Fatal 10 Factors in Law Enforcement Suicide

Registration Deadline: September 20, 2026 

This course has been approved by ILETSB for the following mandates:

Officer wellness/mental health – 2.0
Crisis Intervention – 1.0
Human Rights - .50
Procedural Justice - .50

Instructional Goals: 

Upon completion, learners will be able to:
•    Demonstrate verbally the components of the Fatal 10.
•    Identify personal and occupational risk factors (on and off-duty).
•    Identify common profile of a police officer suicide based on the Fatal 10.
•    Develop a game plan to reduce risks through inoculation.
Rational for the class: 

The Blue Wall Institute and the National Law Enforcement Suicide Mortality Database™ (LE-SMD), has collected extensive data since 2017 on law enforcement and correctional officer suicides, murder-suicide, non-fatal attempts, and overdose deaths. Every case included in the LE-SMD undergoes a stringent verification process to include the use of at least one of the following: police reports, autopsy and toxicology records, agency press releases, next of kin notification. The LE-SMD is a one-of-a-kind database that looks at 61 data points and serves as a confidential repository for cases involving current, sworn, retired, and former officers. Cases are included as far back as can be verified, with nearly 600 cases currently registered.

The "FATAL 10" coined by Dr. Olivia Johnson, came out of the data, and refers to the indicators or "themes" noted in the data collected from 2017-19. The themes (Objective 1) were extracted from nearly 600 verified cases including active/sworn, retired, and former officers. The Fatal 10 is a risk assessment tool that works to identify red flags and other behaviors that may contribute to negative outcomes (e.g., excessive use of force issues, complaints, failure to report for work, domestic violence, suicide, etc.) (Objective 2). In addition, this tool will help predict and manage suicide risk factors, suicidal ideations, and attempts among first responder occupational groups (Objective 3). This class will provide a breakdown of the Fatal 10 and what officers, agencies, and families can do today to minimize risk on and off-duty.

THIS IS NOT A PUBLIC MEETING