The Chicago Police Deputy Chief Dion Boyd, a 30-year veteran of the force, had received a lucrative promotion in July, and less than two weeks later, was found dead in an apparent suicide. He was found Tuesday morning at the Woman Square facility on the West Side.
“I am extremely saddened to share with you today the loss of a respected member of our command staff to suicide. We are shocked, saddened at the loss, and it’s deeply felt by me and the many colleagues and friends with whom Deputy Chief Dion Boyd worked and mentored throughout his career,” Chicago Police Supt. David Brown said Tuesday afternoon.
Police sources told the investigators that his colleagues were trying unsuccessfully to reach him on his cell phone. Coworkers then discovered Boyd, a father of two sons, in his office dead.
Deputy Chief Dion Boyd had been promoted to Deputy Chief of CPD’s Criminal Networks Group.The group oversees the narcotics, gang investigation, and vice divisions. They also play a role in the CPD/FBI Violent Crimes Task Force. He had decades of experience as a homicide detective and undercover narcotics officer.
“The job of a Chicago police officer is not easy, particularly in a time where there is intensified stress. Everyday life can seem insurmountable at times for anyone, but for police officers the stakes are even higher due to the tireless work that they do to safeguard others,” Brown said.
Democratic Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot also shared her own sadness about Boyd’s untimely passing, even though she’s been trying to defund him the last few months.
“Deputy Chief Boyd called the Chicago Police Department his home for more than 30 years, proudly serving the South Side as Commander of Area 1 and the 2nd District, along with numerous other roles. This devastating loss will not only be felt at every level of this Department, but in the countless communities and homes Deputy Chief Boyd touched during his decades-long service to our city,” Lightfoot tweeted.
Of course this is all because the police officers have been left with no support from her. I can’t speak for Boyd’s actions but it’s safe to say him, along with all of his law enforcement brothers and sisters, have been hit hard mentally for how the community has treated them. The police officers’ hands have been tied, causing extreme stress and to the point where they’ve felt helpless. The senseless violence we have witnessed daily in Chicago is blood on her hands.
In 2017, the U.S Justice Department reported that the city’s suicide rate among its police officers was at least 60% higher when compared to the average 18.1 officers per 100,000 across the nation. Improvements and expansions are needed in mental health services available to officers, specifically in the Chicago area.
It is time Mayor Lightfoot does her city a big favor and resigns from her post. Or at least take a look in the mirror. Her and every other Democratic Mayor demonizing the men and women in blue.
