Chicago police sergeant kills himself while on duty downtown

An on-duty Chicago police officer fatally shot himself Monday afternoon on the Near West Side.

According to Chicago police; 47-year-old officer, Steven Bechina, was found unresponsive inside his vehicle in the first block of North Desplaines.

He was taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital in critical condition and later pronounced dead, police said.

Bechina was a sergeant in the Chicago Police Department’s Mass Transit Unit, police said.

Chicago police recommend when someone, including an officer, is contemplating suicide is a national suicide prevention hotline, 1-800-SUICIDE (1-800-784-2433).

Chicago Sun-Times