Police investigating the death of an off-duty police officer in Worcester, Massachusetts, are searching for a woman who co-founded an organization dedicated to suicide and mental health issues among first responders, according to infohub.kz.
The officer, a 31-year veteran, was found dead at a home in Worcester on Tuesday. Police and Worcester County District Attorney Joseph Early Jr. said the 58-year-old woman was at the house. On Wednesday morning, police were distributing flyers with her photo to drivers in the area.
Worcester Police Chief Paul Saucier and District Attorney Joseph Early said at a news conference that local, state, and federal agencies were involved in the search for the woman, who may be armed. Early said, "I can't get into too much of it with regards to our domestic violence rules and regulations."
An email seeking comment on the investigation was sent to a spokesperson for Early's office on Wednesday. Police identified the woman as Karen Solomon and did not name the officer. Thomas Duffy, president of the local police union, identified the officer as Kurt Solomon. Police did not describe the relationship between the two.
Duffy told reporters on Tuesday: "When you serve 31 years with an individual, you become more than co-workers. You become family, and today we lost a member of our family. Just a tremendous human being. Extremely committed. Always reliable. Always dedicated to the job and to the citizens." He added, "It's a very difficult time. His loss is deeply being felt by the men and women of this department right now."
Karen Solomon is a co-founder of an organization called First H.E.L.P., the organization said in a statement Tuesday night. The group "is dedicated to honoring the service of first responders who have died by suicide, supporting their families, reducing the stigma associated with seeking mental-health assistance, and increasing awareness of mental-health challenges within the law-enforcement and first-responder communities," it said. "Our first concern is for the officer who lost his life, his family, his colleagues, and the Worcester law-enforcement community. We extend our deepest condolences to all those affected by this tragedy," the group said in its statement.
First H.E.L.P. said the circumstances surrounding the Worcester investigation "are an active matter for law enforcement" and the group will have no further comment on it.