COLONIAL HEIGHTS, Va. — September 26 marks Law Enforcement Suicide Awareness Day, which looks to honor the service of officers who died by suicide and raise awareness that help is available.
Research shows that law enforcement officers, as well as firefighters, are more likely to die from suicide than in the line of duty.
Ashley Sharp of the Emporia Police Department wears a special bracelet in remembrance of Leo Pasada, who died by suicide at age 36 in 2020.
“He was my best friend, and the way he went out is horrible,” Sharp said. “No one knew he was struggling as much as he was.”
WTVRJacqueline Hernandez first met Pasada while they were students at the police academy. She keeps a flyer for his memorial service by her desk at work.
“We knew some of his struggles that he was having on a personal level, but not to that extent where he felt he had to take his own life,” Hernandez said.
From 2016 to 2022, there were 1,287 public safety personnel, which includes law enforcement officers and corrections officers, who died by suicide, according to a report from earlier this year.