Earlier this month New York Magazine ran an interesting cover story on Ray Kelly and the NYPD that pointed out that while New Yorkers seem to really love the Police Commissioner, the same does not seem to be true of many police officers. To prove the point author Chris Smith quoted ex-cop and head of Police Organization Providing Peer Assistance (POPPA) Bill Genet noting that "We had this unusual four suicides in two months. The rubber band is being pulled mighty thin." Sadly, we now need to make that five.
Wednesday night around 9:45 p.m. a currently unidentified off-duty police officer appeared to have shot himself in the head in his Bronx home, according to police. He was later declared dead at Jacobi Medical Center. An incredibly named neighbor, 79-year-old Ziggy Poindexter, tells the Daily News the officer was "a good neighbor—quiet."
Though the details of the death, and the officer's status in the Department, are unclear this is just the latest in a very disturbing trend. As noted above, the last four months have seen five NYPD officers take their own lives. The body count started in January when 28-year-old Officer Terrance Dean shot himself on duty after receiving a phone call from his girlfriend. After that a 23-year-old rookie named Patrick Werner killed himself while off duty in a family home in Westchester. Then, on Super Bowl Sunday, 20-year veteran officer and father of two, Brian Saar shot himself in his Long Island home. Finally, later in February, 39-year-old Matthew Schindler, a 14-year veteran and father of three, killed himself on the side of the LIE. Clearly, something is not right in the NYPD.
Troubled police officers reading this are urged to seek counseling from POPPA.
