B.L.U.E. HELP: HONORING OFFICERS WHO TAKE THEIR OWN LIVES

 

Honoring the Service of Law Enforcement Officers Who Died by Suicide
Offering comfort and honor to the families who have lost an officer to suicide is necessary to maintain the credibility of the thin blue line. All officers, regardless of method of death, deserve thanks; all families deserve your support. (https://bluehelp.org/)

National Law Enforcement Suicide Awareness Day

September 26th 2021

National Law Enforcement Suicide Awareness Day is created to recognize the service of officers lost to suicide, raise awareness about suicide in law enforcement and, to remind officers and their families that they are not alone; help is available. This day will help to reduce the stigma associated with seeking help and, recognize that one moment in ti acknowledgement and honor – stigma, silence and denial remain. By taking the pledge each year, you commit to publicly show your support for prevention of law enforcement suicide; support the officers who are suffering and; hoA suicide loss is unique, it can be difficult for families to share their experience with others who have not suffered the same type of loss. With the loss of thousands of law enforcement officers to suicide, we can put you in touch with another family suicide and knows what you are going through.

National Suicide Prevention Awareness Month

Suicide and the Code of Silence

Every 12 minutes in the United States, there is one death by suicide.* Each year, 125 -150 police officers die by suicide ― almost triple the number killed by criminals, and double that of traffic crashes.

September is National Suicide Prevention Awareness Month, a reminder of the urgent need for open, honest dialogue around mental health issues that can lead to loss of life. There are many potential risk factors and warning signs of suicide. Among them are exposure to trauma, easy access to lethal means, and a stigma associated with asking for help ― factors inherent to jobs in law enforcement.

Honor. Educate. Lead. Prevent.

We believe that officers who suffer emotional injuries should be recognized and their service to the community honored.

We believe it’s time to put names and faces to the men and women who have died because their emotional injuries became too much to bear.

We believe it’s time to support the families who have lost loved ones to those injuries.

We believe in the saying, “It is not how they died that mattered, it is how they lived.

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Police widows want husbands' deaths by suicide honored

The families of two police officers who died by suicide within days after defending Congress from a pro-Trump mob on Jan. 6 want their deaths recognized as “in the line of duty,” according to The Washington Post.

The big picture: The assault on the Capitol claimed five lives including Brian Sicknick, who died from injuries he sustained during the siege. Metropolitan Police officer Jeffrey Smith, 35, and Capitol Police officer Howard Liebengood, 51, who had been on duty during the attack, took their own lives days later.

Smith was found dead in his vehicle, which had rolled over and down an embankment along the George Washington Memorial Parkway. He died before the car wreck from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

Liebengood, 51, took his life three days after the riot, according to the Post.

They were buried in private ceremonies.

At least 228 police officers died by suicide in 2019, Blue H.E.L.P. says. 

That's more than were killed in the line of duty

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2020/01/02/blue-help-228-police-suicides-2019-highest-total/2799876001/

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10-29-09