WA Police force rocked by two suicide tragedies in the space of two weeks

WA Police has been plunged into mourning after two serving officers — including a sergeant who ran his own station — took their own lives in the past fortnight. The West can reveal the sergeant, who was based in the Great Southern, died on Tuesday night. At the request of his family, The West has chosen not to name the 30-year veteran. The other officer died about June 20. It’s understood he had also served in the Great Southern but had most recently worked in Perth as a traffic officer. In a statement, his family said they were facing unbearable pain and encouraged anyone who needed help to seek it out. “If you need help or you know someone who does — speak up,” they said. “It is not weak to speak. “We have lost a much-loved son, brother, uncle, grandson and nephew and the community has lost a dedicated police officer. Our beautiful boy had his whole life ahead of him.” Their deaths has prompted an outpouring of grief within and outside of the force. But it has also raised serious questions about whether enough is being done to support the mental wellbeing of officers on the frontline, amid fears some specialist squads are being pushed to breaking point as more officers are assigned to COVID-related duties. WA Police Commissioner Chris Dawson said the dual tragedies had reinforced the bond between serving officers. He said as much support was being offered to the men’s families as possible. “When it’s our own people it really does reinforce this bond ... that we actually proactively reach out to each other,” Mr Dawson said. “It’s actually just working amongst your mates and making sure that we are doing OK and not being at all timid about seeking professional help. “We can all be stoic but we’re as human as everyone else and we can have the right training and all those sorts of things but we have to confront the reality.” Mr Dawson said WA Police was always striving to care for its workforce as best as possible. He agreed officers were under “extraordinary” pressure due to COVID-19. But he said he did not believe the pandemic response played a factor in their deaths. “These are extraordinary times and it has required an extraordinary level of effort by police across the State,” he said. “I have no contest with trying to counter a position to say that police officers are working very hard, they are. “The reality is that we are now 16 months into the State of Emergency and it has gone on a lot longer than I think anyone anticipated and that is a fact.” Police officers canvassed in recent days by The West Australian said they were being “stretched to the max” because many of their colleagues had been assigned COVID-19 related tasks. “We are so under-resourced, overworked and dealing with very sad and tragic investigations,” one detective said. Another high-ranking officer said: “We all bleed blue, and when one of our brothers or sisters resorts to these measures it affects us all.” Blue Hope, an organisation formed to help police officers with mental health issues, confirmed it was offering support to WA officers who’d been left devastated by the men’s deaths. Bluehope.org.au Lifeline 13 11 14 Beyond Blue 1300 224 636