On February 26, 1999, my life changed forever. My first child, Lucas Henry Sizemore, was born at 1:30AM in Wyandotte, MI. Within hours I was calling my family and parents to tell them that we had a son, and they had their first grandchild.
Lucas grew up in a suburb south of Detroit in a middle-class home. He did all the things a child does: school, sports, friends, etc. As he grew up, he loved to travel, became an avid hunter, loved music and concerts, learned to play the guitar, loved the outdoors and camping.
He graduated high school, attended Eastern Michigan University, and graduated on April 29, 2022. It was at Eastern Michigan where he became interested in law enforcement and did an extended internship with Homeland Security Investigations in Detroit.
After searching and applying to various police departments, his path took him to the great city of Atlanta and the Atlanta Police Department (APD). He began his academy training in August of 2022, completed it, was sworn in and then completed his field training in April of 2023. Lucas graduated and was sworn in on May 2, 2023. He began his law enforcement career as a rookie police officer in APD’s Zone 4.
Everything was going as he had planned.
On January 9, 2024 my life changed again. At 5:06 AM while I was at work, my younger son Evan called me and told me that Lucas was dead.
At some time around 4:00 AM, Lucas went into his shower, put a pistol in his mouth, and shot himself.
On the call Evan and I both became very upset-I couldn’t process his death- not yet- and could only think of the things I had to do. Evan was away at school (about 45 minutes away). I told him to drop everything and get home. I went into a state of shock. I left work to head home. While on the way, I called my wife (Marie, Lucas’s Mom). Evan had already called her and when she answered for me, she was incoherent. I just told her I was on my way and would be there in 30 minutes.
While driving home, I did all the things you should not do-I was on my phone looking for flights, etc. When I got home, Marie was standing in the kitchen and I don’t’ think she had moved since I talked to her. The image of her standing there and especially the sounds made will never leave me. I never want to have to see or hear a mother who has just lost her son.
Because there were no early flights to Atlanta, within minutes I was in my truck driving there to get my son. The eleven-hour drive by myself was full of grief, guilt, and calls to make arrangements. Now I had to make calls to family again- this time to tell them Lucas was dead. Every thought imaginable went through my head. It was at this time that the inspiration for the Law Enforcement’s United Crusade Against Suicide (LUCAS) came to me.
Within 15 minutes of arriving in Atlanta to bring Lucas home, I informed APD Chief Darin Schierbaum of our intention to form The LUCAS Foundation. He was close to Lucas, who worked in his office. When I asked him to help us, he was immediately on board with our plans. It was at this time the painful tasks started for me.
The next morning (after a night of no sleep) I had to clean out Lucas’s apartment. APD had to use the previous day and night to clean, especially the bathroom, before they were comfortable with me going into his apartment. I had the help of several officers who were all there to support me. The next thing that happened I was not expecting. When I entered his apartment, the smell of my son (his cologne, his clothes, etc.) immediately overwhelmed me.
This was the first time I broke down. All the APD officers were overcome by my emotions and did everything to comfort and support me. We all then went into work mode, boxed and bagged all his belongings, loading them into my truck and his car. I gave his furniture to any APD officer that needed it and the rest went to a church.
The following day, I had to have Lucas moved from the medical examiner’s office to a funeral home, where they prepared his body for transport to Michigan. Because he was naked when the ME’s office picked him up from his apartment, the only personal effects of his were handed to me in a 2-inch plastic bag.
It was a necklace with a medallion of St. Michael, which has not left my neck since that day. The procession to the funeral home was massive and impressive. APD takes care of their own. When arriving, his Zone 4 co-workers, his classmates, and 40 or so other APD officers and commanders were all there at attention to receive him.
The funeral home staff took his gurney into a chapel and set him in front. After a few minutes, I went into see him and there he lay, in a body bag under an American Flag. I put my left hand on the flag and could feel his fingers. I broke down again.
I sat down in a pew next to the APD Sargeant who was tasked to help me. He has since become a close friend of mine and our family. He asked me if I wanted to say anything and I immediately said “No, there is no way I will be able to keep it together.” The next thing I knew, something/someone stood me up and the words started coming out. It was at this point I knew that something higher than all of us was at work.
The following day, I left Atlanta and drove home. The eleven-hour return gave me more time to decide exactly what The LUCAS Foundation was going to tackle and how we would try. When I got home, the next week was filled with family, grief, Lucas’s funeral arrangements, his service, etc. All the things a parent should never have to do.
I got through it with a lot of help and have managed to get through every day since. Every day is a struggle. I miss him tremendously and I cry every day. I’m crying now as I write this.
Since then, every law enforcement group I’ve had the honor to speak to, or any law enforcement officer/agent I have been with, have all partnered with us. That indicates to us the urgency of the problem staring us in the face.
Lucas’s Blue Family has become our Blue family. I regularly engage these groups, speaking to APD recruits, HSI, high school students, etc. I’m trying to learn their struggles so I can try to help them. It is my goal/dream to raise the awareness of their struggles and at the same time raise the funding to help fight it.
When we are able, The LUCAS Foundation wants to establish a mental health treatment program created by law enforcement and designed to treat law enforcement. We want a curriculum established to train mental health professionals so they can better treat our law enforcement personnel.
Once established, The LUCAS Foundation will ask that those mental health professionals display The LUCAS Logo so that any law enforcement personnel needing treatment can see that logo, knowing that they are in good hands and should feel no stigma.
We have had several successful local fundraisers and have now embarked on our first national one. The “Bring Them Home Relay” will encompass 1,000 miles from Atlanta to Detroit. Every federal, state and local authority from start to finish will be needed and encouraged to participate. Most are already involved. The LUCAS Foundation needs public and corporate support to make this successful. Please go to www.lucascrusade.org to learn more.
In closing, I want to share a quick story. A few weeks ago, while at one of our local fundraisers, a much wiser man than I sat down with me for a conversation.
He said,” God wanted Lucas. God needed Lucas and it’s because of you”-pointing his finger at me. I said, “Dad, I’m certainly no angel and have done a lot of things in my life that I regret. But I cannot think of anything I’ve done that would warrant God taking Lucas from me.” He said “Son, God didn’t call him home for anything you did. He called Lucas home because he knew what you would do!”
Suicides are the leading cause of death amongst law enforcement!
Please Help me Help Our Heroes!
Brian Sizemore President/CEO/Dad
The LUCAS Foundation
Lucas grew up in a suburb south of Detroit in a middle-class home. He did all the things a child does: school, sports, friends, etc. As he grew up, he loved to travel, became an avid hunter, loved music and concerts, learned to play the guitar, loved the outdoors and camping.
He graduated high school, attended Eastern Michigan University, and graduated on April 29, 2022. It was at Eastern Michigan where he became interested in law enforcement and did an extended internship with Homeland Security Investigations in Detroit.
After searching and applying to various police departments, his path took him to the great city of Atlanta and the Atlanta Police Department (APD). He began his academy training in August of 2022, completed it, was sworn in and then completed his field training in April of 2023. Lucas graduated and was sworn in on May 2, 2023. He began his law enforcement career as a rookie police officer in APD’s Zone 4.
Everything was going as he had planned.
On January 9, 2024 my life changed again. At 5:06 AM while I was at work, my younger son Evan called me and told me that Lucas was dead.
At some time around 4:00 AM, Lucas went into his shower, put a pistol in his mouth, and shot himself.
On the call Evan and I both became very upset-I couldn’t process his death- not yet- and could only think of the things I had to do. Evan was away at school (about 45 minutes away). I told him to drop everything and get home. I went into a state of shock. I left work to head home. While on the way, I called my wife (Marie, Lucas’s Mom). Evan had already called her and when she answered for me, she was incoherent. I just told her I was on my way and would be there in 30 minutes.
While driving home, I did all the things you should not do-I was on my phone looking for flights, etc. When I got home, Marie was standing in the kitchen and I don’t’ think she had moved since I talked to her. The image of her standing there and especially the sounds made will never leave me. I never want to have to see or hear a mother who has just lost her son.
Because there were no early flights to Atlanta, within minutes I was in my truck driving there to get my son. The eleven-hour drive by myself was full of grief, guilt, and calls to make arrangements. Now I had to make calls to family again- this time to tell them Lucas was dead. Every thought imaginable went through my head. It was at this time that the inspiration for the Law Enforcement’s United Crusade Against Suicide (LUCAS) came to me.
Within 15 minutes of arriving in Atlanta to bring Lucas home, I informed APD Chief Darin Schierbaum of our intention to form The LUCAS Foundation. He was close to Lucas, who worked in his office. When I asked him to help us, he was immediately on board with our plans. It was at this time the painful tasks started for me.
The next morning (after a night of no sleep) I had to clean out Lucas’s apartment. APD had to use the previous day and night to clean, especially the bathroom, before they were comfortable with me going into his apartment. I had the help of several officers who were all there to support me. The next thing that happened I was not expecting. When I entered his apartment, the smell of my son (his cologne, his clothes, etc.) immediately overwhelmed me.
This was the first time I broke down. All the APD officers were overcome by my emotions and did everything to comfort and support me. We all then went into work mode, boxed and bagged all his belongings, loading them into my truck and his car. I gave his furniture to any APD officer that needed it and the rest went to a church.
The following day, I had to have Lucas moved from the medical examiner’s office to a funeral home, where they prepared his body for transport to Michigan. Because he was naked when the ME’s office picked him up from his apartment, the only personal effects of his were handed to me in a 2-inch plastic bag.
It was a necklace with a medallion of St. Michael, which has not left my neck since that day. The procession to the funeral home was massive and impressive. APD takes care of their own. When arriving, his Zone 4 co-workers, his classmates, and 40 or so other APD officers and commanders were all there at attention to receive him.
The funeral home staff took his gurney into a chapel and set him in front. After a few minutes, I went into see him and there he lay, in a body bag under an American Flag. I put my left hand on the flag and could feel his fingers. I broke down again.
I sat down in a pew next to the APD Sargeant who was tasked to help me. He has since become a close friend of mine and our family. He asked me if I wanted to say anything and I immediately said “No, there is no way I will be able to keep it together.” The next thing I knew, something/someone stood me up and the words started coming out. It was at this point I knew that something higher than all of us was at work.
The following day, I left Atlanta and drove home. The eleven-hour return gave me more time to decide exactly what The LUCAS Foundation was going to tackle and how we would try. When I got home, the next week was filled with family, grief, Lucas’s funeral arrangements, his service, etc. All the things a parent should never have to do.
I got through it with a lot of help and have managed to get through every day since. Every day is a struggle. I miss him tremendously and I cry every day. I’m crying now as I write this.
Since then, every law enforcement group I’ve had the honor to speak to, or any law enforcement officer/agent I have been with, have all partnered with us. That indicates to us the urgency of the problem staring us in the face.
Lucas’s Blue Family has become our Blue family. I regularly engage these groups, speaking to APD recruits, HSI, high school students, etc. I’m trying to learn their struggles so I can try to help them. It is my goal/dream to raise the awareness of their struggles and at the same time raise the funding to help fight it.
When we are able, The LUCAS Foundation wants to establish a mental health treatment program created by law enforcement and designed to treat law enforcement. We want a curriculum established to train mental health professionals so they can better treat our law enforcement personnel.
Once established, The LUCAS Foundation will ask that those mental health professionals display The LUCAS Logo so that any law enforcement personnel needing treatment can see that logo, knowing that they are in good hands and should feel no stigma.
We have had several successful local fundraisers and have now embarked on our first national one. The “Bring Them Home Relay” will encompass 1,000 miles from Atlanta to Detroit. Every federal, state and local authority from start to finish will be needed and encouraged to participate. Most are already involved. The LUCAS Foundation needs public and corporate support to make this successful. Please go to www.lucascrusade.org to learn more.
In closing, I want to share a quick story. A few weeks ago, while at one of our local fundraisers, a much wiser man than I sat down with me for a conversation.
He said,” God wanted Lucas. God needed Lucas and it’s because of you”-pointing his finger at me. I said, “Dad, I’m certainly no angel and have done a lot of things in my life that I regret. But I cannot think of anything I’ve done that would warrant God taking Lucas from me.” He said “Son, God didn’t call him home for anything you did. He called Lucas home because he knew what you would do!”
Suicides are the leading cause of death amongst law enforcement!
Please Help me Help Our Heroes!
Brian Sizemore President/CEO/Dad
The LUCAS Foundation
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