A Recruit Training Officer (RTO) in my Academy Class Scolded a Cadet for Crying. Ten Years Later, that RTO Died by Suicide.

It seemed like a typical day in my academy last when my squadron was called out into the hallway to deliver our daily recitation. When our RTO got to one of my classmates, she burst into tears. I initially thought that although it was uncharacteristic of her to be unprepared or flustered, she had simply become overwhelmed in the early days of the academy. This was far from the truth.

Unbeknownst to us, the evening before, she had come upon a toddler who was lying facedown in a pond near her property. Her training immediately kicked in and she rendered CPR, saving his life just in time. Her tears during recitation were not a product of being flustered, unprepared, or emblematic of someone who "cracks" under pressure. Instead, she did exactly what her training compelled her to do. And those tears were a healthy and human response to a traumatic situation, and likely tears that she had intentionally kept stored for when she found herself in a place where she could let them out. Simply put, she needed to cry in that moment, and I'm glad she did. I wish that someone had told my RTO that it was okay to cry, too.

Suicide is the leading cause of death for law enforcement officers in the United States. By some statistics, officers die by suicide at nearly twice the rate of all other duty-related causes combined. And yes, suicide is a duty-related cause of death, despite what many want to believe. More importantly, it is the only duty-related cause of death that is 100% preventable.

It is likely that there were many factors that contributed to my RTO's death by suicide, as there are for the 200+ officers who die by suicide every year. However, the one variable that law enforcement agencies can control is how they respond to officers in crisis, the barriers they implement for officers displaying help-seeking behaviors, and how the show up for officers in need of support. The good news is that the number of officers who die by suicide are trending downward, likely due in part by destigmatization efforts and how we talk about mental health, particularly in law enforcement.

Police Legitimacy Solutions, LLC assists agencies with identifying internal threats to officer mental wellness. If your agency is unsure of what to do to address the mental health crisis that affects officers of all agencies, ranks, years of service, and experience, let's get in touch. Book your free kickoff call HERE.

If you or someone you know is in crisis, call or text the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline at 988. Additional resources can be found at bluehelp.org. The world is better with you in it.