Crime & Safety
Chicago Officer Takes Own Life On NW Side
"...we must do everything we can to support those who make our communities safer," CPD's spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said.
CHICAGO — A 36-year-old Chicago police officer took his own life Tuesday. The officer was found dead at his home in the city's Jefferson Park neighborhood on the Northwest Side, the Chicago Police Department said.
This death marks the fifth Chicago officer to take their own life over the past six months.
“We had a terrible 2018 in terms of officers getting hurt, killed and committing suicide,” CPD Supt. Eddie Johnson said in a media briefing Monday night. “Yet these officers come out every day and every night and do what we ask them to do.”
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CPD's suicide rate is 60 percent higher than the national average, according to the Department of Justice. The department said Chicago officers are exposed more trauma and gun violence than officers in most other regions in the country.
If you or someone you know is in distress, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline 24/7 at 1-800-273-8255. You can also text the Crisis Text Line by messaging TALK to 741741. Police officers can text the word BLUE to 741741.
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Devastated to share news of another #ChicagoPolice officer tragically ending their life yesterday after battling personal hardships. The pressure of being a police officer today cant be understated & we must do everything we can to support those who make our communities safer. pic.twitter.com/i4jXiSiXMq
— Anthony Guglielmi (@AJGuglielmi) January 2, 2019
Top image via CPD.
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