“I ate, drank and slept it,” Moore said of his days as a patrol officer. “I loved it. It was a tough decision to get out, but I felt like there was a need that was so great ...”

Faith and tragedy have since prompted the 43-year-old former police officer to pursue a newfound passion — saving those charged with maintaining order from becoming statistics themselves. He hopes to do that in part through two upcoming fundraisers aimed at raising money to send himself and anyone else interested in the cause to Out of Darkness Overnight, a benefit 20-mile walk sponsored by the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.

The organization purposes to understand and prevent suicide through research and education. Moore has participated in the overnight walks, held mainly in major cities like Chicago and New York City, since 2006.

“Something that has stuck with me the last few years is that police officers are three times more likely to kill themselves than to be killed in the line of duty,” Moore said, referencing statistics he said he found while scouring the Internet for information about police suicides. An article written by Dr. John Violanti of the Oregon-based Law Enforcement Wellness Association and posted on the Web site of the Central Florida Police Stress Unit seemed to confirm that assessment.

“Major epidemiological studies have shown that the risk of police suicide is over three times that of the general population and risk has appeared to increase over the past decade,” Violanti wrote.

That such tragedies among officers are a reality became apparent to Moore during his first Out of Darkness event in Chicago in 2006. At the opening ceremony for that year’s walk, Moore said he looked out upon a “sea of people” — a crowd he estimated at 1,200 walkers and 300 crew members.

“Everybody there was affected in some way by suicide or mental illness,” he said. “That’s when it really hit home. It’s one thing to look at numbers on a piece of paper, but when you get in a stadium and see all the people and put faces with this problem, you realize that this is real.”

The experience gave Moore greater confidence to pursue what he considers a Christian calling to counsel police officers coping with post-traumatic stress disorder and critical incident stress. Upon completion of an undergraduate degree in criminal justice, Moore hopes to pursue a master’s degree in counseling through Liberty University in Virginia.

“I went to the [police] academy in 1988, and by the time I left law enforcement, I had every in-service [certification] imaginable,” said Moore, who ended his career in 2002 while a patrol officer in Youngsville. “I was certified in everything you could be certified in by the time I left. I had the highest level of education one could attain in law.

“But the whole time, I never had an in-service [training class] on mental health issues,” Moore added. “We were taught to go and do our job and remove ourselves from situations. That’s all well and good, but they never tell you what to do when the call is over and you’re by yourself in the patrol car and start dealing with things.”

Moore said relying on his faith was instrumental in helping him cope with traumatic incidents, including the deaths of former colleagues who committed suicide. Should he succeed in his pursuit of a career in counseling, Moore said he hopes to in some ways “bridge the gap between law and faith.”

Local police departments say they recognize the importance of offering the kinds of services to their officers that Moore hopes to provide someday.

“That kind of thing is good anytime something traumatic happens like a shooting at a school or something of that magnitude,” said Chris Davis, support services manager for the Town of Cary.

Davis said officers in Cary can pursue counseling services when needed as part of their benefits. He said the department also has a chaplain’s program.

Likewise, police in Apex can also utilize counseling services through an employee assistance program or talk to a minister, said Capt. Ann Stephens, who oversees support services for that department.

“If we need to help [officers] pursue outside counseling or if there’s an on-the-job incident, we would certainly do that for them,” she said.

Moore said many officers probably avoid counseling services “because they don’t feel like they should go and talk to someone who hasn’t been there.” He hopes his knowledge and experience can help bridge that divide.

“Where I would bring in my credentials is that I know what’s going through their minds when they get a 3 a.m. robbery call or go to a wreck scene where a child was killed,” he said. “I’ve been there too.”