Former Police Chief Comments on Police Officer Suicides

Recent suicide of New Orleans officers and holiday spike in suicides bring issue to forefront

Orlando, FL (PRWEB) December 30, 2005 -- Richard B. Weinblatt, a former police chief, police academy manager, nationally published writer and police trainer, is commenting on police officer suicides and has just written an article for PoliceOne.com. Weinblatt also talks with police academy recruits concerning the officer suicide topic.

"The seasonal spike in suicides during the Christmas/New Years holiday period is of no secret to veteran law enforcement officers. What may come as a surprise is the high number of officers that, to use the old phrase, 'eat their gun,'" said Weinblatt who pointed out that the recent suicides of two New Orleans Police officers during the stresses of Hurricane Katrina brought the topic into the news and public view.

Weinblatt, a certified police instructor who has worked in law enforcement in several regions of the country including the Southwest and the Southeast, said that the stressors of the holidays and police work form a deadly combination that leads some officers to kill themselves.

Weinblatt, a criminal justice professor and police academy manager at Seminole Community College (located just north of Orlando), has a personal story of officer suicide intervention. He also offers some statistics that show that officers kill themselves at rate double that of the public.

Weinblatt, who shares his expertise via nationally published articles and his website, www.policearticles.com, offered a few tips on what friends and family of officers should watch for.

“They should not be afraid to intervene and act when suicidal tendencies are suspected,” Weinblatt said and said there are a few warning signs to look for such as an increase in use of force incidents.

Weinblatt's expert articles and commentary can reached via his website, www.policearticles.com.

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