A disturbing trend is happening amongst the NYPD as four officers have committed suicide in the last month.
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Matthew Schindler, 39, a 14-year veteran and married father of three kids killed himself yesterday on his way home after finishing his shift in Queens. Matthew is the fourth NYPD officer to take his own life in less than a month.
According to the NY Post, Schindler pulled his car over at about 4:30 p.m. on the eastbound side of the Long Island Expressway near Exit 40 in Jericho and shot himself under the chin.
Minutes earlier, Schindler, a highway-safety officer, texted his sergeant to tell him he would not be seeing him anymore.
Family friend Ryan Proce, 38, said- “He was one of the nicest people we ever met, he’s just an all-around great guy.”
Fellow cops were called back to the 115th Precinct station house in Jackson Heights last night and told the tragic news.
It was the fourth suicide to hit the NYPD in 2012 and the second in eight days.
On Super Bowl Sunday, Brian Saar, a 20-year veteran with twin 5-year-old daughters, shot himself at his Suffolk County home after arguing with his wife at a party.
January 19, Terrence Dean, 28, of the 111th Precinct in Queens, shot himself in the head with his his own weapon while at the scene of a Queens car burglary in front of both his partner and the car’s owner.
January 15, rookie cop Patrick Werner, 23, shot himself in his parents’ home in suburban Yorktown Heights after getting into a car accident and fleeing.
It’s a sad thing going on in the NYPD; hopefully counselors can find out what is triggering these horrible affects.
Troubled cops are told to call the outside counseling group POPPA, Police Organization Providing Peer Assistance if they feel depressed or suicidal.
