The stress of being a police officer takes it's toll...
Suicide Rate High Among Chicago Officers
February 1, 2017 - The rate of suicide among officers with the Chicago Police Department is 60 percent higher than other departments across the U.S., a recently released Justice Department report found.
See also:
Texas Deputy Kills Son, Self in Murder-Suicide
February 1, 2017 - Preliminary rulings from the Tarrant County medical examiner's office show that Young County Deputy Joseph Parker shot his 27-year-old son Kensy, then himself.
Related:
NYPD Detective's Death Classified a Homicide
February 1, 2017 - The NYPD’s classification of Detective Steven McDonald’s death as a homicide decades after he was injured is often done in cases where crime victims die as a result of assaults and shootings that take a toll later in life.
Suicide Rate High Among Chicago Officers
February 1, 2017 - The rate of suicide among officers with the Chicago Police Department is 60 percent higher than other departments across the U.S., a recently released Justice Department report found.
Life insurance claims information from the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 7 estimates that among the departments nearly 10,000 patrol officers, an average of three officers will take their own lives each year, according to The Chicago Sun-Times.
Over the past decade, 13 Chicago police officers have been killed in the line of duty, but nearly twice as many officers committed suicide in the same time period. "There is a problem, and nobody’s doing anything about it," Ron Rufo, who was a peer support counselor for most his 21 years as an officer in the 9th District Rufo. "Supervisors don't talk about it. The rank-and-file don’t talk about it. And it’s like the administration does not want to admit it's a problem."
Chicago Police guard the scene of a shooting involving multiple victims, including an off-duty police officer, inside a parking garage on the 1200 Block of North State Parkway
The Chicago Police Department's Employee Assistance Program -- which provides mental health services officers and staff -- currently only has three full-time counselors. The LAPD, which boasts a smaller number of employees, has a staff of 11 counselors.
Chicago FOP President Dean Angelo said that union leaders have urged department brass to create a program allowing officers to take time off or an administrative assignment when they were under stress or following a traumatic event. That suggestion was turned into the department's new policy of putting officers on desk duty for a mandatory 30 days following an on-duty shooting. Angelo said the move seems punitive to patrol officers. "We wanted an 'administrative timeout,' where you could go to your supervisor and say, 'Hey, I need some time,' and there would be a guarantee you could stay in your assignment and wouldn't be ostracized," he said. "Guys need that guarantee, or they're not going to talk."
Report: Suicide Rate High Among Chicago Police Officers | Officer.com
See also:
Texas Deputy Kills Son, Self in Murder-Suicide
February 1, 2017 - Preliminary rulings from the Tarrant County medical examiner's office show that Young County Deputy Joseph Parker shot his 27-year-old son Kensy, then himself.
A North Texas deputy sheriff and his son died in a murder-suicide, officials said. Officers were called about 10:40 a.m. Thursday to the home of Joseph Parker in the 1300 block of Cherry Street after a family friend discovered two bodies in a bedroom, Graham police said.
Preliminary rulings from the Tarrant County medical examiner's office show that Parker shot his 27-year-old son Kensy, then himself, police said. Parker, 61, was last seen Jan. 24 when he left work early at about 4:30 p.m. The last time he had contact with anyone outside the home was through text message at about 9 p.m., police said. Graham police said in a prepared statement that the investigation has been difficult "for all the departments in our area."
Deputy Joseph Parker, left, and his son Kensy
Parker and his son each had a single gunshot wound, and there was no sign of a forced entry or struggle. No note was found. "We will probably never know the reasoning as to why this happened, and while we do not condone his actions, we remember his service to the community and our hearts go out to the family," police said.
Parker, who retired after 20 years as a Graham police officer, was the Deputy Sheriff of Young County. He also served as a firefighter and arson investigator with the Graham Fire Department. Graham is located about 120 miles northwest of Dallas.
Texas Deputy Kills Son, Himself in Murder-Suicide | Officer.com
Related:
NYPD Detective's Death Classified a Homicide
February 1, 2017 - The NYPD’s classification of Detective Steven McDonald’s death as a homicide decades after he was injured is often done in cases where crime victims die as a result of assaults and shootings that take a toll later in life.
NYPD Det. Steven McDonald’s death last month from an apparent heart attack has been classified as a 2017 homicide, even though he survived being shot by a teenager in Central Park in July 1986, officials said Tuesday. The NYPD’s classification of McDonald’s death as a homicide decades after he was injured is often done in cases where crime victims die as a result of assaults and shootings that take a toll later in life, a police spokesman said.
Detective Steven McDonald
McDonald, of Malverne, was shot by Shavod Jones and left a quadriplegic, though a wheelchair gave him mobility and a respirator he used to breathe allowed him to talk. He was an active member of the NYPD until he died at age 59. McDonald, who was stricken Jan. 6, was taken off life support Jan. 10. His funeral Mass at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in Manhattan on Jan. 13 drew thousands of mourners.
Jones, who was sent to prison for attempted murder and was released in 1995, died in a motorcycle accident a few days after being freed. McDonald’s death has been factored into 2017 NYPD crime data. Through Sunday, there have been 17 killings for the year, compared with 22 in the same period in 2016.
NYPD Detective's Death Classified a Homicide | Officer.com