It Is Up to All of Us to Keep an Eye on Each Other

The month of July was full of beyond-sweltering days, during which most of us hid in our air-conditioned cars and offices. I made a trip to Palmdale to see one of Unit 621’s best, Crime Analyst and former Mayor of Palmdale Laura Bettencourt, and the thermometer on my car read 119 degrees. Incredible.

As a person is sliding into the last year of their service to LASD, they often reflect on the highs and lows and the many people they encountered on the Department. I can easily say that over 90% of the deputies and professional staff I encountered were stand-up people who really made being on the Department so much more enjoyable. Recently, I saw that East L.A. Deputy Dave Vega was being promoted to Sergeant. I had the extreme pleasure of working with Vega when he was on loan to DB, and he impressed me daily with his incredible drive to work his cases, prosecute criminals and make the citizens of our community safer. Not only was he smart as heck, but he was also one of the most naturally funny guys I have ever worked with. Congratulations, Dave — our Department got it right this time and so many other times.

I have been super lucky over these many years, and there is hardly anything I would have done differently. One thing I wish I had done differently was to be more mindful of my co-workers who were in crisis and took their own lives. I often think that maybe I could have done something to help.

I have never known a Department member who was killed in the line of duty, but I have personally known four members who exercised the ultimate act of self-harm. I was going to share some of these stories, but some of them are so painful, even 30 years later, that I decided to talk about one long-forgotten tragedy that still stands as one of our Department’s saddest tragedies.

On the day I wrote this article, another long-forgotten Department suicide came to mind. In 1940, Temple Station had only been open for a dozen years or so. Their 44-year-old Captain, Bertram Amstein, was super stressed by financial and health issues. The heat had let up, and I drove to San Gabriel Cemetery and visited the grave of this Sheriff’s Department Captain who killed himself after leaving the station in the middle of the day. Arcadia police found his car alongside the San Gabriel River.

On Amstein’s marker was a truly sweet poem that I believe his wife wrote. It expressed the depth of her love in beautiful words, which I will share here:

Another sweetheart as precious as you?
Why, bless you, dear there couldn’t be two!
There might be another almost as fine, but
Never as sweet and precious as mine.

Folks, we are all precious to someone, and it is up to all of us to keep an eye on each other.

How many of these suicides could have been prevented if someone had just taken the other person’s hand, looked them in the eye and told them that they are loved and asked them to please not do anything to hurt themselves or others?

Take care of yourself and each other.