N.Y.: The Larger Truth Behind One NYPD Officer's Suicide
The suicide of NYPD Officer Nick Budney is the latest in a number of suicides committed by members of the law enforcement community. Some who spoke with Men's Health said that reaching out for mental health help are afraid that getting treatment will threaten their careers.
From Men's Health:
But despite departments’ efforts to hire mentally healthy candidates, enlisted officers still kill themselves at the same rate as the general population. In 2016, 108 cops across the country took their own lives, according to Badge of Life, a nonprofit organization that tracks police suicides; according to a 2018 study from the Ruderman Family Foundation, the number of police officers who died by suicide was more than triple that of officers who were fatally shot in the line of duty.
“There is not enough conversation about mental health within police and fire departments,” the study claims. “Silence can be deadly, because it is interpreted as a lack of acceptance and thus morphs into a barrier that prevents first responders from accessing potentially life-saving mental health services.”
