Danbury CT police officer takes his own life
DANBURY CT Sept 6 2017 — The city was grieving the loss of a decorated police sergeant Monday who died after a daylong ordeal in a Southbury hotel.
Flags were at half-staff for the officer, 38-year-old Drew Carlson, who died of an apparent suicide on Sunday, police said.
“State Police are investigating, but we believe that is what happened,” said Danbury police Chief Patrick Ridenhour. “We would just ask for thoughts and prayers and privacy at this time.”
State police declined to say anything about the cause of death, except to call it a self-inflicted injury that happened after the officer barricaded himself in a room in the Wyndham Hotel.
Police rushed to the Strongtown Road hotel shortly after 12:30 p.m. Sunday and were on the scene all afternoon until they entered his room at 6:30 p.m., state police Trooper Kelly Grant said.
“It is under investigation just like any other untimely death,” Grant said Monday.
Carlson, who joined the force in 2004, was promoted to sergeant in 2016 on the strength of his performance and leadership.
“He received a Meritorious Citation in 2014 and has earned numerous letters of appreciation and accommodation,” Mayor Mark Boughton wrote to the City Council in his promotion recommendation.
In addition, in 2016, Carlson received a life-saving medal for reviving a person who had overdosed on heroin, the police department said.
“He worked really hard as a patrolman and became a leader who worked with younger officers,” Boughton said on Monday.
Carlson had served with the department’s recruiting team and had been a field training officer for seven years.
Al Almeida, a decorated veteran and the Democratic Party nominee for mayor in November, expressed his support on his Facebook page for the officer’s family and for the police department “for losing a brother.”
NewsTimes
