On April 3, 2024, Celal Cenker Surgit, a 54-year-old off-duty Chicago Police Department officer, was found dead in his home. The incident occurred in the West Ridge neighborhood, where officers responded to a well-being check and found Surgit unresponsive around 2:45 p.m. in a home located on the 7400 block of North California Avenue.
Surgit, who had spent nearly 20 years with the Chicago Police Department, was pronounced dead at the scene.
The Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office identified him and later determined that his death was due to a self-inflicted gunshot wound, ruling it a suicide.
This tragic event is part of a larger trend of suicides within the Chicago Police Department. In recent years, the department has faced criticism for not providing adequate mental health support to its officers. A city inspector general report released at the end of 2022 highlighted shortfalls in the department's mental health resources, and a 2017 U.S. Justice Department report indicated that Chicago police officers have a suicide rate 60% higher than the national law enforcement average.
The Chicago Police Department currently has 18 counselors providing mental health services to its approximately 11,600 members, which falls short of the department's goal of having one counselor in each of its 22 districts. This shortage has been a point of concern given the recent tragedies involving officer suicides.
