Michael Pigott
Newsday shared some of the lieutenant's last words, which were hand-written in a suicide note to his wife and three children. He wrote, "I was trying to protect my guys that day... I can't bear to lose my family and go to jail." The note, which apologized "for the mess" and took responsibility for giving the order to fire the Taser was found after Pigott shot himself to death last year in an NYPD command center in Brooklyn. After Pigott's death, it was reported that the Brooklyn DA's office wasn't considering charging the 21-year veteran.
Pigott's widow is suing the city; court papers say that the NYPD's statements "caused [him] to become humiliated, distraught, depressed, and caused him to commit suicide."





suicide is a choice. no one makes you kill yourself.
You're an idiot. Anyone who thinks like this is an idiot. Suicide isn't exactly a choice. Those who do it aren't just having a bad day or tying to get out of something like jury duty.
who made him kill himself? the police? so when some teenage girl tries to off herself saying that her parents don't understand, your solution is to take her away from her parents? because they made her do that?
Go ahead and think that way. And it's actually pretty clichéd, at that. I'm not going to persuade you to think any differently. I'm only pointing you out as an idiot who doesn't understand suffering.
you won't convince anyone of anything by just calling him an idiot.
and: you shouldn't presume to know another person's suffering.
You're saying he had no choice whatsoever but to kill himself? Something tells me you're not a mental health professional. Unless he was clinically depressed with a neurochemical imbalance, he had a choice and he made it.
I can't disagree, but this is too simply a way to look at suicide. People are driven to choices
this guy's guilt overpowered the blue wall.
a rarity.
Too bad you weren't on the scene when that episode happened. Maybe you could have made a witty quip that would have saved the day.
So ... why was the cop who actually fired the thing not prosecuted. And no, "following orders" is NOT an acceptable excuse.
why not?
huh? so, what, it's every man for himself when it comes to a chain of command in extremely tense and stressful situations? rrrrright . . .
If I'm to consider his photo alone I'd guess that guy was already suffering from some serious depression. I feel for the family.
That pic was taken after it the taser incident, so not really a fair way to judge the balance of his life.
Regardless fractions of seconds (the photo being that) aren't a good way to judge the balance of anyone's life.
This is directed at no one specific.
But I hope that you accidently injur someone someday. And then have to live with that fact.
And then kill yourself.
F%^&ing assholes.
He's a cop so he deserves to die? fucking dicks.
who's saying he deserved to die?
And his widow thinks she's entitled to a payout?
Let's see how much she takes for her husband's life.
The lawyer who is helping her sue should be tasered while naked and on a ledge. Opportunistic scum.
It was a bad conclusion all around.
Somehow the thought of him falling did not come across, maybe it looked like he would collapse and stay up.
It was a taser gun.
I feel for all involved and I think the officer suffered greatly. There are choices but suicide is when you feel like you have none.