Suspended cop takes own life

(CNS): A serving police officer who had been suspended from duty as a result of allegations of blackmail has taken his own life. The police had said that a body of a man was found in East End on Sunday and an investigation had commenced but gave no further details. It was not until Monday afternoon that the RCIPS formally confirmed that the dead man was the 45-year-old officer who was arrested last week and on police bail at the time he died. A PC stationed at George Town police station, he was under investigation regarding allegations under the Penal Code and the anti-corruption law of blackmail and breach of trust. An RCIPS spokesperson said  there appeared to be no suspicious circumstances surrounding his death and a report would be forwarded to the coroner’s office.

Other sources tell CNS that the suspended officer had hanged himself in the Collier's area of East End, where the body was discovered sometime Sunday afternoon.

Family members, both here and overseas, have now been informed and a family liaison officer has been appointed, the police said.

Richard Oliver of Cayman's anti-corruption unit refused to comment on the officer's suicide and the investigation which had commenced into the allegations.