This archive report was first published on 28 July 2019.
On Saturday, a New York police officer was found dead at his Staten Island home after shooting himself, marking the fifth police suicide in the city since June, officials said.
The officer's name, rank, and tenure with the department were not immediately released, but the Sergeants Benevolent Association confirmed in a tweet that it was a sergeant who died.
“Once again terrible news,” the association said. “Tonight the NYPD lost a sergeant to suicide. We ask that everyone pray for his family, friends, and Co-workers. The NYPD continues to go through a difficult time.”
According to the New York Times, more police officers commit suicide every year in New York City than are killed in the line of duty.
Several high-profile police suicides have occurred this summer, including the deaths of Deputy Chief Steven J. Silks, Detective Joseph Calabrese, Officer Michael Caddy, and Officer Kevin Preiss.
Commissioner James P. O'Neill declared a mental-health crisis in June and encouraged officers to seek confidential help from department chaplains, peer-support groups, and phone and text message hotlines.
“There is no shame in seeking assistance from the many resources available both inside and outside the department,” Commissioner O'Neill said in a message to his 36,000 officers on June 14. “Accepting help is never a sign of weakness — in fact, it's a sign of great strength.”
However, Robert J. Louden, a professor emeritus of criminal justice and homeland security at Georgian Court University in New Jersey, said that officers often believe they are supposed to provide help, not seek it themselves.
“The nature of the personality is that it's a sign of weakness, it's a sign of shame, to go for help,” he said. “That kind of holds them back.”
