Suicide – It’s not all about YOU!

As a police officer I respond to violent and disturbing scenes on a daily basis.  Tonight was no exception.

The call comes out, “respond to censored to check on a man walking around the bridge over censored. Motorists report subject may be intoxicated”. Then a response from the first officer on scene, “dispatch, he jumped, start EMS”.

As the third officer on scene, I took the exit ramp to the highway, which led me right to the now deceased jumper.  According to witnesses, one being his best friend who tried to talk him off the bridge, the distraught man timed his jump so that he would land in front of a semi-tractor trailer.  What I saw sprawled about the highway will stay with me for quite some time.

As a police officer and former Marine, I’m not new to death scenes.  Having dealt with a wide range of situations in various parts of the world, involving some very disturbed individuals, there isn’t a lot that phases me.  I may even go so far as to say that I find it hard to feel sorry for someone who committs suicide.  However, feelings of anger are difficult to conceal and here’s why:

• Your wife showed up right after you jumped and saw you laying across various parts of the highway below her. Due to her mental state, she was later taken to the hospital for evaluation.
• The truck driver who struck you will never be the same.
• Your best friend, present when you jumped, will forever blame himself for not being able to stop it
• The city police, fire and EMS personnel were forced to look at your lifeless bloodied body, spread out in pieces for several hundred feet.
  
• Your suicide tied up a good portion of our department’s resources during the two hours that we had to block interstate traffic during the investigation.
• Chaplains were called away from their families to comfort all of the loved ones you left behind.

Suicide is not all about you!

Please consider all of the people who will be affected by your choice to end your life. Although I strongly encourage anyone who may be contemplating suicide to seek professional help, if you’re going to committ suicide, think about doing it with some discretion.  End your life in such a way as to minimize the impact it will have on the ones you leave behind.