Off-duty Chicago police officer death in West Loop home is ruled suicide

The death of an off-duty Chicago police officer found Thursday inside a residene has been ruled a suicide.The 29-year-old man was found about 2:35 p.m. inside a home in the 1600 block of West Warren Boulevard with a gunshot wound to the head, Chicago police said. He was pronounced dead at the scene.Autopsy results released Friday ruled his death a suicide, according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office. He is at least the second to have died by suicide this year., Celal Cenker Surgit, 54, who spent nearly 20 years with the department, was found dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound inside his West Ridge home, according to police and the medical examiner’s office.The police department in recent years has struggled to maintain adequate mental health resources for officers, according to a city inspector general report released at the end of 2022, weeks before the department saw three suicides within a week.In 2017, a found the suicide rate among Chicago cops was 60% higher than the national average for law enforcement officials.The department has 18 counselors providing mental health services to its roughly 11,600 members, apparently falling short of its goal of assigning one counselor to each of its 22 police districts.