the issue of veteran suicide. The walk started at 6 a.m. White Hall Park and will end at VFW Post 2728 in Winchester.

Sgt Strother Memorial Ruck March and Memorial Ride This is a 22 Mile Ruck March to raise awareness for the 22 a day that we lose to veteran suicide. We have also added a motorcycle ride to the event at the request of those who can not ruck but still want to show their support and raise awareness with us.

But because those stunts have failed, veterans decided that they would do their own awareness events by committing suicide in public. 

Next time you hear about a fundraiser in your area, remember these events where the veteran gave the last thing he could...his life to try to help others like him before it was too late for them too!


Here are just some of the veterans we are supposed to just forget about?

March
⇒St. Louis VA waiting room


June Suicide Awareness Events
⇒Fort Knox soldier committed suicide at Clarksville High School
⇒Kansas VA emergency room parking lot
⇒Colorado Springs veteran with cellphone for suicide "note"
⇒Georgia veteran set himself on fire at the State Capital
⇒Virginia Norfolk Navy Yard sailor walked into helicopter blade

July Suicide Awareness Events
⇒Chicago police officer and veteran in station parking lot
⇒Florida Lecanto Community Out Patient
⇒Arizona VA hospital chapel

August Suicide Awareness Events
⇒Kansas VA employee 
⇒Indiana VA parking lot

September Suicide Awareness Events
⇒Minneapolis VA Hospital parking lot

October Suicide Awareness Events
⇒Greenville veteran recorded video that was over 4 hours long for his family.

November Suicide Awareness Events
⇒Nashville VA

December Suicide Awareness Events
⇒Florida Bay Pines
⇒US Navy Commander Vice Adm. Scott Stearney

February Suicide Awareness Events
⇒Columbus Community Hospital
⇒Ohio veteran murder-suicide live on Facebook

March Suicide Awareness Events
⇒Florida VA Riviera Beach

April Suicide Awareness Events

⇒Georgia VA 2 suicides
⇒Texas VA, 
⇒Cleveland VA 

May Suicide Awareness Events
⇒Michigan veteran committed suicide during standoff with police...

Sergeant Lori Rice Hopes Her Suicide Can Prevent Future Officer Suicides

Sister Of Chicago Police Sergeant Lori Rice Hopes Her Suicide Can Prevent Future Officer Suicides

CBS Chicago
By Dana Kozlov
April 29, 2019

CHICAGO (CBS) — Chicago Police Sergeant Lori Rice’s sister is still reeling, trying to make sense of her sister’s suicide, but she hopes to help other officers now.

Leann Starr says when it becomes OK for one officer to take his or her own life, it becomes OK for another.

She wants to help prevent that.

“I think I still have to be her voice,” Starr says.

It doesn’t really help Starr to talk about her sister’s suicide. The 82 days since the veteran Chicago police sergeant took her own life have been devastating.

“I make dinner, and I listen to my daughter’s news of the day. And so I think I’m doing what I’m supposed to do, but suicide leaves a hole no matter who it is,” she says. “And you’re never the same.”

But Starr is slowly making sense of Rice’s last days, weeks and months.

She just made a video for the Chicago Police Department. It’s an outreach to other officers who may be struggling.

“That there is help. That they reach out for the help. And I’m passionate about families recognizing that these superheroes by day are just regular people at night.”
read more here

Protesters in Paris shouted "Kill yourselves!" at police officers

Outrage after some French protesters urge police suicides

By The Associated Press PARIS
Apr 21, 2019

Police unions held silent protests Friday after two officers killed themselves last week. Unions say police ranks have seen 28 suicides so far this year, compared to 68 over all of 2018.

Police advance on protestors during a yellow vest demonstration in Paris, Saturday, April 20, 2019. French yellow vest protesters are marching anew to remind the government that rebuilding the fire-ravaged Notre Dame Cathedral isn't the only problem the nation needs to solve. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)

With French police suicides on the rise, Paris authorities are investigating yellow vest protesters who encouraged police to kill themselves.

Radical protesters have clashed with police nearly every weekend for five months on the margins of largely peaceful yellow vest demonstrations demanding more help for France's beleaguered workers, retirees and students.

On Saturday, Associated Press reporters heard some protesters in Paris shouting "Kill yourselves!" at police firing tear gas and rubber projectiles and charging the crowd to contain the violence at the 23rd weekend of yellow vest demonstrations.

Police unions denounced the protesters' call as an unacceptable insult to the officers who have killed themselves and their suffering families. Interior Minister Christophe Castaner called it a "disgrace" and pledged his support for police and their loved ones, who have been under extra strain as the yellow vest protests have sometimes turned quite violent.
read more here

Giving up or living it up with PTSD?

PTSD Patrol Highway Construction

Wounded Times and PTSD Patrol
Kathie Costos
March 20, 2019

There is movement going on right now on the road to healing but it has not made it onto every road map yet.

The movement is driving away from the long line of frustrating road blocks (suicide awareness) and onto the freeway (healing awareness) more people are getting on.

A couple of years ago, a group of us were talking about how all the suicide awareness was not only blocking hope, it was pushing too many into the dead ending. Facts back that one up. If you doubt that, here are some things you need to know.

Military suicides, all branches, 10 year high.

Known veteran suicides, percentages increased over the last 20 years, while population of veterans decreased.

Police Officer suicides increased.

Firefighter suicides increased.

All you have to do is read Wounded Times and know, we have the proof. If not, then you can GPS (Google portable search) it and find it for yourself. Type what you want to know, and then click the "News" tab, since that search produces the most current news reports.

It was time to change the conversation with my first book published in 2002, then in 2006, when I put up some of the first videos on PTSD. Back then it was easier to get the truth out because the roads were not blocked by traffic jams.

So, having little faith in social media to verify anything, we knew the only way to change the outcome, was to change the conversation.

Everyone can understand the vehicles they drive, how they control where they go and how they get there. They also know that someone had to clear the road before anyone got on it. Some of the best experts cleared the way when I was learning how to drive on this road back in 1983. I just had to learn how to navigate on it.

It is the same with the vehicle you live in. You actually control where you go and how you get there. You decide if you want to stay parked right where you are, or just coast downhill in neutral.

Popular Mechanics Mike Allen wrote about this notion.

"I get mail. I've said, on the record, many times, that it's a bad idea to coast downhill or up to a stop sign in neutral. It's unsafe. You need to be able to use the accelerator to avoid an unexpected road hazard; cars don't handle well in neutral during sharp cornering maneuvers when the engine isn't connected to the drivetrain. So why on earth would you put the transmission in neutral—whether on manual or automatic—when coasting? Apparently there are a lot of people out there who think they are saving gas by doing so. They're wrong."

That is what the Suicide Awareness groups have been doing for a very long time without being aware of how unsafe it actually is.

All of us, at one time or another, have had to endure construction aggravation when highways are being changed to improve driving conditions. Between the year they start and the year the finish, there is an increase in the number of accidents...and traffic jams. 

Living in Florida, I work near I-4 in Maitland, subjected to the I-4 -Ultimate Project. At least once a week, there is a traffic helicopter hovering above due to a bad accident, along with daily blares of sirens from emergency vehicles rushing to help.

Anyway, after all these years, the idea of PTSD Patrol came up as a way to clear all the stuff out of the way so veterans could heal...and it has been lighting spark plugs to empower creative thought.


The key is to help them learn how to drive the rest of their lives the right way.

We are giving them their lessons, so they can learn how their vehicles work. Then explain what PTSD is, is not and how to #TakeBackYourLife.

With that, they have a learners' permit, so they can experience the control of their "vehicle" and how to handle road hazards.

They learn how to navigate to the mechanics who can properly maintain their "vehicles" (mind body and spirit) and be empowered to become a master of their own journey.

So, which do you think will work the best? Having them hear about how others gave up or how to switch gears and live it up?