Mayor announces expansion of mental health services in response to Buffalo police suicides

May 5—An undisclosed number of Buffalo police officer suicides in recent years has prompted city officials to create a new position in the department aimed at bolstering mental health and wellness within the ranks.

Mayor Byron W. Brown and Police Commissioner Joseph A. Gramaglia on Friday announced that Officer Matt Cross, a five-year member of the force, has been appointed as full-time coordinator of the department's otherwise all-volunteer peer team that reaches out to officers in emotional crisis.

"They do work that is extremely challenging, and the everyday job of a Buffalo police officer is very difficult and very dangerous," Brown said at a news conference in the police department's Court Street headquarters.

"We have experienced a situation where over the years there have been some officer suicides," Brown added. "For family sensitivity, we are not going to put a number on it, but it is a major concern that is very heartfelt by all of us."

All of the volunteers on the peer team are trained in what is called critical incident debriefing, Gramaglia said.

"If there is a critical incident, a specific trauma, something that occurs, they work at an offsite location at a predetermined time after the incident occurs. They have reasons for that. They bring them in in a closed session and these peer team members are trained to help them work through, discuss what the issue was, what the trauma was that they experienced and try to help them through that, and then they get them any additional resources that they need and direct them where they need to go beyond that," Gramaglia said.

Cross' job will focus on coordinating with police officers and getting them the resources they need to maintain mental health and wellness, he added.

"We know that when our officers are healthy and well they are better to themselves, first and foremost, they're better to their families and they are better out on the street working and serving the community," Gramaglia said.

A U.S. Justice Department program known as SAFLEO, or Suicide Awareness for Law Enforcement Officers, also will be evaluating BPD programs and offering training.

South District Council Member Chris Scanlon said Friday's announcement was bittersweet because it comes on the heels of tremendous loss in the police department.

"The peer team and the members who have been doing it all on a volunteer basis and have been doing a fabulous job reaching out to officers, checking in on them," Scanlon said. "Now, having someone who can do this on a full-time basis and coordinate with those volunteer members of the peer team, it's a tremendous first step in addressing these mental health concerns, but it's not the final step, by any means. We have to continue to look out for these officers and eventually expand this to look out for other first responders within the City of Buffalo."

Cross begins his new job on Monday. He said the position will allow him to continue building the peer team to focus on being more progressive and proactive in reaching out to officers.

"This is a very difficult job to leave and go home to and not take it home with you. So equipping our members with the ability to cope and deal with certain things they see on the job, knowing they have avenues to reach out to is going to be the biggest thing from our standpoint," Cross said.

Anyone contemplating self-harm can call the 24-hour National Suicide Prevention Hotline at 800-273-8255.

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