Suicide ideation in police officers & possible correlates associated with such ideation are explored, with a focus on psychologically traumatic police work experiences, the development of posttraumatic stress (PTSD) in officers, & the inordinate use of alcohol associated with this condition. Results suggest that certain traumatic police work exposures increase the risk of high level PTSD symptoms, which subsequently increase the risk of high alcohol use & suicide ideation by as much as 10 times. (56 refs)