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Police Suicide: Factors that contribute to a dirty secret in Law Enforcement

By Robert Tornabene

 A Police Officer one of the worst experience’s we can ever go through on the job is an Officer killed in the Line of Duty. It’s unexpected, it’s a shock and there is almost always a target of our anger, the person who is responsible for our loss.  Over 20 years ago when I became a Police Officer the topic of Police Suicide was never discussed. As of this date it is still not discussed at most Police Academies across the United States.

If you would have asked me that I would have experienced a line of duty death, then a short two years later a fellow officer committing suicide in my career I would say not on your life. But if asked would that number jump to two suicides in 10 years, I would probably say I have a better chance of winning the lottery then to go through it all over again.  My department is relatively small,  55 officers, so statistically, this should not have happened, but it did and it has.

Statistics tell us that the average police officer will never go through their career ever firing their gun in the line of duty. Of those Officers who do fire their gun, only a small percentage will actually kill an offender.  The Police Policy Study Council conducted research on police shootings and determined that the average Officer could expect to be on the force 193 years without getting involved in a fatal shooting.[1]  Consequently a national study of police suicides in 2008 and 2009, there were 141 and 143 suicides respectively. Their study showed that police suicides dropped 12%, but when compared to “line of duty deaths”, those dropped 22%.

Police Suicide occurs 1.5 times more frequently in law enforcement compared to the general population.[2] Yet when you talk to the average Police Officer they would say most do not even give Police Suicide a thought. 

So what is going on? I know that question has been and will continue to be asked for the rest of my career and beyond. Some would say it is the culture of the department. But, our agency spent considerable time sending staff out for training, including suicide awareness and crisis intervention. The agency put in place social services, which included annual physicals and social worker wellness interviews. So why?

There have been many of us who have asked this question over and over again. How could a close friend, one whom you vacationed with, laughed, cried, worked side by side for years who always seemed so happy and easy going, decide that the only way out was to take his own life. There are those of us who asked that question over and over, without coming to an answer. The only thing that ever came out an observation was, we never saw him angry, he always seemed happy. But the reality is that no one is always happy. We go through life with ups and downs, good days and bad days. These days include moments of joy and sometimes anger, happiness and sadness but one person can simply not go through life always happy. That’s just not right.

But how could it happen again, even after there were interventions put into place to assist with those officers struggling.  The most obvious answer is the Officer’s themselves are their own worst enemy. They do not want to admit they are having a problem, fear of being taken off the street, being looked down upon by colleagues, fear of lost wages, which might compound the stress etc.
 
Officers are most often their own worst enemies, not wanting to admit they need help, or hiding their problem, because of domestic, financial or emotional issues that they do not wish to divulge.  This can result in withdrawal, stress and a variety of other factors that end up increasing the risk of suicidal thoughts in an Officer.

What factors contribute to the stress and emotion in an Officer’s mind that is so strong it compels them to take their own life?

A study conducted by The National P.O.L.I.C.E. Suicide Foundation offers the following:[3]

Common Factors in Suicide by Law Enforcement Officers:
  • Alcohol, coupled with an always-present firearm, drinking and depression are major causes of police officer suicides.
  • Breakup of a relationship or marriage. Often, the only people outside law enforcement an officer trusts are his or her family. When a relationship ends, an officer loses his or her emotional support base.
  • Stagnated Career
  • Common Police Suicide Warning Signs:
  • An officer who starts having a high number of off-duty accidents
  • A rise in citizen complaints about aggressiveness
  • A change in personality in which a sullen officer suddenly becomes talkative or officer who is normally very vocal becomes silent and withdrawn.
  • The law enforcement officer starts giving away prized possessions or telling friends they will be missed.
  • The officer suddenly writes a will.
  • A recent stressful life event or change, such as retirement, promotion or even an award.

Several years ago I had the pleasure of going through Chaplain Robert Douglas’s course for Police Suicide Awareness Train the Trainer. Mr. Douglas presentation provided some key indicators on the danger signs for police officers that may be suicidal. Mr. Douglas gave a very impassioned presentation on the signs, and upon hearing the signs and looking over them again as I write this article, it would seem that we as a whole missed some very important signs. Perhaps, we missed them because our very own lives are extremely busy. We do not always have the time to observe these signs in others or even ourselves.

Danger Signs for Potential Suicide
  • Sudden loss of motivation
  • Not concerned about physical fitness or physical appearance
  • Isolation, withdrawal, doesn't talk much or confide in anyone
  • Heavy drinking or drug taking
  • More accident prone, especially with own car and service vehicles.
  • Reckless behavior.
  • Not sleeping, looks tired all the time.
  • Has told others about suicidal thoughts.
  • Frequent use of tranquilizers.
  • Mood swings, displays inappropriate emotions, gets angry easily.
  • Unable to concentrate.
  • Frequent injuries.
  • Discipline problems at work, picks fights with superiors.
  • Becomes arrogant, aggressive, impulsive, violent.
  • Unable to deal with frustration.
  • Cries easily.
  • Nervous, may experience shaking or tremors.
  • Plays with gun, points it at self or others.
  • Delusional.
  • Suffers from high blood pressure.
  • Previous history of suicide attempts or family history of suicide.
  • Combines tranquilizers and alcohol.
  • Sudden desire to make last wishes known.
  • Preparing will and getting papers in order.

To sum this very sensitive subject up, Officers need to be willing to admit they need help. Colleagues need to be cognizant of the factors that may indicate pre-suicidal thoughts and be willing to take steps to help a fellow officer. Lastly, the Administration has to have in place a series of intervention strategies, including physical, emotional and if necessary financial assistance in the event an Officer is identified in a particularly stressful situation.

As I finished writing this I am reminded that we all have demons, we all have issues problems and concerns about our job, home life and we all believe we know what is best for us on how to handle it. As I complete this article I know that police suicide is cyclical. It can strike agencies more than once, regardless of efforts and interventions that are in place. I cannot help but fell a sense of dread..  My dread is that there are many of us who went through or experience loss, and yet still believe that they know best how to handle their stress.  I would ask this of you, if you knew that your friend was suffering, but you didn’t want to ask them what was bothering because we need to “remain strong”, how can we really call ourselves “brothers and sisters in blue?”

If you believe that someone is hurting, you see them experiencing difficulty then you as their friend need to speak to them, or speak to their significant other, or approach a supervisor and explain your concerns. The act of inaction is not an option.




[1] The Police Studies  Council, Police Shootings: Who, What and How Many, http://www.theppsc.org/Archives/DF_Articles/Files/Oregon/92-Oregonian_Study.htm

[3] Law Enforcement Peer Support Network, http://www.lepsn.org/policesuicidesymptoms.php
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