Cop Takes Own Life on UWS; Second NYPD Suicide This Year

Another New York City police officer was found dead after an apparent fatal self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head.

Police said that Gregory Purvis, who was stationed in the 30th Pct in Harlem was found unresponsive in his apartment at 609 W. 186th St. shortly before 2 p.m. on Aug. 20. EMS responded and pronounced him dead at the scene. He was 30 years old and had been a police officer since 2020.

Purvis was discovered by his patrol partner who had gone to check on him at his apartment, according to the NY Post. Purvis parked his car near the Upper Manhattan apartment building in Fort George where he died. His partner arrived and when he peeked through a window saw him lying in a pool of blood on the floor.

A GoFundMe page to help the Purvis family pay for funeral costs was started by Dominic Gaudio, an officer who served in the 30th Pct with the slain officer. It had raised over $12,000 by Aug. 23.

The Bronx chapter of the National Latina Peace Officer Association released a statement extending “our deepest condolences to the family, friends, and colleagues of PO Gregory J. Purvis from the 30th Precinct, who tragically took his own life on 08/20/2024.

“Mental health struggles are real, and it’s important that we support one another during these difficult times,” the NLPOA statement read. “If you or someone you know is struggling, please reach out—there is always help available.”

NYPD Deputy Commissioner of Operations Kaz Daughtry confirmed Purvis’ death by suicide. “We lost another brother to the trauma of this work,” NYPD Deputy Commissioner of Operations Kaz Daughtry wrote on the evening of Aug. 20. “To the men and women who wear the uniform, please know that there are always, always people willing to listen about the bad days, about the days that hit too close to home. We all experience periods of darkness, but your brothers and sisters and the mental health professionals in this department can be and will be the rays of light that will get you through the darkest night.”

“This job takes a toll on you,” Daughtry continued. “You call the police for the worst moments of your life. Our officers respond to those calls and help you in those terrible moments. But then, when that moment is over for you, our officers go to the next call for help, the next victim having the next traumatizing moment, and then the next, and the next; and then they go home and try to have a normal life, managing all the trauma they’ve been exposed to, and wake up to do it again.”

Police suicides have been a growing crisis in the NYPD. In 2019, in one of the worst years on record, ten NYPD took their own lives, including one tragic three-week stretch in which four officers took their own lives. The then-NYPD Commissioner James O’Neill declared a “mental health crisis” and took steps to make mental health services more available to officers.

First H.E.L.P., a nonprofit that seeks to help first responders deal with mental health problems called on the NYPD to do still more.

“[The NYPD] have the resources to do this, to stop this problem, to stop the stigma,” said Karen Thomspon, co-founder and president of First H.E.L.P. “This is happening every day, every year. The numbers are not going down.”

Thompson said although her organization’s data only reflect two fallen NYPD officers who took their own lives this year, “the general public needs to understand this is happening far more frequently than what the NYPD shows.”

Beyond the Badge NY, another mental health organization for police said that post-traumatic stress and depression rates are five times higher among police officers than in the general civilian population. The organization said that a police officer is three times’ more likely to lose his or her life due to suicide than losing their life in a line of duty death. Only five percent of US law enforcement agencies have suicide prevention programs, they said.

Michelle Panetta, a former probation officer, co-founded Beyond the Badge NY to remind other cops that the world is a better place with them in it, she said.

“Many people often tell us, ‘You signed up for this,’ but we did not,” she said. “We may all be in the same storm as officers but we are not in the same boat. Everyone is fighting a battle inside that no one knows about.”

Panetta said the last four years have been particularly stressful for NYPD officers. While she said officers sign up to serve and protect— “to be the good guy,” she said today is a “lawless time.” The current climate puts cops in fear of being killed injured in the line of duty or sued for the job they do.

“This job takes a lot from all who wear the uniform on a daily basis,” she said. “We see more than anyone can ever imagine, we hear the screams and cries for days, if not months, after certain calls we respond to.”

Dr. Jennifer Paruk, a spokesperson for the New Jersey Gun Violence Research Center (GVRC), said law enforcement personnel’s access to firearms are directly associated with an increased risk of suicide. She said that 90 percent of those suicide attempts committed with firearms are fatal.

“Law enforcement officers can experience many stressors on the job, including responding to suicides and other traumatic incidents. It is clear that officers are at increased risk for suicidal thoughts and behaviors,” she said.

Paruk is a postdoctoral fellow at Rutgers University, where the GVRC is located. The New Jersey-based research facility has partnered with New York to research different ways to shift the narrative on gun access during times of stress.

“So, just like asking someone to hold your keys if you’re drinking, we suggest temporarily reducing access to firearms during times of stress,” she said.

The GVRC created a map for New Yorkers who own guns, instructing where they can temporarily, safely and legally store their firearms if experiencing a crisis.

“Officer Purvis, and any officer who has died by suicide, should be remembered for all the good they did while on this earth,” Panetta said. “His four years of unwavering dedication and selflessness to protecting people he didn’t know daily should never go unnoticed.”

If you are struggling with suicidal thoughts or are experiencing a mental health crisis and live in New York City, you can call 1-888-NYC-WELL for free and confidential crisis counseling. If you live outside the five boroughs, you can dial the 24/7 National Suicide Prevention hotline at 988 or go to SuicidePreventionLifeline.org.