A third Chicago Police Department (CPD) officer committed suicide in the month of July, CPD Superintendent David Brown announced at a conference Monday.
Brown announced the department will provide around-the-clock mental health services, faith-based counseling services, and free confidential programs for current and former officers. He encouraged officers to seek guidance at their Employee Assistance Program, Chaplain’s Ministry and with licensed professional therapists.
“Police officers are human and they have struggles just like everyone else,” Brown said during the press conference.
The third officer‘s identity is not yet public. The death came one day after another CPD officer took his own life, and weeks after Officer Patsy Swank died of suicide, Eyewitness News reported. (RELATED: Police Officer Dies In Apparent Suicide While On Duty, Department Says)
“The stigma of even talking to someone in our profession is a challenge,” Brown said, according to Eyewitness News. “Many officers find it as a sign of weakness.”
Officer Swank’s brother, Ryan Clancy, warned of the lack of mental health services available for officers in the line of duty, the outlet reported.
Democratic Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot offered her condolences on Twitter by vowing to “ease” the physical and mental struggles of the city’s police officers.
“Please know that we hear you & are working tirelessly to ease the mental & physical burden of our police officers,” the mayor said in her tweet.
Please know that we hear you & are working tirelessly to ease the mental & physical burden of our police officers. 🧵 https://t.co/HTwSjEQImQ
— Mayor Lori E. Lightfoot (@chicagosmayor) July 17, 2022
“I hope all [Chicago Police] members who may be struggling will consider contacting the Employee Assistance Program, the Department’s licensed professional therapists, & the Chaplains Ministry. Call 312.743.0378 for more details, night or day,” she added in another tweet.
A recent study by the Ruderman Family Foundation, a philanthropic group that supports individuals with disabilities, found officers are more likely to die by suicide than in the line of duty, USA Today reported. Suicide rates for first responders showed almost no decline from 2019 to 2020, whereas suicide rates among the general population dropped by 3 percent from 2017-2020.