By MES Dispatch Staff
The Briefing
- Worcester, Massachusetts, police are searching for Karen Solomon, 58, a co-founder of the law enforcement mental health organization Blue H.E.L.P., in connection with the death of an off-duty officer.
- Officers responding to a Wildwood Avenue home on Aug. 18 found a deceased man later identified as a 30-year Worcester Police Department patrol officer; his name has not been released.
- Authorities have named Solomon a suspect wanted for questioning and said she was last seen on foot near Westcott Street.
- A multi-agency search involving local, state and federal law enforcement, including the FBI, is underway; a reverse 911 alert was issued covering roughly a 2.5-mile radius.
- Prosecutors cited Massachusetts domestic violence disclosure rules in declining to detail the relationship between Solomon and the deceased officer or the circumstances of the death.
WORCESTER, Mass. — Police are searching for the co-founder of a national law enforcement mental health organization after an off-duty Worcester police officer was found dead at her home, authorities said Aug. 18.
Worcester Police Chief Paul Saucier said officers responded to a Wildwood Avenue residence for a report of a person down and found a deceased man later identified as an off-duty patrol officer who had served with the department for 30 years. His name has not been released.
The Worcester Police Department said it is actively seeking Karen Solomon, 58, “regarding the death of a male at her residence.” Worcester County District Attorney Joseph D. Early Jr. said Solomon is considered a suspect. “She’s a suspect with regards to this case. We want her for questioning,” Early said, adding that investigators want to speak with her about what occurred inside the home. Police said Solomon was last seen on foot walking toward Westcott Street wearing pajama shorts and a tank top, and urged anyone who spots her not to approach and to call police. A reverse 911 alert was issued covering an area of roughly 2.5 miles around the scene.
The search has drawn assistance from numerous agencies, including Worcester police K-9 teams, Massachusetts State Police troopers, the State Police Air Wing and Special Emergency Response Team, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Homeland Security Investigations, the U.S. Marshals Service and the FBI. Saucier said investigators did not know whether Solomon has the officer’s service weapon and that a search warrant was being executed at the residence.
Early said Massachusetts rules governing disclosure in domestic violence cases limit what authorities can release about the circumstances of the death or the relationship between those involved. “I can’t explain what the domestic violence relationship is,” he said.
Solomon co-founded Blue H.E.L.P., an organization focused on reducing stigma around law enforcement mental health and supporting families of officers who have died by suicide. She has authored two books on law enforcement mental health and previously contributed articles to Police1. She is married to a police officer, according to authorities.