US border officer suicides at 13-year high: How agency is focusing on 'culture change'
2022 saw the most Customs and Border Protection agents die by suicide since 2009 -- a total of 14 Sal, a U.S. Customs and Border Protection employee, was going through a difficult time in his life when he first started at the agency . His mother was being physically abused by her partner, he said -- and that was the tipping point. "So one day at work ... I'm just pacing back and forth and I have a miserable look on my face," Sal, who was not identified by his last name, said during a Customs and Border Protection (CBP) podcast in September 2021. "And someone overheard me say, 'I want to eat my own gun.'" His life was saved, he recalled, after a coworker noticed that he wasn't doing well and called to check in on him. His supervisors came to his apartment and made the decision to take his firearm away, helping him get the help he needed. He was put on light duty and was able to attend counseling sessions, with people who checked in on him regularly...