Delco officers struggle with 3d suicide of officer

Police officers are the ones who are supposed to do the protecting, the ones with the tough veneers, the ones who are the strongest.

But for the third time in less than a month, a police officer in Delaware County has taken his life, sending ripples of concern throughout the law enforcement community.

The latest incident occurred Monday, when a Darby Borough police officer died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound in Ridley Park.

In the aftermath, police officials said Tuesday that they were taking measures to ensure that officers are aware of the help available to them.

"We are taking significant steps to make sure all of our officers get the services they need," said William Colarulo, police superintendent in Radnor, where Officer Robert "John" Miller, 34, a nine-year veteran, killed himself two weeks ago. Just two weeks earlier, a Lower Providence Township officer took his own life.

All the sergeants and corporals in Radnor are receiving extra training, Colarulo said. Every member of the department has been asked to attend a session moderated by specially trained police officers from other departments who have dealt with similar losses.

In the close-knit county law enforcement community, chiefs from other departments say they, too, are making sure officers know where and how to find help.

"We make the critical incident team available if anyone wants to talk about what happened," said Deputy Chief John Viola of Haverford Township. His department covered calls in Radnor in the days after Miller's death.

Viola said that while Haverford has peer counselors and a psychologist available, often officers will just talk with each other.

"Talking to another cop is sometimes the best medicine," said Viola.

Nether Providence Police Chief David Splain said that hearing the news about Miller - whom many of his officers knew - ripped the scab off an old wound. In 2008, a popular member of the department and one of the supervisors committed suicide, Splain said.

"You can tell six years after the fact, people are still affected by the event," said Splain.

In the last two weeks, Splain, who was not at the department at the time of that tragedy, said he has talked to every officer and supervisor to make sure everyone is OK and let them know they can get help.

For Splain, checking in with his officers to see how they are doing will become the new normal.

"I don't think you can let your guard down," he said.

While his department has not experienced a recent suicide, Deputy Chief John C. Myrsiades of Plymouth Township, Montgomery County, is well-acquainted with the effects of an officer's death. He said he has spent the last two years "just keeping an eye on the guys" since Officer Brad Fox was killed while chasing a suspect.

Mindful of the stigma against officers' asking for help, the department took the decisions out of the officers' hands and within days mandated group counseling for every member of the department, Myrsiades said.

"We were all hurting, and the officers were glad for the opportunity," he said.

Joseph Daly, police chief in Springfield Township, Delaware County, has known at least six fellow officers who died at their own hands. "You never see it coming," he said.

Officer suicide is a national problem, Daly said. Across the nation, more police officers have taken their own life than have died in the line of duty, according to a 2013 journal article.

"I don't know of any police department in the county that doesn't have crisis intervention - for their own department," said Daly.

Chester City officers are offered help after stressful events, such as officer-involved shootings, said Otis Blair, deputy commissioner. In addition, the department has a close relationship with local clergy who respond to crime scenes.

At the end of the day, police have to deal with some of the same ups and downs, trials and tribulations, as anyone else, said Blair.

"We are human, too," Blair said.

610-313-8111 @MariSchaefer