A special operations police officer committed suicide in the garden of the AK Party Headquarters.

The incident reportedly occurred around 15:30.

A special operations police officer responsible for maintaining security at the intersection outside the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) headquarters committed suicide on Thursday. Sources from the AK Party confirmed to Euronews Turkish that the incident took place in the garden outside the headquarters. It is stated that the incident occurred around 15:30 and that the police officer took his own life with his service weapon. According to party sources, it was learned that the police officer was to get engaged in 15 days. The reason for the suicide is still unknown. Why are police officers committing suicide? In the first two weeks of January, eight police officers took their own lives. According to figures reported by the Police's Voice Platform, a total of 70 law enforcement personnel have committed suicide in 2024. Faruk Sezer, the founder of the Police's Voice Platform and a former retired law enforcement officer, told Euronews Turkish, "In the final point of suicide, reasons such as family problems and high debts are cited, but suicides are not caused by the last drop that overflows the glass; they stem from the factors that fill the glass, which are rooted in professional life." Sezer, who stated that they have been following the problems of law enforcement personnel for 13 years, expressed, "We claim that the underlying reasons for the problems in the police organization are intimidation and mobbing, and that other issues arise while trying to escape from this mobbing and intimidation." Faruk Sezer added, "When we look at the number of our colleagues who have taken their own lives in the last 15 years, along with the family members they killed in a fit of rage, it exceeds eight hundred." He pointed out that there is a misconception in the public regarding the claim that police salaries are high, adding, "When you divide those high salaries of the police by their working hours, the reality that they earn less than the minimum wage is something no one sees." He also mentioned that law enforcement employees cannot take on a second job or generate additional income.