Trump Capitol riot: Police officer suicides rise to 4 deaths

An off-duty Chicago police officer took his own life Thursday morning, a CPD spokesman said. This article reviews the prevalence of police suicides, factors in such suicides, effects on survivors, and prevention. In the years that followed, the untreated and unprocessed trauma caused David to experience reoccurring stress symptoms, which he was intermittently able to numb ­­­– typically with alcohol. Over time, accumulated stress and trauma grew so overwhelming and so powerful that it infiltrated his personality, turning an otherwise great guy into an angry, paranoid, cynical character, or an emotional wreck who could not stop crying. In my husband’s first year of policing, when he was only 21 years old, he was involved in a shooting and someone died.

• He is at least the seventh Chicago police officer to die by suicide this year.
• Police officers face a great deal of trauma on a day-to-day basis.
• Capitol during the Jan. 6 riot by Trump supporters, bringing the grim tally of such deaths to four.
• Get professional help from an online addiction and mental health counselor from BetterHelp.
• Both Hummons and the wounded policeman later died in the hospital.

Hartley T, Violanti JM, Fekedulegn D, Andrew ME, Burchfiel CM. Associations between major life events, traumatic incidents and depression among Buffalo police officers. A 2017 Justice Department research study concluded that officers in the Chicago Police Department are 60% more likely to die from suicide than officers in the average police department. This fear is what causes many officers to turn to substance use in an attempt to self-medicate their feelings and forget the horrible things they see on duty, which is having a deadly result. Using alcohol and/or drugs can lead to a downward spiral in which both work performance and relationships suffer.

Vigil Held to Shed Light on NYPD Suicides

Researchers are attributing these statistics to the unique combination of easy access to deadly weapons, intense stress, and human devastation that police are exposed to on a daily basis. Some of the first research into suicide by cop was completed by Sgt. Rick Parent of the Delta Police Department. Parent’s research of 843 police shootings determined that about 50% were victim precipitated homicide.

The riot began after then-President Donald Trump urged attendees at a rally outside the White House to march to the Capitol, where a joint session of Congress was meeting to officially confirm the Electoral College victory of Joe Biden as the next president. One of those cops, 43-year-old Gunther the effects of combining alcohol with other drugs Hashida, was found dead at his home last Thursday, according to a spokeswoman for the Metropolitan (D.C.) Police Department. The riot began after then-President Donald Trump urged supporters to march to oppose a joint session of Congress confirming the election of President Joe Biden.

Both Hummons and the wounded policeman later died in the hospital. Since January 1, 2016, Blue H.E.L.P. has been compiling a list of law enforcement officers lost to suicide; this information includes corrections and federal officers of all duty status. In addition to officers that have died since 2016, BH has information on officers dating back to 1979 and now has over 1,000 records of those deaths. The first is when someone has committed a crime and is being pursued by the police and decides that they would rather commit suicide than be arrested. These people may not otherwise be suicidal but may simply decide that life is not worth living if they are incarcerated and thus will provoke police to kill them.

Police and Howard Liebengood of the Capitol Police, previously died by suicide within a month of the attack. Police officers are first on the scene of some of the most dangerous and demanding situations imaginable, providing immediate care and support. Although these heroic duties are essential to society, they can be very strenuous and emotionally draining to those in the profession. Police officers face a great deal of trauma on a day-to-day basis. This constant exposure to devastation, life-threatening situations, and the physical strain of working long hours can lead officers feeling hopeless and anxious.

Chicago Police Department

The strain of being a small town police officer is reflected in attrition rates. Yearwood and Freeman found that larger police agencies reported an average attrition rate of 10.2 percent while their smaller counterparts report an attrition rate almost twice as high at 18.2 percent. Data gathered from 24 small departments showed that at least 30 officers switched to another force in the area in the past five years. Of those who transferred, 15 months was the average amount of time they spent at one department. A fourth NYPD officer has died by suicide in the last three weeks, escalating a recent crisis that has caused all levels of police leadership to speak out on the need for cops to look after their mental health and that of their colleagues. President Donald Trump also authorized $7.5 million in grant funding for police suicide prevention, mental health screenings, and training as departments across the country work to decrease the numbers.

The Chicago Police Department experienced a similar situation and was forced to confront its own epidemic of police suicides this past year. With the second largest force in the nation consisting of over 13,000 officers, Chicago’s police suicide rate was 60% higher than the national law enforcement average. In June 2015, 21-year-old Trepierre Hummons, a known gangster with a history of weapons violations, posted his intent to commit suicide by cop on Facebook on the same day that a sex offense had been reported against him. He called and reported he had seen a man acting erratically with a gun. He then shot the responding officer multiple times, mortally wounding him.

Mystery Within: Understanding Police Suicide

This can then increase feelings of stress and depression, which in turn, leads to further substance abuse. Substance use is also one of the main contributing factors to suicide. Of the 89 completed suicides in the NYPD over the years, 72% had alcohol in their system at the time heavy drinkers arent necessarily alcoholics, but may be almost alcoholics of suicide. Mayor Lori Lightfoot also released a statement that said in part, “Tragically, over the past two weeks, we have lost three Chicago police officers by apparent suicide. My heart goes out to their friends, family, and fellow officers during this difficult time.”

First and foremost, I’ve realized that my husband and I were sitting smack dab in the middle of all of that, and we didn’t even know it. David carried a tremendous amount of trauma that had roots in his early years, grew exponentially throughout his police career and affected all areas of his life. We look forward to your assistance in creating this gift for the families and friends who have lost a first responder or military member to suicide. Fox News Digital reached out to Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s office for comment and did not receive a response by time of publication.

Suicide-by-cop is the term used by police officers for incidents in which an individual, bent on killing himself, forces the police to use deadly force. My husband, David Colegrove, was a law enforcement officer for 30 years. He killed himself in 2014, less than three months after he retired.

Jena Hilliard earned her Bachelor’s of Arts degree from the University of Central Florida in English Literature. She has always had a passion for literature and the written word. Upon graduation, Jena found her purpose in educating the public on addiction and helping those that struggle with substance dependency find the best treatment options available. The FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting Program manages this data collection, known as the Law Enforcement Suicide Data Collection. As with other UCR data collections, submitting this data to the collection is voluntary. A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.

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It takes a behavioral health perspective because police are often involved with suicide related to mental illness. Jail suicide, suicide among police officers, and “suicide by cop” are also addressed. This material will be helpful to both new and experienced law enforcement personnel, especially if used as part of a mental health or crisis intervention training. A rash of suicides by police officers has shaken the New York Police alcohol and drug abuse counseling Department, leading the commissioner to declare a mental health emergency and highlighting the problem of untreated depression among law enforcement officers nationwide. Of the 18,000 law enforcement agencies across the U.S., approximately only 5% currently have suicide prevention training programs. Researchers are hoping to spark awareness and increase police officer accessibility to confidential mental health resources.

Get professional help from an online addiction and mental health counselor from BetterHelp. The phenomenon has been described in news accounts from 1981, and scientific journals since 1985. The phrase seems to have originated in the United States, but has also appeared in the UK, where a jury first determined someone committed suicide by cop in 2003. “These resources are here to ensure you have the support you need whether you’re having a bad day, have had a bad call, or feel in crisis,” the email stated. “Our goal is to ensure every officer is aware of resources they can turn to for support. Please remember you are never alone — make the call.”

The second version involves people who are already contemplating suicide and who decide that provoking law enforcement into killing them is the best way to act on their desires. These individuals may commit a crime with the specific intention of provoking a law enforcement response. Suicide by cop or suicide by police is a suicide method in which a suicidal individual deliberately behaves in a threatening manner, with intent to provoke a lethal response from a public safety or law enforcement officer. Three Chicago police officers died by suicide in the final weeks of 2022, adding to a troubling trend over the past few years which several experts told Fox News Digital must be more seriously addressed in 2023.

Video of Past Events

New York City’s top cop is asking members of the NYPD to seek help if they need it in the wake of the suicides of two officers in less than 24 hours. People gathered in lower Manhattan to remember the lives lost in a crisis that has been plaguing the NYPD this year, with nine members having taken their lives in 2019, seven since June. Paul Federico, he detective who was found dead in the apparent suicide was previously featured on News 4 on behalf of a 9/11 first responder who was in desperate need of help from the Victims Compensa… On Dec. 15, a 58-year-old female officer was found dead in the 5800-block of North Northwest Highway, also as the result of an apparent suicide.

Suicide Prevention

Smaller police departments had a significantly higher suicide rate than large departments. Possible reasons include lack of availability for mental health assistance, increased workload and danger, and community visibility. Other results in the present study appear to be consistent with previous research. First, retired officers were less likely to commit suicide than currently employed officers (15.3% vs. 84.7%). In general, police officers are more likely to commit suicide while still working. Violanti and colleagues found the highest risk for suicide centered on years of police service just prior to retirement, indicating a period of high anxiety over decisions to remain in police work or retire.

Violanti found that officers in the year career category had the highest stress scores, identifying this period as the “disenchantment” stage of police work. Hartley, Violanti, Fekedulegn, Andrew, and Burchfiel found that officers in this police service range had higher negative life event and depression scores than younger officers. Second, the proportion of off-duty suicides was much higher than on-duty suicides. Violanti , in a comparison of five police departments, found that an average of 64% of suicides occurred away from the department. Campion found that 100% of suicides committed by officers in small PDs occurred while off-duty. Finally, concerning the method of suicide, the present study found that approximately 91% of officers used a firearm.