Ontario Ombudsman- ‘Suicidal Cops is an Issue that Needs to be Addressed’

The recent tragic death of Hamilton police officer, Ian Matthews has caused a lot mourning within the Hamilton Police Services as well as the community. This is sad. I don’t like to see people getting hurt or people hurting themselves. When this happened it raised a lot of concern about mental health issues within the police force.

There’s something going on in humanity, why did this happen? Was this intentional in attempt to commit suicide? The Halton Police are investigating the case and have not yet ruled it out as a suicide but instead are just calling it a ‘sudden death’. And if it was a suicide (which it most likely is) the question would be why did Ian choose to do it at work?

These questions are crucial to answer because if this is a suicide and if this suicide is somehow linked to the job then it needs to be investigated to determine if others in the force are feeling the same.

The Ontario Ombudsman, André Marin released a report called “In Line of Duty“ near the end of 2012 which stated that since 1989 more cops have committed suicide than cops killed on duty and the issue of suicides by police officers needs to be addressed.

“The Ombudsman is an independent officer of the Legislature who investigates complaints from the public about Ontario government services. André Marin has been the Ombudsman since 2005 and his investigations have sparked numerous government reforms” ~ SOURCE

In the report released by the Ontario Ombudsman stated that police must “do basic things that many police services have been doing for years: Train officers and their families about dealing with trauma and preventing suicide; make sure they have access to people who can help them. Keep data on operational stress injuries and suicides. This is about supporting the people who put their lives on the line in the most difficult kind of public service, and keeping them healthy and functioning. It’s hard to think of a better public investment.”

Chief of Hamilton Police- Glenn De Caire told members of the public at a meeting held on April 16th 2013 that patrol officers work about 12 hours a day and I heard about 6 days a week. Not only do officers have to deal with certain traumas on the job but they also have to deal with the stress of working long hours.

 

‘When a protector can’t protect themselves, it creates a conflict within.’
- former Hamilton police chief Brian Mullan

 

 

With all this knowledge at hand about officers dealing with traumas and the stress of long hours it leaves one to question, can this even trickle down into excessive lethal force issues? Could some officers just be too stressed out and traumatized which puts them into fright or flight mode consciousness and causes them to react aggressively in certain situations? Could some officers be taking out their frustrations on criminals and the general public? It could all very well be linked together and if the mental health issues are addressed in officers suicide rates might decrease and maybe even excessive lethal force might decrease as well.

More psychological screening needs to be done to see if officers are depressed, traumatized or feeling psychotic