FROM THE PUBLISHER’S DESK yrs. One is One Too Many It is estimated that in 2022, between 125 and 300 police officers will have taken their own lives. In Chicago, three officers committed suicide in a single week in December. While there are no official records on officer suicides, we know the numbers are staggering and to be honest, one is too many. We must find a way to reduce these numbers and save these officer’s lives. But how? There are resources available in nearly every city and state in the US at no cost. So why don’t they reach out and use them? I reached out to an officer that recently attempted to end his life. The who and how isn’t important. The WHY is the key to understanding what goes on in the mind of someone determined to end it all regardless of who it hurts after they’re gone. His reply: Once you reach a point in your life that you can no longer process the ongoing struggle to survive, and you feel that nothing you do will change what’s occurred in the past and you see nothing but darkness in the road ahead, you take the path of least resistance and end your pain and suffering once and for all. Unless you’ve been in the situation, you can’t imagine what it’s like to have zero options. Oh sure, I could have reached out to any one of a hundred groups that offer help. I’m sure they want to know they can help turn our lives around, but they can’t. Let me explain a few reasons why. When you hear about a first responder, mostly cops, that take their own life, you assume it’s PTSD that’s caused their world to come crashing down and they just took the fastest way out. Sometimes that’s not it at all. I once attended a group session SGT. MICHAEL BARRON RET of first responders, some of which were cops, all seeking help. Here’s just some of the reasons they shared as to why they wanted to end their lives. The first to speak admitted he had a gambling addiction that had resulted in him owing over ,000 to a local bookie that increased the interest to almost 00 a day for every day he didn’t pay. If anyone found out he would be fired and probably go to jail. No one would loan him that kind of money. He could try and take out the guys he owned money to, but he wasn’t one to “kill” anyone, so that wasn’t an option. And he knew that even if he paid the money he owed, he’d just do it all over again and be right back where he was. So, for everyone’s sake it was best he just not be around to hurt anyone else. Another admitted he had had sex with a minor, although at the time, he did not know she was only 17. He ended the relationship immediately but admitted that he resumed it after she turned 19. He feared the thought of going to jail, loosing his job, his wife, his family and worst of becoming a sex offender. All not options for him. The only way out was suicide. Third person was addicted to drugs and was not only using but using his job as a way to score more drugs and money by ripping off dealers. The more he did it, the deeper he got. He was an addict and a thief, and he knew his career was over. Jail was not an option so again, what choice did he have. Still another female cop said she could not sleep at night without having horrific nightmares. Despite endless sessions of therapy, she turned to drugs to help her sleep and became addicted. Now she faces termination if she fails another random drug test at work. If she was honest and sought help, her department would fire her. She’s lost her family and her husband and has no one left to fight for. I could go on and on, but you get the idea. These people, myself included, feel they are out of options. No support group is going to solve their problems. So, if you think you have options for these people, I think you should share it with your readers. Cause I guarantee there are more out there just like these folks that truly want help. So, I reached out to three of our editors that do this for a living. Dr. Tina Jaeckle, Samantha Horwitz, and John Salerno all have addressed possible solutions in their columns this month on Pages 104 and 112. As for the effect a suicide has on a family. I invite you to read our Aftermath Column on page 102 that describes one spouses feelings after losing her husband to suicide. “While your pain may have ended, mine has just begun,” she says. The pain is real. The problems are unimaginable. The result is unacceptable. We must do better and find a way to help our brothers and sisters in BLUE. The loss of one is one too many! 6 The BLUES The BLUES 7
Officer suicide, police fatigue, st
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