This episode discusses suicide, trauma, depression, and cumulative stress. If you've lost a colleague, friend, or loved one, or if these topics are personally difficult, please listen at your own pace. If you recognize yourself in this conversation, asking for help is a sign of courage, not weakness — and you are not alone.
Welcome back to Just Breathe for part two of our three-part series, The Lives We Don't Talk About. Part one honored the lives lost to first responder suicide and challenged the culture around it; this episode goes inside the research, exploring the psychological autopsy — the method used to understand why an officer died by suicide, and how that understanding drives prevention.
Dr. Tracie L. Keesee is joined by Dr. Jeff Thompson, a retired NYPD detective who served more than two decades, including as the department's first-ever mental health and wellness coordinator and as a hostage negotiator. He's now an Adjunct Associate Research Scientist in Psychiatry at Columbia University Irving Medical Center, where his work on police psychological autopsies has become a leading resource for suicide prevention in public safety.
WHAT WE COVER
- What a psychological autopsy actually is: a scientific, interview-based method for understanding why an officer died by suicide — grounded in honoring the person and generating prevention data, never in assigning blame.
- The five critical questions behind every psychological autopsy: why that person, why by that method, why that day, why didn't protective factors intervene, and what could have helped.
- Why "why that day" is often the most revealing question — a recurring stressor, like an on-and-off relationship, can suddenly become the tipping point after years of surviving it.
- Why over 90% of police suicides involve a firearm, and what that says about the role of access to lethal means in prevention.
- How depression can show up as anger outbursts and lost impulse control rather than visible sadness — and why that gets misread as a disciplinary problem instead of a warning sign.
- Why direct and indirect suicidal statements ("I don't want to wake up," "there's no way out of this") both call for the same direct follow-up question, and how to actually ask it.
- Why loved ones interviewed for a psychological autopsy often describe the process itself as part of their healing, even though it can't undo what happened.
- Why social connectedness outside of work — with people who have nothing to do with the job — is one of the strongest protective factors against the isolation that precedes suicide.
RESOURCES MENTIONED
If you or someone you know is in immediate danger or considering suicide, call or text 988 to reach the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline.
- CopLine — 1-800-267-5463 (1-800-COPLINE) — a confidential, 24/7 peer support hotline staffed by retired law enforcement, for active and retired officers and their families.
- Safe Call Now — (206) 459-3020 — a confidential, peer-based referral service for public safety professionals and their families.
- Your agency's peer support team or Employee Assistance Program can also connect you directly to these resources.
ABOUT DR. JEFF THOMPSON
Dr. Jeff Thompson is a retired NYPD detective who spent more than two decades with the department, including serving as its first-ever mental health and wellness coordinator and as a hostage negotiator. He is now an Adjunct Associate Research Scientist in Psychiatry at Columbia University Irving Medical Center, focused on evidence-based strategies for resilience, crisis response, and suicide prevention in law enforcement. He is a leading voice on using psychological autopsies to understand and prevent first responder suicide, with research published in outlets including Police Chief magazine.
ABOUT THE JUST BREATHE PODCAST
Just Breathe with Dr. Tracie L. Keesee is a leadership platform for first responders and public safety professionals. Each episode explores how leadership, judgment, accountability, and wellness are shaped by the internal state of the leader making the decision — on the street, in the command staff meeting, and at home. New episodes drop every other week.
Control the breath. Control the moment.
If you are a first responder or public safety professional struggling right now: call or text 988, or call CopLine at 1-800-267-5463 — both are confidential and staffed by people who understand this work.