KCSO mourns death by suicide of on-duty senior deputy, who remains unidentified
SHAFTER, Calif. (KGET) — Local law enforcement is in mourning following the death by suicide of one of its own – an on-duty Kern County Sheriff’s senior deputy whose identity has yet to be confirmed by the coroner’s office.
The deputy’s body was discovered just off Seventh Standard Road, about a quarter mile west of Zerker Road, shortly before 2:20 p.m. Tuesday.
A passerby noticed the parked car, contacted emergency responders and then took them to the vehicle, where they discovered the deceased male deputy, suffering from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound.
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The sheriff’s office called the Bakersfield Police Department at about 3 p.m. and asked them to take over the investigation because the victim was one of theirs. Within minutes, the area was swarming with dozens of patrol vehicles.
BPD asked Shafter PD for permission to move forward with the investigation, because the scene was within Shafter’s jurisdiction and Shafter obliged.
At about 6:15 p.m., roughly 30 police vehicles and two BPD motorcycles escorted an unmarked white minivan from the dirt lot where the car was discovered to the coroner’s office.
Eric Celedon, BPD’s public information officer, said the deputy’s identity would be released later by the Kern County Coroner’s Office.
More than 1,200 of the nation’s public safety personnel have died by suicide over a seven-year period. From 2016 to 2022, there were 1,287 public safety personnel — that’s law enforcement and correctional officers — who died by suicide, according to a 2023 report by two research organizations, First HELP and CNA Corporation. That’s 184 law enforcement suicides a year.
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More than half — 51% — of the officer deaths by suicide involved officers from local police departments. Twenty percent were from sheriff’s offices, and another 13% were correctional officers. The majority were white men in their 40s.
In a statement, the Bakersfield Police Department said, “Our hearts are with the Kern County Sheriff’s Office and the (victim’s) family as they grieve this tragic loss.”
If you or anyone you know is struggling with mental health or thoughts of suicide, resources are available to help.
Call 9-8-8 to reach the nationwide mental health crisis hotline.
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