Four current or former Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department employees were found deceased in what law enforcement officials called “unrelated suicides.”
Authorities discovered the four individuals within a 24-hour timespan.
“The first victim was discovered Monday at around 10:30 a.m. in Valencia. A little more than two hours later, at 12:53 p.m., LASD detectives responded to another death in Lancaster and a third at 5:40 p.m. in Stevenson Ranch. The fourth victim was discovered Tuesday at around 7:30 a.m. in the city of Pomona,” KTLA 5 reports.
“We are stunned to learn of these deaths, and it has sent shock waves of emotions throughout the department as we try and cope with the loss of not just one, but four beloved active and retired members of our department family,” L.A. County Sheriff Robert Luna said in a statement, according to the Los Angeles Times.
“During trying times like these it’s important for personnel regardless of rank or position to check on the well-being of other colleagues and friends,” he added.
Four apparent suicide victims found within such a close timespan?
Some social media users found it hard to believe that the four tragic deaths are all ‘unrelated.’
Breaking: four police officers found dead separately in separate places at the same time and they said they all just committed sui**de and are all unrelated say authorities. I will bet my cat and my entire family they are related. What do you think? Coincidence or no?… pic.twitter.com/1kLaWN2BRJ
— Erin Elizabeth Health Nut News 🙌 (@unhealthytruth) November 8, 2023
The department’s Homicide Bureau will reportedly investigate the deaths.
“There is no indication that that the deaths were related or that foul play was involved, but department sources who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the ongoing investigation said the third and fourth deaths were discovered as word of the earlier deaths were spreading through the agency,” the Los Angeles Times added.
***Warning: This article discusses suicide.***
Four members of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department died by suicide within just two days, according to multiple reports.https://t.co/QnYttCTwoa
— KATU News (@KATUNews) November 8, 2023
From the Los Angeles Times:
Luna’s comments came a day after the suicides of one former and three current employees, which occurred within a 24-hour span that began Monday.
Among them was Cmdr. Darren Harris, who became a recognizable figure on TV news over a 25-year career during which he served as a chief department spokesperson. Harris was found dead in his home in Santa Clarita on Monday morning, according to multiple sources. He died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, said the sources, who agreed to speak with The Times on the condition of anonymity because his death hasn’t been publicly acknowledged.
Harris rose steadily through department ranks, with several stopovers in media relations, along with stints in which he oversaw the Transit Services Bureau and ran the Santa Clarita station.
Sometime after noon Monday, authorities found the body of Greg Hovland, a sergeant who worked in the Antelope Valley before his retirement, at his Quartz Hill home, according to the sources. Another employee was found dead shortly after sunset at a residence in Stevenson Ranch. The fourth death was reported at 7:30 a.m. Tuesday, when sheriff’s homicide detectives responded to a hospital in Pomona where an employee died from suicide.
Observers said the suicides underscored a long-standing problem for law enforcement officers across Los Angeles as elsewhere. In recent years, studies have shown that more officers have died by suicide than the number killed in the line of duty. Officers also have higher risks of suicide than the general population, a disparity that some researchers have attributed to the stresses of police work and heightened public scrutiny over recent high-profile law enforcement killings — combined with their easy access to firearms.
“The odds of four suicides happening in 48 hours is extremely unlikely and one has to wonder if there’s a connection between these multiple deaths,” journalist Liz Crokin commented.
She questioned if there’s more to this story.
Crokin writes:
FOUR LOS ANGELES SHERIFF’S OFFICIALS FOUND DEAD IN 48 HOUR PERIOD IN ALLEGED SUICIDES — WHAT’S REALLY GOING ON HERE?
Law enforcement officials found four Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department employees dead on Monday and Tuesday, in what officials described as unrelated suicides, according to multiple reports.
The deaths include one retired LASD member and three current members over a 24-hour period, according to KTLA. The first three victims were discovered on Monday, with the first victim being found dead at around 10:30 a.m. in Valencia; a second death was discovered at 12:53 p.m. in Lancaster; and a third death was reported at 5:40 p.m. in Stevenson Ranch. Detectives responded to the fourth victim Tuesday at around 7:30 a.m. in the city of Pomona, KTLA reported.
The odds of four suicides happening in 48 hours is extremely unlikely and one has to wonder if there’s a connection between these multiple deaths.
There’s been several members of the NYPD who have been murdered, committed suicide or died under suspicious circumstances over the past few years. In 2019, 10 NYPD officers committed suicide. Commissioner James O’Neill said on Oct. 9 in 2019 that more officers have died by suicide than in years prior.
In 2018, President Trump held a service for slain officers. He consoled the 90-year-old mother, Adrianna Valoy, of New York City Detective, Miosotis Familia, who died in the line of duty in 2017 after she was fatally shot by a “deranged” individual.
Trump led Valoy to the podium at the ceremony and said: “So I promised that I wouldn’t tell you that she’s 90-years-old, but you know what, she is really something right? You look like 55, maybe, 55? Boy I tell you what, you got up those stairs better than I did. Thank you sweetheart.”
Never forget: There are members of the NYPD who saw the contents of Anthony Weiner’s laptop that proved Hillary Clinton and associates were involved in crimes against children. Were any of these deaths or murders related to the Weiner laptop? We must demand answers!
Now that four officials from LA County’s Sheriff’s Department have allegedly committed suicide — one has to wonder if there is also more to this story.
FOUR LOS ANGELES SHERIFF’S OFFICIALS FOUND DEAD IN 48 HOUR PERIOD IN ALLEGED SUICIDES — WHAT’S REALLY GOING ON HERE?
Law enforcement officials found four Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department employees dead on Monday and Tuesday, in what officials described as unrelated… pic.twitter.com/T1zsIPwSYm
— LIZ CROKIN (@LizCrokin) November 8, 2023
KTLA 5 added:
The four deaths are being investigated by homicide detectives and the County of Los Angeles Medical Examiner, the department’s release noted.
“During trying times like these it’s important for personnel regardless of rank or position to check on the well-being of other colleagues and friends,” Luna said in his statement. “I have the deepest concern for our employees’ well-being, and we are urgently exploring avenues to reduce work stress factors to support our employees’ work and personal lives.”
LASD said its Psychological Services Bureau and the Injury and Health Support Unit were providing support and resources to the families of the four victims.
KTLA 5 aired this video report:
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