Another reason to screen law enforcers: if they realize how awful their behaviors are, they may commit suicide. That’s bad for everyone. Only early intervention can increase the odds of preventing this sort of tragedy.
Runner-up for top story of the month:
San Diego motorcycle officer David Hall, a 14-year veteran, dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound at age 41. Hall was off duty in February when he (allegedly) struck another car and fled the scene. The married father of three was later arrested and, while on paid administrative leave awaiting trial, ordered by a judge to attend AA meetings. There can be little doubt that officer Hall’s suicide was preceded by dozens if not hundreds of incidents for which close people or the law—or his employer—could have intervened, but either didn’t or didn’t do so adequately. “Adequately,” once someone has proven to society he can’t safely drink or use, requires court-monitored ankle bracelets for the detection of alcohol and regular and random testing for other drugs, including addictive use of legal pharmaceuticals, with failure leading to certain jail time. Such coerced abstinence is obviously overdue: several other officers in the same department have recently been accused of serious misconduct, including spousal abuse, stalking, excessive force and rape. This tragic suicide, following the death of Thomas Kelly at the hands of six Fullerton police officers (which is an ongoing investigation; see the top story in the last issue of TAR), provides yet another reason why law enforcers should be regularly screened for addiction: for their own safety as well as that of others. Ironically, Hall had served on specialized narcotics and parole apprehension teams before becoming a motorcycle cop. The addictionologist would wonder about the goings-on that might have caused him to be transferred from such teams and ask, “Just what did the San Diego Police Department know, and when?