Another NYPD Cop Dies By Suicide: Reports

NEW YORK — An NYPD officer took his own life late Wednesday night, news reports say, marking the fourth suicide to hit the Police Department in less than a month.

The off-duty cop shot himself in the head at his home on Long Island, according to news reports. The yet-unnamed officer was assigned to The Bronx's 50th Precinct and had been on the police force for 24 years, NBC 4 reported.

The NYPD did not immediately respond to a request for comment, and the Nassau County Police Department could not provide any information. But a medical adviser to POPPA, a mental-health program for police officers, announced the cop's death on Twitter.

"Fourth NYPD suicide in very short time frame," Dr. Frank Dowling tweeted. "NYPD Officers-look In the mirror-take a good look at your coworker. See a 1085 or 1013-ask for help. Ask your partner are you ok? Tell them to get help."

The death is the latest in a string of police suicides that began June 5, when Deputy Chief Steven Silks took his own life in Queens. Brooklyn Det. Joseph Calabrese was reportedly found dead on a beach the next day. Then Officer Michael Caddy shot himself near a Staten Island stationhouse on June 14, according to the New York Daily News.

The NYPD has urged cops to seek help if they're struggling and reach out to others who might be in trouble.

"It's difficult," Police Commissioner James O'Neill said Tuesday at an unrelated news conference. "We are working as hard as we can to come up with a solution to prevent this from ever happening again. But when you're in a business of taking care of other people, sometimes you neglect to take care of yourselves."