On-duty NYPD officer commits suicide
NEW YORK NY April 21 2018 — An on-duty NYPD cop fatally shot himself Friday while parked outside a department facility in the Bronx, authorities said.
He’s the fourth NYPD officer to take his own life in as many months, police said.
First responders rushed to an NYPD Auto Crime and Narcotics Division facility in Wakefield about 10:50 a.m., where the mortally wounded officer was found sitting in his personal vehicle in the parking lot.
Officers rushed him to Jacobi Medical Center, but he could not be saved. His name was not immediately disclosed.
Police sources said the cop worked in the Bronx, but it was not immediately clear if he was assigned to the Auto Crime and Narcotics Division.
Cops were first alerted to the incident by Mount Vernon police who had received a 911 call from a panicked relative, who said the cop was planning to harm himself, police sources said.
On Feb. 26, Police Officer Rachel Bocatija, 26, killed herself in her Bushwick home. Her younger sister found her body in a locked room of the family home, a neighbor said.
On Jan. 13, Sgt. Joseph Pizzarro, 35, fatally shot himself in a room at the Hilton Garden Inn on Staten Island. Then, on Jan. 28, Detective Nicholas Budney killed himself at a restaurant overlooking the Hudson River in Orange County.
Following Bocatija’s death, Police Commissioner James O’Neill recorded a YouTube video describing the services available to cops in distress.
“Your job requires that you spend your day helping others. But before you can take care of anyone else, you must first take care of yourself, so please, remember, if you need it, help is here, and help is available,” O’Neill said.
The NYPD offers a variety of programs, and in 2014 launched an “Are You OK?” campaign aimed at promoting mental health awareness.
The department also works with POPPA, or Police Organization Providing Peer Assistance, a volunteer support network for officers and retirees that offers help for post-traumatic stress disorder, marital problems, substance abuse and suicide.
