Respecting our nine lost officers and their survivors

We begin by extending our respect and our appreciation to the families, friends and colleagues of the nine police members whose untimely deaths by suicide during one single year became the catalyst for our Review Panel.  We know it cannot have been easy for these survivors to share their grief alongside their generous and thoughtful observations on a system that was at times supportive, and too often flawed and frustrating. 

We want these survivors to know that we recognize their loved ones for the fullness of their lives.  Each of these nine individuals served the public.  Each of them committed themselves to high standards of professionalism.  Each of them chose and trained for a career filled with danger, stress, trauma and fatigue in order to keep our communities safer for all.  And, each of them also lived, laughed and enjoyed the loving company of their families, friends, neighbours and colleagues.

We decided early as a panel that we would not identify the nine by name, nor would we showcase any details of their life and passing.  Policing is much too small a community to do so without violating privacy.  But moreover, we chose to direct this report toward the future.  We chose to honour the nine by learning all that we can from their experience, and our results are presented as collective findings gathered from the individual as well as shared journeys of these fallen officers.  And, we hope that by joining with them in this manner, we might help to craft a legacy of better outcomes for all their brothers and sisters, present and future, who work within the policing system in Ontario, and beyond.

The charge given to us by the Chief Coroner was clear in this regard: "Nine officers died by suicide.  What would they and their survivors say should have been done differently?" 

Throughout our deliberations and through this report, we offer our best attempts to answer that question on their behalf.

Respectfully,

The Members of the Ontario Chief Coroner's Expert Panel on Police Officer Deaths by Suicide
September 2019