A Texas community is mourning after authorities said four current and former deputies with the Harris County Sheriff’s Office (HCSO) died by apparent suicide within a matter of weeks.
The deaths occurred over a period of six weeks, Fox New reported on Saturday, stating the first tragedy occurred on February 6 when retired Deputy Long Nguyen died by apparent suicide.
“Deputy Christina Kohler, who had been missing for more than a week, was found dead by apparent suicide on March 13,” the outlet continued:
Three days later, former Deputy Maria Vasquez’s body was discovered. The Houston Medical Examiner ruled that Vasquez, who retired from the agency in December, died by apparent suicide.
On March 19, retired Deputy William Bozeman also died by apparent suicide after 24 years at the Harris County Sheriff’s Office.
HCSO Director of Behavioral Health Division Thomas D. McNeese told People on Friday the entire department has felt the devastating losses.
“These tragedies serve as a somber reminder of the importance of prioritizing mental health and well-being for our staff,” he said. “Recent events underscore the need to continue strengthening and reinforcing our agency’s ongoing efforts to support our team’s mental health and resilience.”
In a social media post on Friday, Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez said he received a call from Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Director Kash Patel “extending condolences” following the tragedies.
“I’ve heard from colleagues both near and far, we’re sincerely touched by the outpouring of support,” Gonzalez wrote:
In a subsequent post, Gonzalez said, “We’re still in the initial stage of grief and doing our best to hold each other up. In times like these, we come together to learn from these tragedies, console one another, and offer help and support. As with other tragedies, such as line-of-duty deaths, injuries, and shootings, suicide impacts us all.”
During an interview with KHOU 11, Houston Police Officers’ Union President Douglas Griffith said what officers see on a daily basis can sometimes be an extremely heavy burden:
“There may have been signs that we had missed. And then that torments us,” he explained.
