Backing the Blue with Science: What Research Says About Preventing Police Suicide

Modified American Flags with blue stripes do nothing against what is responsible for most law enforcement deaths.

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Not too long ago, . He told her he “had her six,” meaning he watched her back. At that time, the national narrative in right-wing circles in the United States was that police officers were being hunted down. By whom? No one knew for sure, but they insinuated that the same people who were asking for police accountability in cases of abuse of power were also trying to kill cops at random.

The story of the kid at the gas station went viral, with people asking why more of us don’t respect the police in the same way. Essentially, people were asking why more of us don’t protect the police as they’re pumping gas. (, hence the young man “protecting” the cop in the story above.) While I hate to use the Socratic method in discussions, I had to answer those questions with a question of my own: “Why aren’t we doing more to prevent police officer suicide?”

Before we go any further, please know that you can …