Chicago PD Deputy Chief Dies in Apparent Suicide

The Chicago Sun-Times> reports that a deputy chief of the Chicago Police Department has, apparently, taken his own life:

A newly promoted Chicago police deputy chief was found dead Tuesday morning of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound in the Homan Square police facility on the West Side.

The death of Dion Boyd, 57, was announced at Chicago Police Department headquarters Tuesday afternoon by Supt. David Brown.

Brown, flanked by other members of the CPD’s leadership, said Boyd was “a respected command staff member.”

He was with the department for nearly 30 years.

“There’s really no way to convey or express the magnitude of this loss,” Brown said. “We are shocked and saddened at the loss that is deeply felt by me and the many colleagues and friends with whom Deputy Chief Boyd worked and mentored throughout his career.”

Brown pleaded with officers to “always remember to take care of ourselves and each other.”

“There is no shame in reaching out for help,” he added. “Please, officers, please, stay humble, stay human, stay safe and stay well.”

I think there’s a lot more to this story than is being revealed by the Sun-Times. This officer was newly-appointed deputy chief. Either this officer should never have been promoted, the new pressures of the job were just too much, there were things in this officer’s life that caused him to take his own life, or a combination. How could it have come as a surprise?

Note, too, that the suicide rate among CPD officers is 60% higher than the average among police officers. I don’t know how that relates to the suicide rate among big city police officers or among higher-ranking officers. I wonder if there is a worse time to be a police officer than today.