Then-CPD Counterterrorism Chief and future police Superintendent, Larry Snelling comforts Carmen Cruz, who lost her son Officer John Cruz to suicide, as she and family members attend the Fraternal Order of Police’s first of its kind ceremony on Sept. 1, 2023, to unveil a Suicide Memorial, honoring CPD officers who have recently died of suicide.
Durkin credited CPD for its efforts to combat the stigma associated with mental health services, but added that the limited evidence available — mostly anecdotal — suggests “the need for services exceeds the department’s capacity.” In the first three weeks of January, CPD’s 18 clinicians held 656 counseling sessions with officers or their family members. The department’s six drug and alcohol counselors had nearly 800 “contacts” in that time, Durkin added.
At the hearing’s conclusion, Pallmeyer praised CPD officers’ willingness to seek help, and highlighted how all parties in the case were, effectively, in agreement on what needs to happen. CPD suicides will sometimes occur in clusters. During summer 2022, three Chicago police officers died by suicide within a month. The following December, three more died by suicide in a seven-day span.
“We have got to reach out to each other, we have got to take care of each other,” Snelling said. “It’s not a weakness to suffer. The weakness comes when we don’t reach out for that help. The weakness comes in others when you see someone in need and you’re not reaching out to help them.”