Three Chicago Police officers lost to suicide since beginning of July

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CHICAGO - Members of the Chicago Police department, family, and friends are mourning the loss of three officers dead by suicide since the start of this month.

The first officer, identified by the Cook County Medical Examiner's Office as Patricia Swank, 29, died by suicide on Saturday, July 2nd.

Swank, of the 5100 block of South Normandy Avenue in the Garfield Ridge neighborhood and known to her family as "Patsy," was a six year veteran of the department and was currently assigned to the Englewood neighborhood. She was a 2011 graduate of Mount Greenwood's Mother McAuley High School. She leaves behind a 5-year-old son.

You can donate to Officer Swank's family by visiting the following link: GoFundMe for Officer Patricia Swank.

The second officer, identified by the Cook County Medical Examiner's Office as Durand Lee, 42, died by suicide on Friday, July 15th.

Lee, of the 1800 block of S. Calumet Avenue on the city's near south side, was a 17-year veteran of the department and currently assigned to the city's 5th district, which covers the Calumet area of the city.

We have attempted to reach out to the family of Officer Lee to find additional information about Officer Lee's life and services, but we do not have that information at this time.

A third officer was hospitalized a day later in the early morning hours on Saturday, July 16th.

The third officer was identified Monday afternoon by the Cook County Medical Examiner's Office as Sergeant Andrew Dobda Jr., age 47. Sergeant Dobda was an 18-year veteran of the force and believed to be working in the Courts Division, but we have not been able to confirm that information at this time.

A police spokesperson announced Monday morning that Sergeant Dobda had passed away from his injury Sunday afternoon.

Similar to the above, we'll update this post with additional information for Sergeant Dobda with permission from his family.

Following the three suicides this month, Supt. David Brown began his weekly press conference on Monday morning honoring the lost officers.

"Each department member was loved and cherished by their families and friends," Brown said. "They were respected and valued by their fellow officers and the people they served, and they selflessly served this city … and fought to make our communities safer."

John Catanzara, the president of Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 7, laid into Superintendent Brown and the department's policies canceling days off. Further, Catanzara said Brown failed to address officers at the morgue yesterday in support of Sergeant Dobda.

"[He] had nothing to say because he has no credibility to the men and women of the police department when it counts," Catanzara said. "He can say whatever he wants to the media because he can’t get challenged by the police officers, but nobody has any respect for that man who wears a uniform."

Though we don't have an official update after the recent deaths, a 2017 Justice Department report indicated the Chicago Police Department's suicide rate was 60% higher than the national average for police officers. That statistic is likely to have increased in recent years, particularly after these most recent cases. The research is not official, but a review by WBEZ reporter Chip Mitchell and others at WBEZ indicated that there have been at least 16 suicides by Chicago Police Officers since 2018.

The city encourages employees and their family members suffering from emotional distress to contact counseling services through the Employee Assistance Program, which can be reached at (312) 743-0378.

The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline offers help to those in crisis at (800) 273-8255.

Just two days ago, on Saturday, July 16, people experiencing a mental health crisis have a new way to reach out for help in the United States. Modeled after 911, the new three-digit 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline is designed to be a memorable and quick number that connects people who are suicidal or in any other mental health crisis to a trained mental health professional.

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