GOSHEN – A retired sergeant with the New York City Police Department, who lived in the Town of Goshen, took his own life on Wednesday morning, police said.
Jose “Joey” Pabon, 49, shot himself to death in a shed at his home. His wife discovered his body.
He was the 10th active or retired New York City officer to take his life this year and was the second retired officer to kill himself within just a matter of weeks, said Joseph Imperatrice, founder and president of Blue Lives Matter NYC.
Pabon, who joined the force in 1993, retired four years ago from the Internal Affairs Bureau.
Imperatrice said officer suicide has become an epidemic with no rhyme or reason to explain it.
“When you start seeing the retired guys you would think are happy and starting a new path, a new road in their life, for them to be taking their lives as well, this is a huge problem,” he said. “You constantly hear reach out for help or call the hotline, none of that is working. We need to find a way, more on the human side, to get these people to feel comfortable enough to actually reach out for advice, for guidance, for something.”
Imperatrice said there must be options “that are actually going to make an impact in fighting this demon we call suicide.”
