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‘There really is a stigma': Police officers in Mass. fear consequences for seeking mental health care, survey finds

'He was talking about, if I go into this appointment today and they catch that I'm anxious, they'll take me off the road,' she said, sitting in the living room of the Franklin home they used to share. 'He really thought they could come take his uniform.' O'Neil's death represents O'Neil is one of more than 900 law enforcement officers across the country who have died by suicide since 2019, according to First H.E.L.P., an Auburn-based advocacy group for first responders' mental health. Advertisement POST surveyed 59 police unions across the state, asking about their members' behavioral health. Nearly half said their officers did not feel comfortable seeking help; 24 percent reported moderate comfort; 17 percent high comfort; and 14 percent were unsure. Advertisement Overwhelmingly, the unions said that stigma around mental illness and fear of career consequences were the biggest barriers to officers using mental health services. About 40 percent also expressed concern about POST, which certifies every officer in the state. 'Survey responses indicated that officers are hesitant to seek behavioral health services, in part, due to fear of certification consequences by the Commission,' the survey authors wrote. The POST Commission will not deny recertification to officers based on a psychological or physical exam, according to agency spokeswoman Alia Spring. Rather, she wrote in response to a Globe inquiry, the commission seeks to help agencies support their officers' well-being. 'Supporting the health of police officers is critical given the hazards associated with the profession,' POST Commission executive director Enrique Zuniga said in a statement. 'The survey confirms the existence and utilization of important programs, underscores the fact that multiple parties play a role in this effort, and provides some initial insights as to the opportunities to further the goal of enhancing physical and behavioral health.' Police departments in Massachusetts provide officers with a variety of mental health supports, including employee assistance programs, peer support teams, and confidential counseling, said Michael J. Bradley Jr., executive director of the Massachusetts Chiefs of Police Association. The association also encourages agencies to reduce stigma by openly discussing mental health, ensuring confidentiality in support services, and training officers to recognize signs of stress in themselves and their colleagues. 'While we recognize the progress being made, we also understand that stigma remains a significant barrier for officers seeking these vital services, much like it does in the general population,' Bradley wrote in a statement. 'Our organization is committed to fostering a cultural shift that encourages seeking help and supports officers in making their mental health a priority.' Advertisement Law enforcement officers are 54 percent more likely to die by suicide than workers in other occupations, according to a Molly O'Neil, whose husband was a state trooper who died by suicide, photographed in her home. Suzanne Kreiter/Globe Staff For the O'Neil family, those statistics became a shattering reality on Feb. 25, 2016. When Chris O'Neil didn't come home after his shift, his wife said she called every hospital she could think of, asking if a trooper was in their emergency room. At 9:30 p.m., she looked out of her bedroom window and saw headlights. She thought it was her husband, home late. Instead, it was a close family friend, a fellow trooper, at her door with awful news. 'I remember falling. I remember losing my breath. I remember thinking, oh, shit, the kids are home,' O'Neil said. 'What are they going to do?' State lawmakers have attempted to address police mental health before. In 2018, the Legislature passed a bill guaranteeing confidentiality when first responders speak to peer counselors. State Senator Michael Moore, a co-sponsor of that legislation, said the persistence of mental health stigma is troubling, both for officers and the communities they serve. He said individual agencies must make sure their officers have access to the care they need. Advertisement 'If we're going to have a healthy workforce, we need the employers, which are our municipalities, to buy in,' Moore said. State Senator John Velis, a veteran of the war in Afghanistan who serves on a 'In my experience, whether it's substance use disorders, my own struggles with addiction, or any of the other conditions out there, you talk about it. You talk about it, over and over again,' Velis said. Chuck Wexler, executive director of the Police Executive Research Forum, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit, said local chiefs have a decisive role to play in combating that stigma. 'You need leadership, you need policy, and you need a firewall between getting help and knowing it won't hurt you professionally,' Wexler said. But a Globe review of state administrative law records found officers can also face dismissal, skepticism, and financial consequences when mental illness renders them unable to work. In 2020, a Saugus police officer tried to retire on accidental disability due to post-traumatic stress disorder after he responded to a car crash where a 9-year-old child was hurt, but the town's retirement board In 2021, the Middlesex County Retirement System And the Lawrence retirement board Advertisement Administrative law judges reversed all three decisions; the latest decision, in the Lawrence case, came on March 21. One problem is that state law requires officers to file on-the-job disability retirement within two years of their injury, said Leigh Panettiere, an attorney who has represented officers in hundreds of psychological disability cases. That limit does not work for PTSD, which can become disabling years or decades after an initial trauma, Panettiere said. 'People don't necessarily know when they've hit their breaking point,' she said. State Senator Michael Brady and Representative Kenneth Gordon have 'There really is a stigma,' she said. Last week, Molly O'Neil sat in her living room, absently petting her goldendoodle, Buddy. A framed photograph of her family rested behind a fireplace grating: Her and Chris, with their arms on their children, Conor and Charlotte. Maybe, she said, Chris would still be here, if not for stigma. If the State Police leadership at the time had offered more support and told O'Neil where he could go for help. 'To me, this never would have happened if we had information,' she said. Dan Glaun can be reached at