THE BADGE OF LIFE

We are a group of active and retired police officers, medical professionals and surviving families of suicides from the United States and Canada. We have suffered the worst that posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) brings—the hopelessness, the despair, the flashbacks, the attempts at suicide, the nightmares and insomnia, the hypervigilence, anxiety and terror. Among us are victims of both critical incident and cumulative PTSD. Our families have suffered the loss of a loved one to police suicide.

We found that many departments still lack adequate suicide prevention programs. More importantly, even those aren't enough.

The cornerstone of our Badge of Life program is an entirely new approach to suicide prevention, called the "Emotional Self-Care Program" (ESC). After reading about it, contact us and we will be happy to send you additional information on how you can impact police suicide numbers, create a healthier police force, improve the quality of service, and enhance officer safety.


	Commissioner Julian Fantino, (ret.) Ontario Provincial Police, Badge of Life Guest Speaker. After the terrible loss of Eddie Adamson, he now looks back on other police suicides with a mix of feelings.



Andy O'Hara checking out a new CHP car, filming for the Code 9 documentary


Board member Walt Narr, retired police captain. Walt and Leona (seated) lost their police officer son to suicide.

Joel Faye, West Coast Posttrauma Retreat, on camera for the Code 9 documentary


Dep. Direct Richard Levenson, Psy.D.

Everything we do at Badge of life is free.

"It's not just about suicide." It's about mental health for all police officers. Rather than waiting until an officer is in crisis to act, we teach them how to stay out of emotional trouble in the first place.


	California Peer Support Association Annual Conference, featuring a full lineup of Badge of Life speakers.


John Violanti, lecturing with Badge of Life

Our program came after long discussion and research. We undertook a two-year study, with Dr, John Violanti of the University of Buffalo, to determine once and for all how many police suicides were happening each year. It put to rest some of the outlandish figures previously being used.

We do support traditional suicide prevention programs, but they aren't enough. To that end, we have developed our program of Emotional Self-Care" (ESC) training and Mental Health Checks for officers from the "cradle to the grave."

Free. They don't belong to us--they belong to the officers.


Board member Dick Augusta greets California Highway Patrol Commissioner Joe Farrow and CHP Chief Susan Coutts at the State Capitol.

WHY? What's in it for your department?

Much. Your results will be measured not in reduced suicides, but in fewer lawsuits, citizen complaints, sick leave, alcoholism, tardiness, grievances, reckless behaviors, and more.

Healthier officers are more alert--more likely to survive attack by criminals, and less prone to accidents.

Badge of Life Police Suicide Group founders Dick Augusta and Andy O'Hara

Dick Augusta and Andy O'Hara. co-founders


Janice McCarthy discusses whether or not police work itself can go beyond PTSD and lead to suicide.


Andy O'Hara at 2011 Fraternal Order of Police Conference, Salt Lake City

It's no longer enough to say, "Get help when you need it."

We need to say, "Get help BEFORE you need it!"


Andy with Code 9 documentary producers Deborah Ortiz and Lisa Edwards

Dick Augusta at California Highway Patrol


Dr. John Violanti, Janice McCarthy, CPSA President Maxine Lynch, Commissioner (ret.) Julian Fantino (Ontario Provincial Police), Andy O'Hara

Working lunch