A deputy chief with the New York Police Department died Wednesday after he shot himself, a police spokesman told Fox News.

The NYPD confirmed to Fox News that Deputy Chief Steven Silks, executive officer of Patrol Borough Queens North, was the department veteran who died. The 62-year-old deputy chief had been with the police department for over 38 years, police Sgt. Lee Jones said.

Sources told the New York Post that the officer, who was a month away from retirement, had been sitting in an unmarked patrol car when he shot himself in the head, but police would not confirm it.

9/11 MEMORIAL GLADE HONORS RESCUE, RECOVERY WORKERS AFFECTED BY TOXIN EXPOSURE

In 2018, at least 159 officers died by suicide, 9 percent more than the total number of officers killed in the line of duty, according to Blue H.E.L.P., a nonprofit run by active and retired police officers.

CLICK HERE FOR THE FOX NEWS APP

New York had one of the highest rates of officer suicides among major U.S. cities, with 10 officers reported dead as of Jan. 1, 2019.

Fox News' Danielle Wallace contributed to this story.