A police officer known as “Officer Friendly” to the thousands of children he worked with in his career took his own life while driving on Monday, according to police.
Officer Tom White, 44, was found unconscious and unresponsive with a gunshot wound to the head behind the wheel of his SUV on Nottingham Way. He was found about 3:10 p.m. after colliding with a white commercial van.
The crash was originally ruled an accident. The driver of the van was not injured.
An autopsy concluded that White’s gunshot was self-inflicted and is death was ruled a suicide.
“Officer Thomas White was a fine officer that performed his job well and was extremely well-liked. He will be greatly missed,”Hamilton Police Chief James W. Collins said in a statement Tuesday. “On behalf of the entire Hamilton Police Division, our thoughts and prayers are with Officer White’s family.”
Black and purple bunting was hung on the front of Hamilton Police headquarters on Tuesday as the flag flew at half-staff.
Hamilton was a member of the Hamilton PAL Board of Directors and was the director of the Safety Town Program.