Suicide Takes Grim Toll Among Nation’s Police : Mental health: Twice as many officers kill themselves each year as die in the line of duty. Experts study ways to help them cope.

Tommy’s world began to crumble just a block from Madison Square Garden, where months earlier he had wept with joy at his graduation from the police academy.

During an arrest of four muggers, he ended up on the ground in a struggle. His knees were badly injured, leading to a permanent disability. He had to leave the force.

“When I turned in my badge, I felt more than half of me died,” the 28-year-old, dark-haired former officer recalled. In the months that followed, the rest of his world collapsed too. His marriage ended. His mother lay dying of cancer.

Finally, he decided to commit suicide, vowing to leave his house only in a body bag. “All I saw was the barrel of a gun,” he said. It took hours before a crisis negotiator convinced him to put down his gun.

He was lucky. Timothy Torres was not. On Christmas Eve, the 26-year-old officer, distraught over his divorce, finished his hamburger in a Times Square area restaurant, pulled out his service revolver and put a bullet in his head. He was the 14th New York City police officer--including two with the housing and transit police--to commit suicide in 1994, the highest number since the Depression.

Across America, suicide is the dark underside of police work. According to the National Assn. of Chiefs of Police, more than 300 officers commit suicide each year, twice the average number killed annually in the line of duty. Some experts say the total may actually be much higher because some smaller departments, particularly in rural areas, may not make information available.

A study by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimated that police officers have about a 30% greater chance of suicide than people in other occupations.

A recent survey by the New York City Police Foundation found the rate of suicide on the force is four to five times higher than among the general population.

“Police commit suicide more often than other individuals in comparable age, gender and other social categories,” the report concludes. “ . . . The reasons why police commit suicide at higher rates are poorly understood and understudied.”

Andre Ivanoff, a Columbia University professor who was the study’s principal investigator, said the phenomenon is not confined to New York. “Suicides among police officers in general are increasing,” he said.

In the past 10 years, 22 Los Angeles police officers--including two in 1994--have committed suicide, and the number seeking counseling has risen dramatically.

Scholars who study suicide say the police tragedies are part of a larger picture. Suicide is the eighth leading cause of death in United States, resulting in 32,000 fatalities each year. “Suicide is an epidemic, yet there is no national program identifying” it as a health problem, said Alan Ross, executive director of the Samaritans, a suicide-prevention organization with branches in 30 countries.

Ross and other mental health professionals say police officers are particularly vulnerable.

“You are 26 years old and have a 3-year-old daughter and you go to a crime scene where some crack mother stabbed her baby in a crib. You are not equipped to handle that. None of us are equipped to handle that. You are forced to contend with the darker side of life every day,” Ross said.

“Police have to cope with situations that a skilled social worker or psychiatrist would have trouble coping with,” said Dr. David W. Brook, a Manhattan psychiatrist who has treated police officers.

The culture of some police departments can make coping even more difficult. Police who work in the area of suicide prevention note that officers too often are trained to suppress their emotions, to bury the pain and frustration they experience when they confront day-to-day misery.

“Most of the police I know are responsible individuals who want to make a difference,” said Kris Mohandie, a psychologist with the Los Angeles Police Department. “They are exposed to the disappointment that you can only make some difference, which can fuel powerlessness and helplessness and cynicism.”

Some police feel abandoned by the communities they serve and by departmental administrations they perceive as weak when confronted by special interests.

“We are trained from the beginning not to let our feelings show,” said Morton Feldman, executive vice president of the National Assn. of Chiefs of Police, which is holding seminars designed to lessen the stresses that can lead to suicides. “We are supposed to keep those feelings suppressed. You want to do your job. You are caught in this double bind. You are alone, you are isolated.” With some officers, “it gets to the point where that emotional agony is just too much and the end result is suicide.”

Adding to the problem is the fact that many police officers who suffer distress are reluctant to see crisis counselors within their departments, fearing they will be judged unstable and their careers will be threatened, Feldman said.

Police officers typically are much more successful in committing suicide because they have a weapon with which they are very familiar, experts say. An analysis by the New York City Police Foundation of 57 police suicides--all taking place since 1985--shows that a gun was used in all but four of the cases. The primary reason given in 33 of the deaths was a relationship problem.

Significant suicide risk factors emerged from the foundation’s study: the breakup or loss of a relationship, personal stress, feelings of hopelessness or depression, severe financial problems, alcohol or drug abuse and departmental difficulties--including injuries, corruption inquiries or retirement.

Some psychologists say they believe that New York’s police are particularly at risk at this point in time.

“High numbers of police suicides at times of administrative change are not unusual,” said Harvey Schlossberg, a retired police officer and psychologist who was former director of the NYPD’s psychological service unit. “There are studies that go back to the early 1940s and late 1930s when New York City had large numbers of suicides. What happens is it is usually in response to some kind of departmental change.”

In recent months, New York police have been under severe pressure. In one of the worst corruption cases in the department’s history, more than a dozen officers from the same Harlem precinct were indicted on charges of shaking down drug dealers for narcotics and cash. One of the officers involved in the scandal committed suicide last year.

Since becoming commissioner more than a year ago, William J. Bratton has worked feverishly to bring about sweeping change, setting up task forces to examine just about every facet of police work in the hope of strengthening and modernizing the department. He has forced a number of high-ranking chiefs to retire, prompting uneasiness among some remaining commanders.

Two of the officers who committed suicide last year may have believed their jobs were at risk, investigators said.

“When there is a large scandal, it is a like a family member being involved,” Schlossberg said. “People feel embarrassed. They feel helpless and a loss of self-esteem. For many men, the job becomes their identity. It becomes totally encompassing and any embarrassment of any police officer is an embarrassment of you.”

All this is taking place as the composition of the force is becoming younger. “Police officers are not as experienced as 30 years ago, when they had military experience,” Schlossberg said. As a result, some of the recruits can “become overwhelmed by everything,” he said.

The NYPD has formed an alliance with the American Suicide Foundation to pursue further research into the causes of police suicide. Work is underway to develop peer counseling with strict confidentiality. Within the police academy, there is increased emphasis on the problem.

“By Their Own Hand,” a videotape made by the Police Foundation, has been shown to groups of officers. It stresses the mental health resources available and preaches the message that a macho culture, where feelings are denied, is a minus.

The film urges police personnel to cast away the expectation they will change the world and to concentrate on more realistic goals. Police are cautioned they will see death “in every way, shape and form” and to realize their own psyches are being wounded and there is nothing wrong in reaching out for help.

A major part of the film is the story of Tommy, the cop who tried to take his life after being injured near Madison Square Garden. In Tommy’s case, the ending was happy. After psychological treatment and help from a support group of former officers, he now works as a private detective.