The Push Continues

AN UPDATE...The original numbers of police suicides were under reported.  They were, sadly, too low.  I've updated this post with the new numbers from Blue H.E.L.P..  They make this effort to raise awareness and encourage action from policymakers and police administrators even more necessary, more critical.

This is a quick entry.  And I'll get right to the point...This year, I will once again ride in the Police Unity Tour.  And again, it'll be for those that took their own lives.

 

Each year, more police officers commit suicide than are killed feloniously by someone else.  That is a fact.  And it is my mission to ride for those officers who died by their own hands, but dedicated no less of themselves for the service and protection of their communities.

To date, statistics from the group Blue H.E.L.P. are that 148 law enforcement officers killed themselves last year.  Yeah, you read that correctly.  One.  Four.  Eight.  148.  To put that into perspective, the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund has listed 128 as "traditional" line of duty deaths for 2017.  NOTHING is killing us more than ourselves.

Every 61 hours, an officer is killed in the line of duty.  Shot and killed.  Or drowned during a rescue.  Struck while on a traffic stop.  Or suffered a heart attack during training.  Those are traditional and, quite frankly, "accepted", as it were, line of duty deaths.

But then, every 59 hours, one commits suicide.

In 2018, I will ride in honor of these peacemakers.

• Police Officer Max Scherzer, Westampton Township (NJ) PD
  EOW 21 August 2016
  Max left behind a wife and two infants, at the time, 4 months old.
• Detective Jeffrey Wentz, Ontario (CA) PD
  EOW 24 June 2017
  Jeffrey left behind a wife and two children.
• State Park Peace Officer Steve Bier, California State Parks
  EOW 29 March 2017
  Steve left behind a wife and a young son.

Please go to my fundraising page to support me here.  Spread the word.  Break the stigma.

It is time to stop what is killing us... 

Thank you.