NYPD officer jumps from Queens building in apparent suicide

An on-duty officer with the New York Police Department leapt from the roof of a Queens building on Tuesday in an apparent suicide.

The officer had previously been stripped of his gun and shield and was on a modified assignment that required him to receive periodic evaluations at the NYPD Medical Division, according to the New York Daily News. His fatal plunge began from a building adjacent to the Medical Division's offices.

The reason for his modified assignment was not immediately clear and the officer's identity has not been made public. Faced with rising crime, attacks on officers, and a recruiting shortage, the NYPD finds itself stretched thin.

Though the NYPD imposed a mandatory suicide prevention training course in 2019, New York witnessed a rise in officer suicides through 2020, a year marked by vitriolic anti-police rhetoric following the death of George Floyd. Three NYPD officers committed suicide last year, per the outlet.

Nearly 1,500 officers left the force in the first half of 2022 alone.

Attacks on officers also remain a threat, with one incident occurring New Year's Eve that saw a machete-wielding assailant injure three.