NYPD police officer Linhong Li, 33, reportedly shot himself in the head while off-duty in his house in Queens, New York on Tuesday.
Li is the tenth NYPD officer to have committed suicide this year, becoming an epidemic that has shaken the whole police force.
He was a probationary officer assigned to work on the Upper West Side of Manhattan.
According to the NY Post, he joined the NYPD in 2012 as a member of the NYPD Cadet Corps before he concluded his training in the academy.
Li also served in the U.S. Marine Corps, having been to Iraq during one military service tour.
Officer Suicides
In August, two NYPD officers took their own lives. Robert Echeverria, 56, was a veteran who worked for more than 20 years as a police officer. He was also off-duty in Queens when he shot himself in the head.
He was remembered as a funny guy who really liked to help people. His death came as a surprise because he was always happy and joking around, according to the NY Post.
A day before Echeverria’s suicide, 35-year-old Johnny Rios from the Bronx, shot himself in the head in his home.
Rios had just gotten engaged and a neighbor said they were a “very happy couple,’’ who “never had domestic issues,” the NY Post reported.
The neighbor also never suspected this could have happened “I’ve never seen anything in him that made me think he could do this,’’ the neighbor said.
He shot himself around 3:30 a.m. His fiancee was in the house at the time.
In a statement, the Police Benevolent Association of the City of New York, which represents over 50,000 active and retired New York City Police Officers, said: “SUICIDES: Don’t do it. It solves nothing, and you are leaving devastation behind you. Your fellow cops are under siege. The job created this monster—it won’t get better unless we stick together.”
BREAKING | Another NYPD cop took his own life, shooting himself inside his Yonkers home: sources
This is the eighth NYPD cop to take his own life this year.https://t.co/W2IpqCkzDL
— New York Daily News (@NYDailyNews) August 13, 2019
Four officers took their own lives in the month of June alone, reported the NY Daily News. One of them, Kevin Preiss, a 53-year-old Bronx officer and married father-of-three, was found dead on Long Island on June 27.
“It’s horrible that a person would be driven to that—not be able to get the help they need and feel so helpless,” said neighbor Ellen McGreevy. “I can’t imagine what drove him to that point.”
Amid the rash of suicides this year, NYPD officials sent a message to officers asking them to request help if they have suicidal thoughts.
“As cops you do a great job every day of keeping people safe and helping those in need,” Chief of Department Terence Monahan said in a video posted after NYPD Deputy Chief Steven Silks was found dead by suicide in early June. “Your health and well-being is extremely important to all of us. We all want to make sure you take care of yourself.”
According to the CDC:
“Each year more than 41,000 individuals die by suicide, leaving behind thousands of friends and family members to navigate the tragedy of their loss. Suicide is the 10th leading cause of death among adults in the United States and the 2nd leading cause of death among young people aged 10-24; these rates are rising.”
“Suicidal thoughts or behaviors are both damaging and dangerous and are therefore considered a psychiatric emergency. Someone experiencing these thoughts should seek immediate assistance from a health or mental health care provider. Having suicidal thoughts does not mean someone is weak or flawed.”
National Suicide Prevention Lifeline
Aside from resources for assistance within agencies such as the NYPD, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (NSPL) at 1800-273-8255, provides 24/7, free and confidential support for people in distress, prevention and crisis resources, best practices, and building awareness.
Epoch Times reporter Zachary Steiber contributed to this report.
