Newly promoted CPD deputy chief dies in apparent suicide at Homan Square facility

Newly-promoted CPD Deputy Chief of Criminal Networks Dion Boyd (right) was sworn in during a promotion ceremony at CPD headquarters by retiring First Deputy Supt. Anthony Riccio on July 15. Boyd died Tuesday, an apparent suicide. | Ashlee Rezin Garcia/Sun-Times

A newly appointed Chicago police deputy chief fatally shot himself Tuesday morning in the Homan Square police facility on the West Side.

The death of Dion Boyd, 57, was announced at Chicago Police Department headquarters Tuesday afternoon by Supt. David Brown.

Brown, flanked by other members of the CPD’s leadership, said Boyd was “a respected command staff member” who’d been with the department for 30 years.

“There’s really no way to convey or express the magnitude of this loss,” Brown said. “We are shocked and saddened at the loss that is deeply felt by me and the many colleagues and friends with whom Deputy Chief Boyd worked and mentored throughout his career.”

Brown pleaded with officers to “always remember to take care of ourselves and each other.”

“There is no shame in reaching out for help,” he added. “Please, officers, please, stay humble, stay human, stay safe and stay well.”

Chicago Police Supt. David Brown walks off the stage after a press conference about the death of Chicago Police Deputy Chief Dion Boyd, who was found dead in an apparent suicide at the CPD’s Homan Square facility Tuesday morning.

Boyd had been sworn in as deputy chief of criminal networks on July 15 in a series of leadership changes by Brown.

Boyd was previously the Area One commander on the South Side and commander of the Wentworth District.

His career included experience as a tactical officer, undercover officer in narcotics, homicide detective and internal affairs officer.

Police sources who have met with Boyd recently to discuss investigations said he was interested and upbeat.

Those who knew Boyd said he struggled with the death of Samuel Jimenez, one of his officers in the Wentworth District, who was killed by a gunman at a Bronzeville hospital in 2018.

2018 was a particularly bad year for the department: Chicago Police Officer Brandon Krueger fatally shot himself in the head at a Far South Side police station and Sgt. Steven Bechina of the department’s Mass Transit Unit fatally shot himself while on duty in the West Loop.

In 2016, a probationary Chicago police officer Ruby Falcon killed herself in a house during a party in a Southwest Side house. At least six other officers were in the house and Falcon grabbed another officer’s gun from a table and shot herself, officials said.

Suicides have been a continuing problem for the Chicago Police Department for years. In 2017, the U.S. Justice Department reported that the city’s suicide rate among officers was 60% higher than the average of 18.1 officers per 100,000 nationally.

The report recommended improvements in mental health counseling available to officers.

Boyd’s body was taken from Homan Square by ambulance, in a procession that included a fleet of other CPD vehicles. It headed south on Homan Avenue to the Cook County medical examiner’s office, where dozens of other officers had converged in a show of respect.

A giant American flag hung between the partially raised ladders of two fire engines. A procession of police vehicles preceded the ambulance that carried his body.

A procession underway at Roosevelt and Kedzie for a Chicago cop found shot to death at Homan Square facility. pic.twitter.com/910Ehssvdl

— Manny Ramos (@_ManuelRamos_) July 28, 2020