[CT] Officer Bialoglowy - a sad goodbye

 Officer Philip Bialoglowy

"He didn't need to be a hero. He really loved helping people out of difficult situations."

...officers learn to swallow emotions as part of the job... And they can be reluctant to even talk with their peers about problems they may be having. So when an officer commits suicide, often people didn’t know there was a problem...

WINSTED OFFICER'S DEATH A SUICIDE
Waterbury Republican-American
By Brigitte Ruthman
February 13, 2010
[Excerpts] Philip "P.J." Bialoglowy was a cop's cop, the one other officers turned to in difficult situations. Shock and sadness rippled through this town of 10,000... He had failed to report to work and did not respond to voice or text messages... "He was tactful. He knew how to stabilize a situation, and had a calming influence," said former longtime Fire Chief Joseph Beadle. "He knew where his boundaries were, when to turn over a situation to someone else in emergency services. He didn't need to be a hero. He really loved helping people out of difficult situations." A seasoned officer with more than a dozen years of experience as a patrolman, Bialoglowy also had worked for several years as a paramedic for Campion Ambulance. He kept up his emergency medical certification of his own accord on the chance it might prove useful... [Full article here]


UNTIMELY DEATH OF WINSTED OFFICER IS INVESTIGATED
Torrington Register Citizen
Ronald Derosa, Elisabeth Strillacci
Published: Saturday, February 13, 2010
[Excerpts] State police trooper Karen O’Connor confirmed that state police are handling the investigation into an “untimely death” in Winsted, but said the investigation is not criminal and the community has no reason to be concerned about safey. She said the death does involve a police officer... Mayor Candy Perez said she was informed that the crime squad and the state police are investigating an “untimely death” at the property. Perez referred all other inquiries to the state police. Mark Kirschner, Chief Administrative office for Behavioral Health Consultants out of Hamden, is a psychologist who works specifically with police officers and police departments across Connecticut, and who knows that police officers have a higher than normal rate of alcoholism, divorce and suicide. “Police officers are two to three times more likely to have problems with alcohol, and the divorce rate among police officers is about 75 percent,” said Kirschner. “Substance abuse and divorce are risk factors for anyone, but for police officers, the likelihood is higher and there are often multiple risk factors.” In addition, he said, officers learn to swallow emotions as part of the job. Required to remain professional in all kinds of stressful situations, they learn not to talk about their feelings or the effects of the job stress at home. “They don’t use the family as a relief the way many of us do,” he said. “And they can be reluctant to even talk with their peers about problems they may be having. So when an officer commits suicide, often people didn’t know there was a problem.” Kirschner said that he couldn’t cite specific numbers, but that officers commonly use their own service weapon to commit suicide “because it’s readily available. Which is a risk of its own, that they have the weapon at hand.” He said that over time, Employee Assistance Programs or EAPs, in which officers are trained as peer counselors for fellow officers, try to educate participants about warning flags, like a divorce or a disciplinary action... [Full article here]
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