FEDERALSBURG, Md. — A Caroline County's Sheriff's Office corporal and school resource officer died on New Year's Eve, confirmed the Sheriff's Office.
Cpl. Lucas L. Nagel took his own life after battling PTSD, said the office.
He was with the Sheriff's Office for 6 years and was working as an SRO for Colonel Richardson High School in Federalsburg. Cpl. Nagel had previously joined the Army as a military police officer and being deployed several times, most recently to Guantanamo Bay to help with the detention of Aghan prisoners.
He was on active duty in the Army for two years and then became a corporal in the Army Reserves. Besides being an SRO, he also coached baseball at the high school. Cpl. Nagel had himself graduated from Colonel Richardson High School in 2013.
The high school posted on Facebook:
"Lucas was truly a part of the CRHS family. He graduated from CRHS in 2013, and we were thrilled when he returned to CRHS as our school resource officer. His warm, caring personality was contagious, and he was always calm and capable even in difficult circumstances. He will be greatly missed by all of his CRHS family."
The Sheriff's Office also said: "Cpl. Nagel’s death has touched every member of the Sheriff’s Office, the Law Enforcement community, our partner agencies, and the community as a whole...We ask that everyone remember the good times and memories you had with Cpl. Nagel, and keep his wife, and his family in your thoughts and prayers. We also ask that if you or anyone you know of that struggles with mental health/PTSD, please reach out to someone even if it is to just talk about issues you are facing in life. We have attached this link https://health.maryland.gov/bha/Pages/988md.aspx for additional resources for those that need assistance or to just talk. Cpl. Nagel will always be a member of our family here at the Caroline County Sheriff’s Office and his wife and family will never be left alone, as we will look after them just as Cpl. Nagel is now looking after all of us."
On Tuesday afternoon, Cpl. Nagel's body was set to be escorted back to Caroline County from Baltimore. The procession was expected to go past the Sheriff's Office and the high school before ultimately going to Framptom Funeral Home in Federalsburg.
Anyone struggling with thoughts of suicide, anxiety, depression, or problems with drugs or alcohol should call or text 988, Maryland's suicide and crisis hotline.
