EUGENE ROY
Former Chief of Detectives for the Chicago Police Department
Police Officers Network Podcast with Eugene Roy
In this candid and powerful conversation with the Police Officers Network, former Chicago Police Department Chief of Detectives Eugene Roy discusses his servant-leadership philosophy and his deep commitment to supporting officers during and after their careers.
Gene shares:
His approach to building strong, effective teams
Lessons learned from his service and leadership roles
Insights from his previous term as a Pension Board Trustee
Challenges he sees for officers navigating retirement and critical incident stress
What he’d like to change as an advocate for fellow officers
Whether you’re currently serving, transitioning to retirement, or supporting someone who is, Gene’s perspective offers valuable encouragement and focus on resilience, leadership, and long-term wellbeing.
Incident Stress and the Retiree
I need to make it clear that those resources are not limited to those First Responders who are still actively serving. The Critical Incident Stress – the bad memories – do not disappear when someone signs the paperwork to transition from Active to Retiree. If anything, losing contact with that Police or Fire family and informal support network can exacerbate the stress.
Within the past two days, the Chicago Police Department community was rocked by the news of two retiree suicides. In one of those, the retired officer lost his son, who was also a CPD Officer, to suicide ten years ago.
So I’m reaching out today to our retired brothers and sisters. You’re still part of the family. I know the CPD Employee Assistance Program covers Retirees, and I sincerely hope that your local agencies do as well.
If your agency does not provide services for retirees, take a look around – you’ll find a group or a clinician that will. You don’t need to continue to carry those memories and that stress around with you.
In the Chicago area, clinicians who specialize in serving the First Responder Community include: Robert Sobo, M.Ed, Psy.D. at CPD EAP, Kammie Juzwin, Robin Kroll, Psy.D, ABPP, Carrie Steiner, Terry McCormick, PsyD.
And for our colleagues that are still active – reach out and check-in with the retirees you know. They were your role models, your mentors and your friends. They looked out for you when you worked with them, so repay it by looking out for them.
As a Retiree you have a new assignment: take care of your health, travel and do those things you missed out on, spend time with your family and friends, and collect lots of pension checks. Be well!
