Chicago Police Sergeant Steven Bechina shot himself with his duty weapon on September 3, 2018.
Chicago, IL – Chicago Police Sergeant Steven Joseph Bechina died of an apparent suicide while on-duty on Monday.
Sgt. Bechina, 47, was found unresponsive in his patrol vehicle in the 0-100 block of North Des Plaines Street at 3:46 p.m., WMAQ reported.
He was rushed to by ambulance to Northwestern Memorial Hospital in critical condition, where he was later pronounced dead, the New York Post reported.
“Devastating news as an on duty #ChicagoPolice officer has taken his own life this evening,” Chicago Police Department spokesman Anthony Guglielmi tweeted on Monday. “The supervisor in our mass transit section was discovered unresponsive by fellow officers. Our hearts are heavy and deepest condolences are with his family and fellow officers tonight.”
Sgt. Bechina shot himself using is duty weapon, Guglielmi told the New York Post on Monday.
He would have celebrated his 25th anniversary with Chicago Police Department in December, the agency told Blue Lives Matter on Wednesday.
Sgt. Bechina leaves behind two sons, Marty and Luke, according to a fundraising page established to assist his children in the wake of his death.
His wife, Lori, is also a Chicago police officer, Marty told the Collegiate Baseball Newspaper in April.
“They try to keep most of the stories away from me because they don’t want to worry me,” Marty explained at the time. “My mom has always got some crazy stuff going on being an undercover officer. And so does my dad. I am extremely proud of both of them. I know they have gone through a lot over the years.”
Our thoughts and prayers are with the family of Chicago Police Sergeant Steven Joseph Bechina, both blood and blue. Thank you for your service.
Rest easy, hero. We’ll hold the line from here.
