After Husbands' Suicides, 'Best Widow Friends' Want Police Officers To Reach For Help

Article excerpts from:
After Husbands' Suicides, 'Best Widow Friends' Want Police Officers To Reach For Help
NPR
June 9, 2019
[NICOLE RIKARD] got a phone call from one of John's lieutenants. "Well, John is gone. And it appears to be self-inflicted," the lieutenant told her. "And I said, 'What the f*** are you talking about?'" Nicole says that the night before, she and John had talked about their weekend plans...
KRISTEN CLIFFORD... "I went inside and I saw a bunch of notes. His police identification, his driver's license, everything laid out very neatly, methodically. ... And I ran down the hallway to our bedroom and the door was closed. And there was a note on it that said, 'I did it. Do not enter. Call 911.'"...
MELISSA SWAILES... "That haunts me, that image of seeing the person that you love more than anything... That man slowly became a different person"...
ERIN GIBSON... "There was trouble in the marriage because he was drinking a lot at the end"... He had been named in a lawsuit... "And this ate him alive. So whenever he was home he was drinking... I have memories of him pacing the floors just pacing, pacing, pacing, back and forth. And it was frightening"...
The women hope that by speaking openly about their husbands, they can help remove some of the stigma and encourage police officers to seek regular mental counseling. Melissa says it should be routine, like officers regularly training with firearms... [Full article here]

Wife. Officer.
Erin Gibson. Sgt. Liberty Lake WA Police officer Clint Gibson
Melissa Swailes. Los Angeles CA Police officer David Swailes
Kristen Clifford. Nassau County NY Police Officer Steve Clifford of New York.
Nicole Rikard. Asheville NC Police Sgt. John Rikard.
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