Lessons Learned: a Suicide in a Small Police Department (In: Suicide and Law Enforcement, edited by D C Sheehan & J I Warren)

When a police officer dies by suicide, it has a tremendous impact on every level of the police department. Through analysis of an individual case of the suicide of a police officer from a small city department, the authors explore the impact on other officers & on the department as a whole. Based on this experience, they provide concrete suggestions for other departments facing a similar situation. Suggestions focus on the development of departmental procedures to deal with an officer’s suicide, management of the departmental grief reaction, & the prevention of police suicide. JA