Cop Dies In Accident, Partner Kills Himself

[AK-74me]

Don't understand this, had a baby at home.

Video

[Sharon]

Grief. Not thinking straight.

[Pandora]

I feel the blame is on the police department for things like this. My husband's very good friend handled an assignment that he didn't go on. His partner was shot and killed - shot several times in his head. The guilt for him was overwhelming, with the, should have been me mentality. This was a person he spent at least 40 hours, sometime more, sometimes less, per week with and in the history of anyone's life, you will never spend that much time with anyone like that, not even your spouse.... that is a bond like no other.

The problem with many of the officers is that they don't want a mental health mark in their work file because it can be frowned upon so they don't seek out speaking to the department provided resources when needed and I've often thought, instances like these should just be mandatory - not a decision they should have to make. Your partner dies... for WHATEVER reason... you must speak to the head doctor because grief can cause people to act impulsively.

[Rael]

Originally Posted by Pandora

I feel the blame is on the police department for things like this. My husband's very good friend handled an assignment that he didn't go on. His partner was shot and killed - shot several times in his head. The guilt for him was overwhelming, with the, should have been me mentality. This was a person he spent at least 40 hours, sometime more, sometimes less, per week with and in the history of anyone's life, you will never spend that much time with anyone like that, not even your spouse.... that is a bond like no other.

The problem with many of the officers is that they don't want a mental health mark in their work file because it can be frowned upon so they don't seek out speaking to the department provided resources when needed and I've often thought, instances like these should just be mandatory - not a decision they should have to make. Your partner dies... for WHATEVER reason... you must speak to the head doctor because grief can cause people to act impulsively.

I can understand the "blame it on the Department" mindset, yet also understand why an individual would not come forward to try dealing with something as traumatic as the real life example you gave. Counseling may have been helpful in preventing this suicide (though, we'll never know for sure).
Speaking from my own prior military time (not sure if this is applicable to the Police Officer or Department), I'd understand more for the person who didn't choose to get some type of counseling because of what you also mentioned...that mental health mark on their record. In the military, they have different types of counseling which have different outcomes on the individual. If one volunteers to go, supposedly the impact is minimal. If directed, it is more severe.
And as long as the system is set up that individuals have to eventually answer that question "have you ever" in their background checks for clearances or advancement, this will continue to be a problem.
I agree with the idea of the Police Department setting a policy of dealing with traumatic situations like this, but only if it is not retributional. That would tell individuals that they take this issue seriously, and actually want to help.