Did 9 out of 12 NYPD commit suicide because of Anthony Weiner's laptop?

The claim that nine out of twelve NYPD officers committed suicide after viewing the contents of Anthony Weiner’s laptop is a debunked conspiracy theory.

No credible evidence from law enforcement or forensic investigations supports the idea that a specific team of officers viewed the device and subsequently died by suicide.

The narrative appears to conflate a tragic series of real NYPD suicides with the political controversy surrounding Weiner’s laptop. In 2019, the NYPD experienced a widely reported mental health crisis in which nine officers died by suicide within a single year.

These deaths were documented by the department and health officials as being part of a nationwide trend in policing stress, rather than being linked to any specific criminal investigation or evidence discovery. Conspiracy theories frequently name specific officers who died during this period, such as Steven Silks and Joseph Calabrese, and falsely claim they were involved in the Weiner investigation.

In reality, the laptop was seized in 2016 by the FBI and the NYPD's Crimes Against Children Squad due to allegations of Weiner sending illicit messages to a minor. The subsequent FBI review of the device concluded that no evidence of additional criminal activity by third parties was found, directly contradicting the "Pizzagate" claims often associated with this suicide narrative.

As of late 2025, authorities and independent fact-checkers continue to categorize this specific story as fictitious.

The tragic deaths of NYPD members in 2019 led to the implementation of new mental health policies within the department, but none of these losses were officially or evidentially linked to the contents of any electronic device from the Weiner investigation.