Brother of Chicago police officer who died by suicide urges CPD to do more to help those in crisis
CHICAGO (CBS) – She was a dedicated Chicago police officer and loving mom who tragically took her own life earlier this month.
Officer Patsy Swank was the first of three Chicago police officers lost to suicide in a little over two weeks. Her brother, Ryan Clancy told CBS 2's Megan Hickey he blames the culture at the Chicago Police Department and demanded change from the department's top brass.
Clancy said regular 12-hour shifts and canceled days off didn't give his sister the time she needed to get help.
"She was exhausted," said Clancy. "She was out-worked, but the one thing that kept her going was going home to see that little boy."
Clancy said his sister wanted to be a police officer so badly that she kept her pregnancy a secret while she was going through the police academy.
"(She) didn't tell anyone, didn't complain about it," Clancy said. "She wanted it so bad. She wanted to serve others."
Clancy said Swank's 5-year-old son Scottie was her world. But in the days and weeks before the 29-year-old officer took her life on July 2, Swank worked 22 days in a row and 12-hour shifts had become the norm.
"I'm angry," Clancy said in his eulogy of his sister's funeral, during which he criticized the Chicago Police Department for giving officers mental health resource, but no time to use them.
"We are not even giving them time off to process what they see," he added.
Soon after Swank's funeral, a 42-year-old officer also took his own life, following by a 47-year-old police sergeant who died on Sunday.
"Three officers in two weeks now," Clancy said. "I mean, this city is in a crisis."
"Each of their loses is a tragedy," said Chicago Police Superintendent David Brown during a press conference on Monday.
While these cases are complex and we don't always know the reasons, Brown said he agrees that the city is in a crisis. He listed the different types of faith-based counseling, peer support, and employee assistance programs available for officers and their families.
"We need to do more as a culture and a department by making every individual responsible for well-being," said Dr. Robert Sobo, the director of the department's employee assistance program.
Sobo said the department has 11 licensed clinicians. Another one starts Friday and two more will start in August.
But Swank's brother said it's not enough.
"To our mayor and superintendent: You need to do something because I'm not going to go away," Clancy said. "I'm not going to let my sister be forgotten."
CBS 2 learned Monday that four aldermen, with the support of Swank's family, will hold a press conference on Wednesday to call for hearings to address mental health challenges being faced by Chicago police officers.
A spokesperson for Ald. Silvana Tabares' (23rd) office said we'll get more details on their plan then.