OfficerBlueThe incident occurred about 1230 PM at the Wyndham Hotel on Strongtown Road, according to the Danbury Patch. Connecticut State Police responded to the Hotel to conduct a welfare check after family members called and said that he was threatening to harm himself.
Southbury Police Officers and the State Police Tactical Unit also responded to assist.
The State Police said that upon arrival officers tried to make contact with Danbury Police Sergeant Drew Carlson, age 38. Sergeant Carlson was a registered guest at the hotel.
Attempts to establish contact with Sergeant Carlson were unsuccessful, and he was found dead after the State Tactical Unit gained entry into his room.
No other details were released. No one else was injured, and the Major Crime Unit of the Connecticut State Police are conducting the investigation. The CSP said that foul play is not suspected.
Danbury Mayor Mark Broughton said in a social media post “Thoughts and prayers for the Danbury PD and the family of our lost Police Officer.”
Sergeant Carlson was a 13-year veteran of the Danbury Police Department.
Day-in and day-out police officers deal with the best and the worst of society. They deal with death, destruction, and all that is evil in this world.
We have seen it all, and we have done it all. Our nature leads us to be very closed about our personal lives and a silent killer is stalking police officers, whether the officers themselves realize it, or not. That killer is suicide.
No police officer ever wants to admit that a call has affected them emotionally. No police officer wants to show weakness when a child dies in their arms.
No police officer wants to admit that they are having financial troubles, or that their marriage is falling apart, or that they have alienated themselves from their children because they work so many overtime hours.
This lack of communication leads to walls, which leads to solitude, which leads to depression, which, when not addressed, leads to suicide. Suicide rates among police officers in this country have shown a slight decrease since 2008 but even one is too many. To lose the life of even one hero to suicide is an unacceptable loss.
Our thoughts and prayers are with the family of Danbury Police Sergeant Drew Carlson, both blood and blue. Rest easy, hero. We’ll hold the line from here.