A 10-year veteran of the San Antonio Police Department was found dead Tuesday of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head inside his marked patrol unit, police officials said.
(KSAT)- The male officer, who was in full uniform, was found just before 7:30 a.m. at Loop 410 and Port Entry on the city’s East Side.
According to preliminary information from SAPD, the officer didn’t return to a substation after his shift ended at 6:30 a.m., and other officers were sent to investigate. He was found dead in the patrol unit.
Vincent Jordan, a truck driver, said at around 5 a.m. he turned into Port Entry without a signal and saw the patrol car with no lights on and thought he would get pulled over. But the officer just put his brake lights on.
Jordan said when he left a half hour later, the officer was still there and thought it was strange that police would be targeting speeders at that location.
“No officer sat here before,” Jordan said. “They sat down there before but never here. That’s unbelievable.”
SAPD family assistance officers, chaplains, and SAPD psychological services will be available to department members, officials said.
The incident is being investigated as an apparent suicide, officials said.