Thread: Suicides by Chicago Police Officers Skyrocket

Suicides by Chicago Police Officers Skyrocket

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Scott Olson/Getty

by WARNER TODD HUSTON30 Jan 201714


A new report finds that the Chicago Police Department has a suicide rate 60 percent higher than the national average.

The study found that of the 10,000 officer force up to three CPD officers per year commit suicide, the Chicago Sun-Times reported.

The CPD’s suicide rate corresponds with the extreme level of violence seen in the Windy City. Last year Chicago’s murder rate was higher than that of New York and Los Angeles combined.

“There is a problem, and nobody’s doing anything about it,” Ron Rufo, a peer support counselor, told the paper.

“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.”

Psychologist Alexa James also noted that CPD officers are living in what many might consider a “war zone” but aren’t getting the mental health treatment they need.

“It is a hard, hard job, and police officers get very little support,” she insisted.

The Times reported that there are only three full-time counselors for the entire 10,000-officer force. In contrast, the LAPD has 11 clinicians on staff for an even smaller force.
One problem identified is an Illinois anti-gun law that prevents anyone who has had mental health issues from being able to gain a firearms license. Because of this law many officers feel reticent to engage a mental health provider for fear of losing the license they need to remain a police officer. Illinois is one of the few states to impose such a law on mental health patients.

“But that’s the Catch-22,” psychologist Marla Friedman said.

Police “are afraid if they go to counseling, they’ll lose their job forever. But if they hold it in, they can stay on the job. And then they snap. Which is safer?”

“This is a real problem,” Friedman added. “Police officers are the only class of citizen in the U.S. who is going to lose their job for seeking mental health care.”

http://www.breitbart.com/big-governm...rs-skyrockets/

Trump will send in the feds. He really needs to. Chicago is having problems that are truly violating the human and civil rights of citizens and legal residents of the city of Chicago. Trump is absolutely right on this. I think he wants to wait until Sessions is in place since the FBI is in the US Department of Justice. Maybe he could do it now, but so much to do, I think he wants Sessions in his spot to supervise and develop a plan. Some of this crime may be caused by illegal aliens so he could send in a team of ICE agents also. FBI and ICE should be able to do something and would bring a lot of support to the Chicago Police Officers. Something terribly wrong is going on in Chicago.

A Study of Police Suicide 2008-2016

During the years 2008 to 2016, Badge of Life has been compiling data on the numbers of active duty police suicides in the United States. Other, extensive demographic information is also being gathered and published. In summary, the results of our studies are as follows: 2008 – 141 Suicides 2009 – 143 Suicides 2012 – 126 Suicides 2016 – 108 Suicides

http://www.policesuicidestudy.com/