Chicago Police Officer Dies in Apparent Suicide
Chicago IL September 3 2022
In at least the fourth such death since July, an off-duty Chicago police officer has died by apparent suicide, department officials announced Thursday.
The officer was pronounced dead at 2:35 p.m. in the 5600 block of North Karlov Avenue on the city’s Northwest Side, according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office.
Police took to Twitter to detail the death of the officer, who police did not name.
The Chicago Police Department has “experienced the heartbreaking loss of an off-duty officer today to an apparent suicide,” the tweet said.
“We ask that the people of Chicago pray for this officer’s family, loved ones, and fellow officers as they mourn this devastating loss.”
During the month of July, three officers died by suicide.
“They were sons, daughters, siblings, partners, friends and mentors,” Superintendent David Brown said then.
In March, Sgt. Edward Dougherty, 52, also died by suicide. There have been more than a dozen Chicago police officers to take their own lives since 2018.
The Chicago Police Department’s problem with officer suicides was highlighted in a 2017 report by the U.S. Justice Department regarding the city’s policing practices. At that time, one Chicago police official told the Justice Department that CPD’s suicide rate was higher than the national average among police.