What we know after four deputies from Texas police department die by taking their own lives in six weeks

Warning: This article contains discussion of suicide which some readers may find distressing.

Four former and current Harris County Sheriff’s Office (HCSO) deputies have died by suicide in the last six weeks – sparking crucial conversations about mental health.

A 2023 report by the US Fire Administration said that between 2015 and 2017, first responders made up one percent of all suicides in the US, with 58 percent of those being law enforcement officers (LEOs).

Meanwhile, a paper obtained by ABC News in 2024 stated that a devastating 1,287 LEOs and correction officers had taken their lives between 2016 and 2022.

More than half (51 percent) of the officer deaths by suicide involved officers from local police departments, while 20 percent were from sheriff’s offices.

In the last month, four more LEOs have joined those devastating statistics.

Here’s everything we know about their deaths and how the Houston-based HSCO is delivering mental health aid to surviving officers.

HCSO Deputy Christina Kohler died a day after being reported missing

Christina Kohler joined the office in 2018 (Harris County Sheriff’s Office)

On March 13, a Houston Regional CLEAR Alert had been issued for 37-year-old HSCO veteran Christina Kohler.

The first responder, who joined the office in 2018, had last been seen on March 12, according to a post by the Texas Center for the Missing.

At the time, officers claimed Kohler posed a ‘credible threat to her own health and safety’.

However, it was later announced that the law enforcer had died the day she was reported missing, with Constable Mark Herman writing: “Her name, her life, absolutely deserves to be remembered for her commitment to our profession.”

Kohler was most recently assigned to the courts division working as a bailiff in the 182nd District Court, as per The Houston Chronicle.