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Police Officer Dies In Apparent Suicide While On Duty, Department Says

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A Kansas City Missouri Police Department officer was discovered dead on Sunday in what appeared to be a suicide, the department said.

Police from the Overland Park Police Department and the Kansas City Missouri Police Department “responded to a check the welfare call,” the department said in a Facebook post. Police from both departments discovered the officer dead in his personal vehicle due to an apparent suicide, according to the Facebook post.

“The officer who was on duty in an administrative assignment, on a break, was missing in his personal vehicle and feared to be suicidal,” the Facebook post said. 

The officer was part of the police department for over eight years, according to the post. The department called him a “dedicated officer” and said he was assigned to the Patrol Bureau.

“We have activated our volunteer chaplains and all the peer support resources available to department members at this time. Please keep the officer’s family and our department in your thoughts and prayers. We ask you to please respect the family’s privacy at this time,” the Facebook post said.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) Kansas City Field Division and Fire Chief Donna Lake of the Kansas City Missouri Fire Department joined local agencies in expressing their condolences on Twitter, according to the Kansas City Star.

The thoughts and prayers of @ATFKansasCity are with our brothers and sisters @kcpolice tonight. #NeverForgotten https://t.co/hr7vPkUHYY

— ATF Kansas City (@ATFKansasCity) February 1, 2021

My thoughts are with @kcpolice and the family and friends of their officer who passed. Look after one another and support each other always. @KCMOFireDept

— Fire Chief Donna Lake (@KCMOFireChief) February 1, 2021

David G. Jackson, a public information officer for the Kansas City Missouri Police Department, declined to comment beyond the department’s statement.