Brooklyn Meditates BROOKLYN-USA.ORG
Adams demands meditation training for
cops in response to rampant suicides
Borough President Eric Adams holds a press conference on the steps of City Hall on July 12 to demand meditation training for city cops. Borough President’s Offi ce/Erica Krodman
ONE BROOKLYN | FALL 2019 13
Borough President Eric Adams
climbed the steps of City Hall on
Friday, July 12th, fl anked by an
unlikely entourage of yoga gurus,
wellness experts, and police union
honchos to demand meditation classes
for New York’s Finest amid a rash of
suicides.
“The stress and trauma that our
police officers face on a daily basis,
where they are frequently forced to
make life-or-death decisions, are
all too familiar,” said Adams, who
served as a city police officer for 22
years, retiring with the rank of captain.
“Just as we teach police officers
how to use a weapon, we should
be teaching them how to use mindfulness
to manage stress.”
Adams hosted his July 12 press
conference after firing off letters to
Mayor Bill de Blasio and Police Commissioner
James O’Neill, urging
them to institute semi-annual meditation
courses, arguing that eastern
mindfulness techniques aren’t a
bunch of hippy-dippy nonsense, but
a proven method of providing psychological
benefits that translate to
happy, high-performing cops.
“Secular meditation and mindfulness
based stress reduction are
evidence-based practices that have
been scientifically proven to decrease
anxiety, depression, hostility,
and stress, while increasing
attention and focus, ethical decisionmaking,
and even happiness scores,”
wrote Adams.
This year, 11 active or retired city
cops have taken their own lives, including
veteran officers Joe Calabrese
and Steven Silks, who shot
themselves one day after the other
in June.
And the beep — a noted fitness
fanatic, who meditates twice each
day — said he hopes Brooklyn’s boys
in blue won’t let their masculinity
stand in the way of his healing routine,
saying there’s nothing manly
about allowing your mental health
to deteriorate.
“Policing is a macho occupation,”
he said. “Meditation and selfhelp
is considered almost a sissy response.”
The Patrolmen’s Benefit Association
— a labor union representing
officers within the New York Police
Department (NYPD) — threw its support
behind Adams’ call for mindfulness
training, with President Patrick
Lynch claiming it’s never been
harder to be a cop and never more
important to support first responders.
“The job of a New York City police
officer has always been a stressful
one, but policing today is more
mentally and emotionally taxing
than ever before,” said Lynch.
The city has not been idle amid
the tragedies, and Adams’ zen-like
advocacy comes on the heels of
a newly formed mental health task
force, which will provide peer counseling
at police precincts citywide,
as well as training for commanding
officers on how to recognize mental
health problems among officers.
The beep has been on something
of an eastern wellness kick, and
suggested the city offer prisoners
at the Brooklyn House of Detention
yoga classes amid a public review
process for a mayoral scheme to expand
the Boerum Hill holding facility.
If someone you know exhibits
warning signs of suicide, do not
leave the person alone; remove any
firearms, alcohol, drugs, or sharp
objects that could be used in a suicide
attempt; call the U.S. National
Suicide Prevention Lifeline at (800)
273–8255; and take the person to an
emergency room or seek help from
a medical or mental health professional.
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