10/31/2025
So heartbreaking! We can help. Your life is important and you are needed. You are not alone!
Please join us in expressing condolences. I’m writing to share some tragic and sad news. Late last night, Officer Pete Zajac took his life. Officer Zajac was a well respected fifteen-year veteran of the Farmington Police Department, and is survived by his wife and three children. Officer Zajac spent the past two years serving as the School Resource Officer within the Farmington school district. Our entire police department family is in mourning and our hearts go out to his entire family. His presence within our department and our community as a whole will be missed. A sincere thank you to our law enforcement partners, and those in the community who have surrounded us in our time of need and those that will support us in the tough times ahead.
It’s heartbreaking—hearing about Pete Zajac, that 15-year vet who touched so many kids’ lives, just… gone like that. Makes you ache for his wife, those 3 kids of his. But we can’t let it end silent; that’s what pulls more under.
Causes? For cops like him, it’s the nonstop grind—trauma stacking up from scenes no one should see, PTSD whispering doubts, isolation because who wants to unload on civilians? Add family strain, burnout from 12-hour shifts, and yeah, even genetic stuff amps the risk, turning everyday stress into a storm. General folk hit it too—isolation, money woes, untreated depression—but responders face it amplified, like they’re wired for heroism yet starved of backup.
To prevent? Talk it out early—spot the signs: pulling away, mood swings, giving stuff away weirdly. For everyone, build buffers—connection, therapy, exercise. But let’s get real on resources:
First Responders:
• Blue H.E.L.P.: 1-800-267-2583 (24/7 peer support, family resources, stigma-free)
• CopLine: 1-800-267-5463 (anonymous, confidential crisis line run by retired officers)
• ResponderSTRONG: Text “BADGE” to 741741 (peer-to-peer crisis texting for first responders)
• Firefighter Behavioral Health Alliance: 1-855-777-3242 (specific to fire/EMS)
General Public:
• 988 Su***de & Crisis Lifeline: Dial 988 (24/7, free, confidential)
• SAMHSA First Responder Toolkit: samhsa.gov (wellness programs, peer training)
• Postvention Alliance: postventionalliance.org (support after loss, prevents copycat cases)
We owe Pete that—mourn, sure, but fight back with these. Godspeed, man. 🙏
