A Chicago police officer who died Thursday is believed to have taken his own life, according to officials.
Department sources described the officer as a 51-year-old man who worked in the Austin District. He would be the fifth officer to die by suicide this year.
Police spokesman Tom Ahern confirmed the death on Twitter and said the officer was not on duty at the time, but police officials have declined to release any additional information about the circumstances of the death, including when it was reported.
“The Chicago Police Department has experienced the heartbreaking loss of an off-duty Officer today to an apparent suicide,” Ahern tweeted. “ We ask that the people of Chicago pray for this Officer’s family, loved ones and fellow Officers as they mourn this devastating loss.”
The Cook County medical examiner’s office has not yet ruled on the cause and manner of the officer’s death.
More than a dozen CPD officers have committed suicide since 2018.
Following several suicides this summer, Police Supt. David Brown came under heavy criticism for a policy of routinely canceling days off for officers as the department grapples with staffing issues and has struggled to recruit and retain officers.
Long hours and the toll of working for days — sometimes weeks — without time off were blamed for a rash of suicides by the family members of some of the officers who died during a rally earlier this summer.
Brown and Mayor Lori Lightfoot initially downplayed the scope and impact of the controversial practice, but have since taken more sympathetic stances.
Brown announced changes to the department’s policies on Tuesday he said were aimed at giving officers more time off. The policy shift came just a day after the city’s Inspector General Deborah Witzburg issued a scathing report showing the department scheduled nearly 1,200 officers to work at least 11 straight days earlier this year.
Under the new policy, most officers can’t have more than one-off day canceled each week under the new policy.
“The physical and emotional wellbeing of our officers remains the top priority of our department,” Brown said in a news conference announcing the change.
The city provides counseling services to employees and their families through the Employee Assistance Program, which can be reached at (312) 743-0378. The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline offers help around the clock for people in crisis at (800) 273-8255.
